Pirate-Themed Giant Game Board

I work for an online ESL company called DaDaABC DaDa (recent name change). It's an online program that teaches English to kids in China. I've worked here, and by here I mean in my home office, for a solid year.

I've also had some of the same students for that length of time. To help keep class interesting I'm always looking for new games to play as an incentive for classroom interaction.

This is my most ambitious project yet! Usually, I stick with simple printable boardgames but its time to shake things up.

Shopping List: 

Dollar Tree
Blue Poster Board .69
Pirate Stickers
package Foam Sheets
Adhesive Velcro Dots
(recommend 2 packages of velcro)

Ikea
Shark Finger Puppet from Ikea

Others
Elmer's Glue
Wooden Ovals (optional) check the craft store or craft aisle at your local box retailer
Scissors



Step 1:
Cut in half two of each color of foam. You'll end up with four smaller rectangles.

Step 2: 

Pick a pattern. I chose a rainbow pattern. 

Glue down.

Step 3: 

Added some waves around the pirate ship sticker at the beginning of the game board. 

Added Treasure Island at the end of the game board using the treasure box sticker. 

And this is where the simple project turned a bit more time-consuming. I'm creative by nature and just couldn't help myself. I hand drew the waves and used different markers to create color variation...and NONE of this is clearly seen by the webcam. ***It would have been easier to print off a picture online and glue it onto the game board.***

Periodically I placed the game board against my teaching backdrop and turned on the webcam. I wanted to see how it would look to my students. 

Step 4: 

Placed the rough side of the velcro dots along the path. 

The smooth sides of the velcro are on the back of the wooden ovals. The stickers themselves are too flimsy for repeatedly pulling on. This makes the game more durable. 

Using a sharpie I added a treasure map path.

Step 5: My kiddos and I played the game once thru and I realized that it needed some drama. Enter: the shark. 

I'd run out of velcro dots (which is why I recommend purchasing two packages) but I had velcro tape in my sewing kit. I used a small slice to hold the shark to the board. 

The shark easily comes off to chase the pirate backward two spaces.   

 Later on the board, your pirate can find two gold coins and can move forward two spaces.

Vocabulary:
I picked "backward" and "forward" because they are easy to teach as opposites during the game...assuming you land on one.

 Step 6:

*** Tip: I traced each blue rectangle with a blue marker because it was difficult to make out the blue foam via the webcam. ***

I added two more velcro dots to the top of Treasure Island for our pirates to rest after we reach the top.

And, X marks the spot!
















And here is the final product in play! It was a hit with several students. The game can even be played backwards as the pirates take their treasure back to the ship. Hopefully, no pirates will get left behind! hehe

This was worth my time to put together.

Interested?

If you are looking for a part-time job from home and have teaching experience I recommend DaDa (formerly DaDaABC). I've worked with this company for a solid year and never had trouble maintaining a full schedule or recieving a paycheck. If you decide to apply, can you use my referral link? Thank you!  

https://www.dadaabc.com/teacher/landing?referrer=w8L1K5U606

Want to see the game board in action?
Check out this video link to see "Using Game Boards in the Classroom."
https://youtu.be/edcEs3i12eg