Teach Like A Pirate

Do you have any lessons you could sell tickets for?

If your students didn’t have to be there, would you be teaching to an empty room?

This summer I read the popular book, Teach Like A Pirate. The author, Dave Burgess, gives us a glimpse inside his classroom and shares anecdotes about how he transformed his teaching. The book is part manifesto and part practical strategies for designing creative, engaging lessons.

The Manifesto
He doesn’t advocate looting and pillaging but rather that we adopt the spirit of a pirate. “Pirates are daring, adventurous, and willing to set forth into uncharted territories with no guarantee of success. They reject the status quo and refuse to conform to any society that stifles creativity and independence.”
PIRATE is an acronym for the following concepts: Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask and Analyze, Transformation, and Enthusiasm.

The Practical
The second half of the book contains over 30 hooks designed to captivate your students and brainstorming questions to help you redesign your lessons.
Here are a few examples from the book. (I have added the digital tools and web resources that complement the presentational hooks.)

• Kinesthetic Hook- How can I incorporate movement? Try Go Noodle to get your students moving! 
• Mozart Hook- Can students change the lyrics to popular songs to reflect the course content? Yes! Have you seen, Weird Al Yankovic’s video, Word Crimes? 
• Drama Hook- Can students reenact historical events? Have your students create fake tweets from the perspective of a historical figure. 
• Picasso Hook- Can students create visuals of key information? Have students create interactive images using Thinglink to show their learning. (Be sure you sign up for an educator account.)
• Contest Hook- Create game-based lessons using Kahoot or try other student response systems listed in this article, Seven Good Student Response Systems That Work On All Devices. 

Treasure Chest

To learn more about Teach Like A Pirate: 

• Visit the Burgess web site
• Listen to the Edu All Stars podcast
• Participate in a twitter chat, #tlap

Welcome Aboard
Have you read the book? What ideas will you try? Would you like help redesigning a lesson to make it pirate-worthy? Contact the CISD Instructional Technology Team and we'll help you chart a course to discover some treasure of your own.