Chess in the Curriculum
Chess Improves Academic Performance
Chess has long been recognized throughout the world as a builder of strong intellects, but only recently has the United States begun to recognize chess's ability to improve the cognitive abilities, rational thinking and reasoning of even the least promising children. Chess brings out latent abilities that have not been reached by traditional educational means. It promotes logical thinking, instills a sense of self-confidence and self-worth, and improves communication and pattern recognition skills. It teaches the values of hard work,
concentration, objectivity, and commitment. As former World Chess Champion Emmanuel Lasker said, "On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long." ( New York City Schools Chess Program by Christine Palm, copyright 1990)
Chess is the Gymnasium of the Mind
Chess is variously described as a science, an art and a sport. It has the virtue of being completely free of the element of luck: the result of each game depends entirely upon the skill of the players. A youngster who plays chess soon learns that he or she cannot blame failure on anyone else. Results are completely due to a child's own abilities and efforts and a child must take responsibility for his or her own actions. Victory is earned and can be savored as a personal accomplishment. A youngster taking part in a chess program develops critical thinking; logic, reasoning and
problem solving abilities; memory, concentration and visualization skills; confidence; patience; determination; poise; self-expression; and good sportsmanship. And perhaps more importantly, children who participate in the program improve their self-esteem. Everyone associates a good chess player with a good mind. A child who can play a good game of chess has proof of his or her mental abilities- and no one can take that away! When an inner-city youngster succeeds in intellectual competition, defeating his or her opponents, he or she begins to believe in him or herself.
I have found that all the above is true and I have students as young as kinder participating. I have placed this information on this site to aide in expanding your sphere of influence and introduce the concept of teaching the whole student. Chess is a Life Skill that is very rarely forgotten once the individual learns how to play the basic game. As an educator this will give you another tool to reach more students. Take the time to learn you will not regret the adventure and challenge.
Resources
Check out gaming at it's best, no batteries, no wi-fi, no lap tops needed, bio-ware only!! No two games are exactly alike.
Character Education with Chess_Roumen Bezergianov
Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14 by Alexey W. Root
Science, Math, Checkmate: 32 Chess Activities for Inquiry and Problem Solving by Alexey W. Root
People, Places, Checkmates: Teaching Social Studies with Chess by Alexey W. Root
Read, Write, Checkmate: Enrich Literacy with Chess Activities by Alexey W. Root
The Living Chess Game: Fine Arts Activities for Kids 9-14 by Alexey W. Root
Follow the link to Images from the recent Scholastic Chess Tournament held at East Montana Middle School in El Paso, Texas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icLG0-kk0EE
The Chess Song:
Chessing No Guessing
By Gregory A. Davis
Chess has long been recognized throughout the world as a builder of strong intellects, but only recently has the United States begun to recognize chess's ability to improve the cognitive abilities, rational thinking and reasoning of even the least promising children. Chess brings out latent abilities that have not been reached by traditional educational means. It promotes logical thinking, instills a sense of self-confidence and self-worth, and improves communication and pattern recognition skills. It teaches the values of hard work,
concentration, objectivity, and commitment. As former World Chess Champion Emmanuel Lasker said, "On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long." ( New York City Schools Chess Program by Christine Palm, copyright 1990)
Chess is the Gymnasium of the Mind
Chess is variously described as a science, an art and a sport. It has the virtue of being completely free of the element of luck: the result of each game depends entirely upon the skill of the players. A youngster who plays chess soon learns that he or she cannot blame failure on anyone else. Results are completely due to a child's own abilities and efforts and a child must take responsibility for his or her own actions. Victory is earned and can be savored as a personal accomplishment. A youngster taking part in a chess program develops critical thinking; logic, reasoning and
problem solving abilities; memory, concentration and visualization skills; confidence; patience; determination; poise; self-expression; and good sportsmanship. And perhaps more importantly, children who participate in the program improve their self-esteem. Everyone associates a good chess player with a good mind. A child who can play a good game of chess has proof of his or her mental abilities- and no one can take that away! When an inner-city youngster succeeds in intellectual competition, defeating his or her opponents, he or she begins to believe in him or herself.
I have found that all the above is true and I have students as young as kinder participating. I have placed this information on this site to aide in expanding your sphere of influence and introduce the concept of teaching the whole student. Chess is a Life Skill that is very rarely forgotten once the individual learns how to play the basic game. As an educator this will give you another tool to reach more students. Take the time to learn you will not regret the adventure and challenge.
Resources
Check out gaming at it's best, no batteries, no wi-fi, no lap tops needed, bio-ware only!! No two games are exactly alike.
Character Education with Chess_Roumen Bezergianov
Thinking with Chess: Teaching Children Ages 5-14 by Alexey W. Root
Science, Math, Checkmate: 32 Chess Activities for Inquiry and Problem Solving by Alexey W. Root
People, Places, Checkmates: Teaching Social Studies with Chess by Alexey W. Root
Read, Write, Checkmate: Enrich Literacy with Chess Activities by Alexey W. Root
The Living Chess Game: Fine Arts Activities for Kids 9-14 by Alexey W. Root
Follow the link to Images from the recent Scholastic Chess Tournament held at East Montana Middle School in El Paso, Texas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icLG0-kk0EE
The Chess Song:
Chessing No Guessing
By Gregory A. Davis
The Chess Song by Gregory A. Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://vimeo.com/82998820.