"Hi, I'm Cinny Nym, Dean of Faculty at Vocabulary University®."

Most people take an interest in pirates either in History classes, imaginative stories or because they watch popular movies. Vocabulary.com offers some lesson plan ideas and creates two pirate puzzles. You can copy this page for your classroom or home use.

In addition, we have created below an "Alphalary" list of 277 Pirate words.
After you have studied words from these puzzles,
go to the pirate puzzle word assessment (a fill-in-the-blank activity) at this assessment link.

OVERVIEW information on PIRATES & LESSON PLANS:
History tells us that pirates plundered and raided as early as 1500 in the Caribbean. Captains and their crews roamed in many locations, depending on what "treasures" could be found. Most pirates earned their bad reputations but a few were patriots, even gentlemen but two women were especially fierce. As you complete research into the interesting lore and facts about pirates, use the Alphalay list of words provided in activities or exercises.

Rootonym® Pirate Puzzle #2

Graphic puzzle answers
Click here to get a PDF copy of the above puzzle.

• A- accessory, afloat, ahoy!, anchor, appeal, artifact, assault, astonishing, attack, audacious, authorities, authority
• B- bad luck, barbaric, barefoot, battle, billow, Black Bart, Black Beard, blacksmith, bloody, blunderbuss, bonanza, booty, bowsprit, brass, brutality, buccaneer, burn, bury
• C- Calico Jack, Campeche, capsize, canon, Captain Kidd, capture, cargo, Caribbean, challenge, charm, chest, circuit, cockroach, code, companion, compass, confiscate, conquest, contemptuous, contraband, corsair, corpse, course, crate, criminal, crossbones, cruel, cunning, curse, cutlass, cutthroat
• D- dagger, debauchery, decapitate, defiant, discovery, disease, disguise, dishonest, disreputable, distant, doubloon, dysentery
• E- encrusted, endanger, escape, evil, exile, exploit, explore, explosion, eye patch
• F- failure, fantasy, feast, fear, feat, ferocious, fest, fierce, fighting, fire, flag, fleet, fortune, frightening
• G- galleon, gang plank, gangs, garb, gibbet, glimpse, glitter, gold, goods, grog, gusto
• H- hanging, harass, havoc, heave-ho, heroes, high seas, hijack, historic, horizon, hostile, hunt, hurricane
• I- infamous, injury, instigate, insubordinate, insurrection, islands
• J- jagged, jeopardize, jettison, jetty, jewelry, Jolly Roger
• K- kidnap, kingdom, knack
• L- lad, landlubber, lash, legacy, legend, loathe, loot, lore, lucre, lure
• M- maggots, malaria, maritime, marsh, mate, menace, merchants, mockery, murder, musket, mutiny
• N- navigate, New World, notorious
• O- old salt, opulence, outcast, outrank, overboard
• P- parrot, peg-leg, pierce, pillage, piracy, pistol, plank, plunder, power, precarious, predatory, privateer, prize, prowl, pursuit, putrid
• Q- quartermaster, quarters
• R- raid, rake, ransack, ransom, ravage, realm, rebellion, region, relentless, remote, revenge, riches, riotous, ruffian, rum, ruthless
• S- sabotage, sack full, sailor, scheme, sea port, scavenge, search, eek, seize, sever, sextant, ship, shiver-me-timbers, shore, skull n' bones, stash, slaughter, sliver, smuggle, splash, spoils, square-rigged, stab, stagger, strut, surrender, swagger, swashbuckling, swindle, swoon, sword
• T- target, teak, temper, tempestuous, terrorize, thug, torture, trade, trappings, travel, triangular trade, treasure, tyrant
• U- unique, unkempt, unscrupulous, unusual
• V- vagrant, valor, valuables, vandalize, vanquish, vantage, venture, vessel, vicious, vile
• W- warning, wealth, wharf, Whip, widow's walk, wild, worldwide, wreck, wrong
• X-
• Y- yellow fever
• Z- zeal

PIRATE LESSON PLAN ideas and activities:

1. Imagine how a pirate captain might have looked physically. What type of clothes did he wear? Did he have a nickname? What was his favorite drink? What was the name of his ship? How did he die?
2. Pirates usually had rules and regulations that were strict. Can you imagine what they might have included?
3. Some pirates were notorious and had bad reputations. Complete research on one, two, three or four of the following: Calico Jack, Anne Bonney, Mary Read, Edward Teach.
4. Name some of the locations/countries where pirates roamed and raided. Why were these areas popular? What pirates usually had a "territory?"
5. Discuss the pirate community Libertatia in Madagascar.
6. When The Queen Anne's Revenge, a ship, was salvaged in 1977, what artifacts did divers and archeologists discover?

Quiz: Can you answer the following?
For answers, please email jancook@vocabulary.com

1. What is a gibbet?
2. What is "Jolly Roger"?
3. Blackbeard is just a nickname. Who is the pirate? What do you know about him?
4. Black Bart is also a nickname. Who is the pirate?
5. Jean Lafitte was a pirate but also a patriot. Explain.
6. John Rackham was known as Calico Jack. Why?