How to Decorate a 4th Grade Classroom in a Pirate Theme
You can outfit your entire fourth-grade classroom in a pirate theme before the school year begins or any time you want to change themes. A plethora of lesson plans with pirate themes can be incorporated to help students with writing, reading and math skills. Work on hand-eye coordination and art techniques by assigning students to help you make crafts to decorate your pirate-themed room. Transform your room into a pirate's cove and get your students ready to plunge into learning.
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Things You'll Need
- Shoe boxes
- Butcher paper in black, brown, blue and whatever other colors you desire
- Construction paper, black
- Scissors
- Tape
- Markers
- Skull and crossbones template or printout
- Chocolate coins
- Fake jewels
Instructions
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Wrap several shoe boxes in brown butcher paper to look like treasure chests. Draw black lines with marker to make the boxes look more like wood. Cut out a lock from yellow or black construction paper and glue it to the box. Write "Davy Jones' treasure" or "Pirate booty" on the boxes. Place the boxes on bookcases in the room, or if the students sit in small groups, give each table its own treasure chest.
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Tape up a large stretch of blue butcher paper and draw wavy blue lines to make it look like water. Choose a big section of wall to cover--three feet tall and about seven feet long--if you can spare the wall space. Cut out a large ship from brown butcher paper and add white paper cut into triangles for the sails. Tape this onto the water scene. Add simple islands by cutting saucer shapes out of butcher paper and then draw or cut out a couple of palm trees from green paper for the islands.
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Cut out a large treasure chest from brown butcher paper and tape it on the wall near the pirate ship. Write a list of the students' names in large letters near the chest and leave plenty of space to the right of the list. Reward students for good behavior by taping "treasures" up next to their names, similar to the old "gold star" system. Cut out circles of different colors to be jewels and coins as their treasure.
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Print out many copies of a skull and crossbones or draw one yourself and photocopy it. You can make these a little more fourth-grade friendly by adding baseball caps and bows to the skulls. Glue the symbols onto black construction paper to look like pirate flags and hang them throughout the room. Suspend them on string to hang down or tape them to the walls. Give each child a flag with their name written on it in white chalk to use as the name tag on their desk.
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Buy chocolate coins and tape them on the walls around the room and onto the butcher-paper treasure chest on the wall. Buy large fake jewels to tape on the chest. Cut out "swords" from construction paper and glue the fake gems onto them. Hang the swords on the wall or from the ceiling.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have enough chocolate coins or fake jewels, use these as the "treasure" the students earn next to their names for good behavior.
If students are sitting in small groups, give each group a shoe box treasure chest with a slot cut in the top and give them rewards in the box for good behavior.
Discuss the reality of current events involving pirates with your students. Employ pirate themes cautiously. Balance your lessons so students understand the gravity of pirating, but include lighthearted activities as well.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit pirate flag white image by Tomislav from Fotolia.com
