Avast ye mateys, young and old, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is fast approaching. Sept 19th is the date, established in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers. Although we actually don't want people emulating the likes of Black Beard and Capt Kidd, they were very bad men, dressing and talking like a buccaneer is just darn fun.
Math has it place amoung the vast pirated seas. One of the stories behind the US not adopting the metric system has to do with France (the country that developed the metric system) hiring privateers (government sactioned pirates) to attack US ships so that they were unable to attend meeting in Paris and such were unable to varify units of length that were being established. Because of the hostilities between the two countries United States chose to stay with the British based system of feet, pounds, and acres.
This link https://www.talklikeapirate.com/teachers.html#math has some great math questions for middle school aged students. They can convert loot into a specific value amount, figure out probability of what Polly will eat and much more.
Student can use the nautical flags to write codes and send to each other. Make the flags on paper and string them around the walls so that everyone can enjoy them.
Student can also use grid paper to play games that involve coordinates. One student can hide a buried treasure and the another student can trying to locate it. Students can place gems on a grid and roll two dice that give coordinates trying to roll the coordinate in which the ruby is placed. Have the dice and the number colors coordinate so they know which number on the dice is for the x axis and which is for the Y axis. Example below.
International Talk Like A Pirate Day isn't just about the language it is about the whole attitude of a buccaneer. They can do anything and no one is going to stop them. Get your students to think that same way about math! Even if it is just for the day.
