The lesson looks at the origins of piracy, pirates in stories vs pirates in real life, the difference between pirates and privateers and the role played by letters of marque. Activities include answering higher and lower order questions, explaining the difference between pirates and privateers to a peer and deciding whether their sympathies lay with pirates or privateers given the information provided.

There is a five-minute evidence-based CPD activity at the end of this lesson which will develop classroom teachers’ skill set. This CPD consists of a research extract on independent learning with a five-minute activity based on this extract.