Checkmate

Overview
      Checkmate is designed for students in grades five through eight. In this unit, students will develop critical thinking skills and cause and effect relationships by planning strategic chess moves. Chess teaches students to think logically and take responsibility for their actions and consequences. As stated by the National Scholastic Chess Foundation, "Chess involves critical thinking, cultivates visualization skills, improves problem solving skills, teaches concentration and self-discipline, rewards determination and perseverance, raises self-esteem, promotes good sportsmanship encourages socialization skills that extend across cultures and generations, and chess is fun!"

     In this unit, the Internet is used as a resource in researching the history of chess and the roles played by the people for whom each chess piece is named . Students synthesize these roles into characters that will be the basis for a skit set in medieval times. Creative writing, word processing, and editing skills are incorporated into this unit as students write their skits. The play's the thing as the students become actors, producers, and directors in order to present their skit.
 

Standards Addressed:

1. Read and comprehend written material about or set in medieval times.

2. Produce a response to literature by the preparing, producing, and presenting an original play or skit.

3. Participate in group meetings to research information regarding chess rules and life in medieval times.

4. Interpret and synthesize information to produce a narrative account in the form of reports about life in medieval times.

5. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.

6. Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

7. Understand cause and effect relationships and predict outcomes that may occur in chess play.

8. Understand and apply basic principals of logic and reasoning as part of chess play.

9. Understand basic problem solving techniques as they apply to chess play.

10. Apply decision making techniques in order to take part in chess play.        

11. Develop self-discipline, determination, self-esteem, perseverance, good sportsmanship , respect for rules, oneself, and other players.

12. Develop psychomotor skills such as eye-hand coordination, visualization, manipulation of game pieces, concentration and expanded attention span, body language in game etiquette and strategies, and healthy competitive and cooperative attitudes.