This lesson reviews students' understanding of where where pirates worked and what their motivations were. It asks students to consider where they might look for sunken pirate ships and what they would expect to find on such ships. Students will pretend to be historians seeking funding for expeditions to search for pirate ships and write up their plans.

Geography, world history

Standard 17: "How to apply geography to interpret the past"

Four to five hours (the reading can be assigned for homework to cut down on class time required)

• Computer with Internet access
• Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the world, one for each student
• Writing and drawing materials (or access to a software program such as PowerPoint or Hyperstudio if students prefer to do multimedia presentations)

Students will

• discuss what they already know about pirates;
• read and answer questions about pirates and the areas where piracy was the most common;
• read an article about the Whydah;
• conduct research to fill in charts that show where they might find sunken pirate ships, how these ships can be located and explored, and what they might find on such ships; and
• write plans as if they are historians seeking funding to search for sunken pirate ships.

Discuss what students know about pirates. What parts of the world did pirates frequent and why? What were pirates' lives like? What would they expect to find if they discovered a sunken pirate ship?

Have students search the Internet about pirates and answer these questions either in a class discussion or in writing:

• During what period of history were pirate ships the most active? Why were they particularly active during this time?
• In what parts of the world were pirates most likely to threaten trade ships? Why did pirates choose these areas?
• Why did pirates target Spanish ships in the Caribbean?
• Why did pirates turn to North America as a target for their activities?

Discuss students' responses to the above questions, focusing on the second question. Why did pirates tend to choose certain areas over others? Ask them to consider how trade patterns would have affected the places pirates chose to frequent.

Inform the class that, in recent years, two sunken pirate ships are believed to have been discovered off the United States coast: the Whydah, captained by Sam Bellamy, and Queen Anne's Revenge, captained by the infamous Blackbeard. (Historians are pretty sure, although not positive, that the recovered ship was indeed Queen Anne's Revenge.)

Have students read the "Pirates of the Whydah" article from National Geographic magazine. If time is limited, have them stop at the section that begins "'You'd better get down here...'" Ask them to consider what it might be like to discover a sunken pirate ship.

Ask students to create charts with three columns, labeled "Locations," "Methods," and "Findings." Have them begin filling in their charts with the information they have already learned about the places they might expect to find sunken pirate ships, the methods that are used to locate and explore these ships, and the things that have been found on newly discovered pirate ships.

Have students go to the following Web sites to gather more information to put into their charts.

National Geographic: Pirate Ship Whydah
National Geographic: Pirates of the Whydah
Pirates and Privateers
Queen Anne's Revenge
Treasure Hunt: Aye, There Be Pirates Here

Ask students to look at their charts and explain in a class discussion the places they would look if they wanted to find sunken pirate ships. Then have them discuss the things they'd expect to find if they actually discovered such a ship.

Ask students to pretend they are historians who want to spend some time searching for and exploring sunken pirate ships. They need funding to move ahead with their explorations.

Have students write plans, either on paper or in multimedia presentation programs, to convince potential sources of fund (either the government or private foundations) that they should support an exploration for sunken pirate ships. The students' plans should include

• a blank outline map of the world showing the locations that they plan to search;
• an explanation as to why they think these areas are likely to have sunken pirate ships;
• a description of the methods they will use to locate and retrieve the ships; and
• a description of the things they expect to find and the reasons why these items are important for historians like themselves to study.

Have students conduct research to find out where piracy is a problem today. They can find information on this topic at Pirates and Privateers.

Queen Anne's Revenge
National Geographic: Pirates of the Whydah
Pirates and Privateers
Treasure Hunt: Aye, There Be Pirates Here