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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Blackbeard: The most feared pirate of the Atlantic

Students will acquire information about Blackbeard and apply their knowledge to create a newspaper article concerning his life.

A lesson plan for grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies

By Carol Holden and Tanya Klanert

Learn more

  • North Carolina Maritime Museum This site provides information about Blackbeard’s life and his ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge. The site has valuable information and photographs of the artifacts that were recovered from QAR’s wreckage.
  • Blackbeard, the King of Pirates This site contains information about Blackbeard’s ship, its crew, and other sea tales.
  • NC ECHO This site contains digitized primary resources that are found in collections all across North Carolina.

Related pages

  • Writing a ghost story/mystery: Building upon the students' knowledge base of Blackbeard the Pirate, the numerous shipwrecks off of the N.C. coast, myths, and legends of the Carolinas, and/or The Lost Colony, students will write a ghost story or mystery narrative of their own.
  • Along the Trail of Tears: A part of history is often forgotten when teaching younger students. This is the relocation of the Cherokee Indians when the white settlers wanted their property. The US Government moved whole groups of Indians under harsh conditions. This trip became known as the Trail of Tears. Using this as a background students will explore and experiment with persuasive writing as they try to express the position of Cherokee leaders.
  • Civil War journals: This lesson integrates creative writing with Social Studies and enhances knowledge of the effects of the Civil War on people.

Related topics

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Learning outcomes

Goals

  • Students will acquire facts about Blackbeard and his life.
  • Students will apply their knowledge to write a newspaper article concerning the life of Blackbeard.

Objectives

  • Students will acquire information through the use of technology.
  • Students will describe the influence of Blackbeard on Coastal North Carolina.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2-3 days

Materials/resources

Materials

Environment

  • Portable Averkey (television that is connected to a computer that can be viewed by a classroom of students)

Set-up

  • Teacher should have the PowerPoint presentation file open and ready to view on the Averkey.
  • White construction paper should be arranged in a central location for easy access by all students.

Technology resources

Averkey--Portable large screen monitor with access to PowerPoint for the entire class

Computer with access to PowerPoint and the internet

Pre-activities

Students should complete a whole class KWL chart about Blackbeard or pirates in general. This activity should open up a discussion of their knowledge about pirates and address any questions that they would like to gather information about.

The teacher should have a clear understanding of how to navigate through a PowerPoint presentation and the use of an Averkey prior to introducing this lesson.

Activities

Introduction of Blackbeard: Gathering Information

  1. Hand out student worksheet titled: “Blackbeard’s Life--Information Sheet”
  2. Present PowerPoint Presentation: “Blackbeard: The Most Feared Pirate of the Atlantic”. Discuss each slide with the students before going on to the next slide. There will be a section in the PowerPoint presentation about each area of Blackbeard’s life.
  3. While the teacher is presenting, students will be gathering information from the PowerPoint presentation and recording their data on the Blackbeard’s Life worksheet.

An Interview With Blackbeard

  1. After the PowerPoint presentation and discussion of Blackbeard’s life, students will be asked to write 7-10 interview type questions to be answered by Blackbeard himself. These questions should be based on the information that they learned through the PowerPoint presentation. Example Questions:
    • Where were you born?
    • How did you start pirating?
    • How were you captured?
  2. After writing these questions, allow students to “interview” Blackbeard. Allow fellow students or yourself to answer the interview questions. This could be a review of material already learned or way to present other information about Blackbeard.

Headline News Article

  1. This activity should be a closure to this lesson about Blackbeard.
  2. Discuss the elements of a headline news article. Headline news is news that is the most important news of the day. The article is the focal point of that day’s newspaper. It should include background information, the current event, a picture, a attention getting title, etc. Show current event headline articles and discuss their elements.
  3. Assignment: Instruct the students to write the Headline Article for the day that Blackbeard was captured. Remember: Blackbeard was feared all along the coast of North Carolina. The day that he was captured was a turning point for piracy as a whole.
  4. Components of the Headline News Article Assignment must include:
    • Attention Grabbing Title
    • Background Information
    • Current Event itself
    • Picture relating to current event

Assessment

Scoring Rubric:

  • Attention Grabbing Title 5 points
  • Background Information 30 points
  • Current Event 30 points
  • Picture 20 points
  • Grammar/Punctuation 10 points
  • Neatness 5 points

Total Points Available: 100 points

Students will earn points based on the quality of their work. Students can earn up to the specified number of points allotted for each component by the rubric.

Supplemental information

Comments

This lesson plan was created at an NCEcho sponsored NCCAT conference at Salter Path, NC. The information on this lesson plan is based on using primary resources as sources of information.

North Carolina curriculum alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 4

  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections with text through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
    • Objective 3.06: Conduct research for assigned projects or self-selected projects (with assistance) from a variety of sources through the use of technological and informal tools (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people, libraries, databases, computer networks).
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
      • present information and ideas in a clear, concise manner.
      • discuss.
      • interview.
      • solve problems.
      • make decisions.
    • Objective 4.03: Make oral and written presentations using visual aids with an awareness of purpose and audience.
    • Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal and imaginative narrative, research reports, learning logs, letters of request, letters of complaint).

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 4

  • Goal 3: The learner will trace the history of colonization in North Carolina and evaluate its significance for diverse people's ideas.
    • Objective 3.02: Identify people, symbols, events, and documents associated with North Carolina's history.

  • Common Core State Standards

    • English Language Arts (2010)

      • Writing

        • Grade 4
          • 4.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

  • North Carolina Essential Standards