speech and language teaching concepts for The Pirates are Coming! in speech therapy
Frequent Speech Sounds:

/sh/ initial
/r/ medial
/w/ initial
/k/ initial

Themes:

pirate

Book Details:
Diverse Characters: Yes
Age Recommendation: Early Childhood, Elementary

The Pirates are Coming!

By John Condon

A hilarious twist on The Boy Who Cried Wolf! When Tom rings his bell and shouts “PIRATES!” a few too many times — even though there’s no pirate ship — the villagers start to get tired of hiding. But what will happen when the pirates really do show up?

Tom has a very important job: every day he climbs to the top of the hill and watches for pirate ships. When he rings his bell and shouts “PIRATES!” a few too many times — even though there’s no pirate ship — the villagers start to get tired of hiding. But what will happen when the pirates really do show up?

This fun pirate-themed book can be used in speech therapy to target sequencing and predicting. This book is also great for discussing a plot twist and studying illustrations. Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using The Pirates are Coming! in speech therapy below: 

Key Teaching Concepts

Narrative Structure:

complete episode

Narrative Concepts:

problem solving
character analysis
sequencing
illustration study
inferencing
predicting
text features
repetitive text

Sequencing:

order of different types of ships coming to the dock, eventually with the pirate ship that leads them home for their surprise

Vocabulary:

pirate, important, merchant, crew, harbor

Character Analysis:

Tom is enthusiastic and determined to watch for the pirate ship, even when it doesn’t come right away.

Figurative Language:

onomatopoeias

Text Features:

enlarged text for emphasis
exclamation marks
moving text
capitals
repetitive text

Phonological Awareness:

alliterations

Inferencing:

How do they feel as they are waiting for the pirates?
How did he feel when it wasn’t a pirate?
How does Tom feel about his duty to watch for the pirates?
Why do you think nobody hid?
Why did no one believe him anymore?
How do the pirates feel as they sneak into town?
Why did the parrot squawk?
Why did everyone hide?
Why did they surprise the pirates?

How did they all feel?

Predicting:

What do you think the pirates will do?
Who do you think is on this ship?
What do you think a pirate’s ship looks like?
What do you think people will do when they see the next ship?
What do you think they will do when they realize there are pirates?

Problem Solving:

Tom has to keep watching for the pirate ship, even when the first few ships are not it. His dad also keeps telling him new information that he has to take into account. He takes his job seriously and has to keep a close eye on how the ships are coming in in order to inform the townspeople. The author leads the reader to believe that the pirates are coming to loot the town, though we soon find out that everyone hides in order to surprise them and welcome them home.

If you are interested in seeing other pirate books to use in therapy, then check out the Themed Key Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.