Pirate Map Skills: Grid Coordinates, Cardinal & Ordinal Directions, Symbols

Teach and strengthen coordinate grid math, geography mapping skills like map symbols and cardinal and ordinal directions with a compass rose, and new vocabulary with these pirate themed printable worksheets. These are fun mini-lesson activities for Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19th or if you have a pirates themed unit. Cardinal directions and coordinate grid mapping are important introductory skills to mastering latitude and longitude map skills and being able to use an atlas. Coordinate grid mapping is an excellent introduction to first quadrant graphing math.

Students will practice using a lettered and numbered grid to find coordinates and interpret a legend and compass rose. They will create their own map, legend, and compass rose and exchange them with another student to practice finding grid coordinates again. As students read a swashbuckling fill-in-the-blank story starring him/her as a pirate captain, they will practice cardinal and ordinal directions and use of a compass rose as their route is traced around an island. Finally, students practice context clues to learn pirate and nautical domain specific vocabulary while reading the story. Vocabulary words are defined for them in a crossword puzzle. Two options are available to differentiate the crossword puzzle- one with a word bank and one that features pirate jokes instead of the word bank (students use the story to find the vocabulary words for the crossword). Teaching suggestions and answer keys are included with the printable worksheets. All student copies are designed in black and white for economical printing and photocopying.

Other suggested resources:

Pirate Idiom Cootie Catcher with Nautical Sayings and Phrases

Pirate Spelling Menu with Bonus Printables

Hawai'ian Islands Mapping Research Skills Unit - Differentiated

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