Pirates and first grade St. Ignace Elementary students Nianna Hughey (from left), Sean Ellison, Chance Morningstar, and Brianna McLennan are pleased with the doubloons and jewels that are flowing out of their pirate chest Friday, September 19. The chest actually is a cake made by Brianna's mother, Glory McLennan.

A chorus of "aaarrrgh!" and "ahoy, matey!" echoed down the hallway at St. Ignace Elementary School as two classes of first grade students were transformed into pirates Friday, September 19, with dangling earrings and strands of beads draped from their necks. An occasional eye patch and pirate hook added to the atmosphere. Black felt hats bobbed up and down as excitement grew among the young buccaneers as they prepared for an afternoon of treasure hunts, digging for gold doubloons, and eating pirate cake.

"It's the sweetest cake of all the land," said first grade student Nicholas Allers.

The theme was used to help students build enthusiasm for learning, language, and school, said teachers Marcia Bishop and Sherrie Gustafson.

Showing off their pirate booty of new books are first grade students (from left) Joseph Kelly, Riley Kita, and Madison Barkley. Using pirate words adds an engaging flair to language that helps the children understand the importance of voice when writing, they said. This lesson will continue into future reading and writing topics.

The lesson began with comparing and contrasting two books, "Pirates Past Noon" by Mary Pope Osbourne and "Time Warp Trio, The Not-so-Jolly Roger" by Jon Scieszko.

The students learned about the history of pirates and the differences between real and fictional pirates when they visited social studies teacher Pat Chargo's eighth grade classroom. They learned pirates never walked the plank and that pieces of eight were silver Spanish coins that were cut into pieces to make a smaller value.

The students used their imaginations as books were read and they had to envision the story. Then, using watercolors, they painted their own pictures to go with the tales.

The walls outside the two classrooms were decorated with ships. A photograph of each student stood aboard each of the 46 vessels.

This treasure chest cake was enjoyed by the St. Ignace first grade students. The students watched the movie "Peter Pan" and teachers also read the book. The classes then discussed the similarities and differences between the two stories. A copy of the book "Pirates of the Caribbean" was distributed to each student.

Glory McLennan made a treasure chest cake for the classes. Her daughter, Brianna, is a first grade student.

After their project began, the teachers discovered Friday was National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

"It became bigger than us," said Mrs. Bishop of the learning activity.