A Treasure Trove of Pirate Activities for Reading and Spelling

Shiver me timbers, we love playing pirates! Just look at these scallywags playing hooky from our office in the middle of the day…and on a pirate ship no less! International “Talk Like a Pirate Day” must be right around the corner!

Why is it that kids (and some adults!) have a thing fer swashbucklin’ pirates? Could it be the cool eye patches? Or because pirates love adventure? Well, whatever it is, if you’ve got a pirate-loving child in your home, you might as well embrace it!

Ready to have some fun?

Dress Like a Pirate

You can really get into the spirit of things on Talk Like a Pirate Day by dressing like a pirate, too! In the video below, Michael has some great ideas for turning ordinary items into a pretty convincing pirate outfit! Take a look!

4 Ways to Teach Reading and Spelling with Pirates

We thought our readers would enjoy combining a love of pirates with building strong reading and spelling skills. And once they’re dressed for the part, your little swashbucklers will have even more fun with the activities below!

Brush up on your pirate lingo!

Your swashbucklers can learn how to talk like a pirate with their very own pirate dictionary straight out of the All About Reading Level 4 activity book. Download The Pirate Dictionary.

Read “Pirate Food”

In this story from AAR Level 4, Marianne is a student pirate with food on her mind. But Cap’n Grossbeard stands between Marianne and the food she loves. Download our free short story.

Play “Pirate Ship” (and practice spelling!)

Turn up the fun on spelling review with our Pirate Ship file folder game. Pirates may be scoundrels, but they don’t have to be bad spellers too, do they? Download our free spelling review game.

Read Pirate Picture Books

Our pirate crew took to the high seas to hunt for the most pirate-y picture books they could find. Our library list represents the best of the best! Download our Pirate Picture Book Library List.

These activities may induce some unusual behavior and a whole bunch of giggles. So don’t be surprised if your kids start talking about luggin’ treasure chests up from the briny deep or about guardin’ the booty. You’ve been warned!

How about you…can you talk like a pirate? Leave me a comment in your very best pirate speak!

Special thanks to Pirates Hideaway for letting us play on their pirate ship!