Inspired by: The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate - Week 1

Inspired by Margaret Mahy's "The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate", this week's learning activity focuses on the theme of contrasting environments. Students are encouraged to organise paragraphs around the theme of the old pirate woman's recollections of her seafaring days versus her current life in a bustling city. The activity prompts them to consider her feelings about the cityscape as she hangs out her washing, contrasting it with her memories of the aquamarine waters and faraway lands. The woman's description of the sea's voices—booming, screaming, and sighing—serves as a catalyst for students to explore the imagery she is trying to create and to imagine other 'voices' of the sea. They are asked to reflect on how different the cityscape is from the sea and to consider what 'voice' the city might have, as well as to envision what the old pirate woman's diary entry might reveal about her discontent with urban life.

Another aspect of the learning activity delves into the use of direct speech. Students are invited to imagine a conversation between the old pirate woman and her son over breakfast, where she expresses her longing to return to the sea. They must think of reasons for her desire to go back and anticipate her son's concerns. This leads to a role-play exercise, encouraging students to consider how the characters would speak to each other, using various intonations such as angrily or softly. Furthermore, the activity encourages the exploration of rich vocabulary by contrasting the mother and son's differing preferences and appearances, particularly focusing on the author's choice of the word 'respectable' to describe the son's attire. Students are prompted to find alternative words that capture the son's character and to compare the strength of words describing size, such as 'large', 'gigantic', and 'immense', to enhance their descriptive writing skills.