Pirates of the Mediterranean Classroom Transformation
My Pirate Classroom Transformation was a huge turning point for me. I had set myself a goal of transforming my room every month for the entire school year, and had made it through the first semester. Over winter break my husband and I traveled to Southern California and stopped by Disneyland for two days. On the Pirates ride, I told him “I want to do a pirate theme for one of my classroom transformations! But “Latina Pirata” sounds so silly. He, being the more creative by 1000%, said “Why wouldn’t you make it Pirates of the Mediterranean?” and immediately I opened my notes app on my phone and jotted down some details I wanted to include. By the end of my experience, my pirate classroom transformation had the most mesmerizing decorations to date.
Classroom transformation ideas can come from pop culture, movies, game shows, or current student obsessions. Hope and Wade King (the teachers from whom I first heard about classroom transformations) once talked about how they took mental notes during conversations with students as to what their current obsessions were that could apply those ideas to their future classroom transformations.
The original inspiration to ever even try classroom transformations came from Hope and Wade King, who use packets in their transformations. I’ve always tried to avoid packets because it’s such a dirty word in pedagogy.
In my class, no classroom transformation is complete without an edible treat or prize. For edible treats within the theme of a pirate classroom transformation, I received inspiration from Pinterest via @CatchMyParty and @LoveTheDay.
My pirate classroom transformation taught me a few things that I now implement in every classroom transformation:
outfits that students can put on during passing period (simple, such as a hat, fake earring, etc.) make the classroom WAY more immersive while not diminishing the academic rigor
food will always be an impetus for students to engage with material
fishing wire makes hanging lanterns look like they are floating
for grammar labs, clearing out the room and putting the desks around the edges will boost productivity for teams
Like I mentioned, the decorations I found for my pirate classroom transformation have been my favorite so far. The music, hanging shark, and stations really changed the way I plan my classroom transformations from now on. Although I have students this year who also experienced this last year, I am definitely planning on putting up this pirate classroom transformation again in the Spring.
My Latin Stations for my pirate classroom transformation can be found here.
