Pirates Love Underpants

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Ahoy me hearties! Join the Pants Pirates on a special treasure hunt. Grab your cutlass and sail on the Pirate Ship Black Bloomer past angry crocs, sharks in fancy pants and through gurgling swamps on a quest to find…the Pants of Gold! You’ll be yo-ho-ho-ing until the sails come down!

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Rewrite the story from the Captain’s point of view.
• Make a rhyming dictionary using the rhyming words in the book.
• Could you make a new book in the ‘Underpants’ series? What else might love underpants? Could you write a rhyming story about them?
• Can you rewrite the direct speech as reported speech?
• The pirates explore lots of different types of landscapes (e.g. ocean, beach, swamp). Can you collect words that describe each of these places?
• Write a sequel to the story in which the sleeping pirates get their revenge and try to steal the golden underpants back.

Maths

• Count the number of pairs of underpants in the illustrations throughout the book.
• Plan the food, drink and equipment that might be needed for a group of 10 pirates on a special quest for a week. How much might this cost?

Science

• The pirates spot footprints in the sand at Big Knickers Bay. Can you find out the different shapes and sizes of animal footprints? (see Resources below)
• Think about the different materials that are used to make underpants. Why don’t we make them with other materials (e.g. paper, wood, bricks, foil)?
• Elastic is mentioned in the story a number of times. Can you plan and carry out an experiment to test the strength / elasticity of different pieces of elastic?

Computing

• Use art software to decorate a pair of pants (see Resources below). Can you decorate them using a particular theme (e.g. pirates / aliens / animals)?
• Watch this trailer for the book. Could you make your own animation to retell the story or to advertise the book?

Design Technology

• Use junk modelling materials to make your own ‘Pants of Gold’.

Art

• Design some new pirate-themed underpants for the pirates (see Resources below).
• The illustrations on one of the pages (across the ‘Three Pants Ridge’) are drawn vertically (in portrait layout). Can you try to draw the same scene on landscape and portrait pieces of paper? Which looks the most effective? Why?

Music

• Can you compose a new song for the pirates to sing while they are celebrating their capture of more treasure?

Geography

• Design your own treasure map using the template provided(see Resources below).
• Make a story map showing the places mentioned in the story and labelled to show the things that happened there.

History

• Can you find out about the history of pirates? Do you know the names of any famous pirates?

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