Valor Total del Predio

After completing the challenges in this chapter, children will :

I ) recognize files, ranks, and diagonals. Files are vertical columns . Ranks are horizon­

tal rows. All squares in a particular diagonal have the same color.

2 ) capture letters on a board, and then rearrange those letters into words.

LINES

Objectives

Children utilize vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines. Children take turns and formulate strategies.

Materials

One set and board for each pair of chil­

dren.

Procedure

Tell children to use the chessmen as markers on a board . One child has the 1 6 white chessmen , and the other child has the 1 6 black chessmen . Taking turns , with the child with White going

first , each child puts one chessman on a square . As the child places the chess­

man , he or she says the chessman ' s name and the algebraic notation of the square . While winning tic- tac -toe re ­ quires three Xs or Os in a row , being the first to place four chessmen of the same col or in a line wins this challenge . To succeed , children make different types of lines ( vertical , horizontal , or diagonal ) .

For more difficulty, set the objective as five chessmen in a line. When a child wins, he or she tells what type of line ( ver­

tical, horizontal, or diagonal ) won the challenge and which chessmen could move along that type of line.

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A

tiguous squares {vertically, horizontal, or diagonally) . One starting position is to place two rooks on diagonal corners and queens and bishops on center squares. The only rule is that all the pieces must move at least once before a winning position can be reached. {p. )

I as ked Ash l ey for c l a rification of how the game worked . One chess p l ayer's q u een , two rooks, and b i s hop m u st be i n a l i ne to wi n the game. Ash l ey (person a l com m u n i cation , Au gust 1 7, 2 0 1 1 ) wrote :

The rules a re sim ple. lt's a two-player game, and each side takes tu rns m oving. No ca ptu res allowed u nless two pieces threaten an opponent's piece. The normal position is the i nitial one for the pieces as i n a normal game of chess. However, this is not writ i n stone; m ost a ny ra ndomly agreed u pon sta rting position will do. The key is that each piece m u st move at least once i n order to set u p a win n i n g position.

Evaluation

Figure 4 . 1 shows a possible final posi­

tion of the Lines challenge . Black has four chessmen in a line .

Black winning the Lines challenge .

As children play the Lines challenge , make sure that they take turns . White should place a chessman , then Black places one , then White places one , and so forth . Listen for each child to an­

nounce the name of the chessman and its square . Observe whether the children attempt diagonal lines or not . Those lines are usually trickier for children to visualize than vertical or horizontal lines . \Vhen there are either four white chessmen or four black chessmen in a line , it ' s time to clear the board and play again . The children might play " best two out of three " for the Lines challenge be­

fore playing chess games for fun . Figure 4 . 2 is a photo of children in my Den ton

Figure 4 . 2.

Children playing the Lines challenge .

Public Library class playing the Lines challenge .

DECODE

Objectives

Children write letters on sticky notes.

Each child places the letters on a board such that another child's chessman may capture one letter per turn. Children's chessmen capture letters. Children form words from the captured letters.

Materials

Thirty sticky notes per child. Each sticky note should be slightly smaller than a square on the chessboard. Set and board for every pair of children . Demonstration board ( or equivalent ) and sticky notes for the teacher are optional .

Spelling words should be at an appropri­

ate level for the children playing the De­

code challenge . Choose words studied in Language Arts or words from chess. The chess list might include board , file , rank, diagonal, win, lose , draw, move , rook, king, bishop, pawn, queen, knight , cap­

ture , castle, check, checkmate , and stale­

mate.

Procedure

Pass out sets, boards, and sticky notes to pairs of children. It is optional to place sticky notes on the demonstration board to show Figure 4 . 3 . Figure 4 . 3 shows a pos­

sible starting position of the Decode chal­

lenge. The word "queen " can be decoded after the letters are captured by the white rook. Point out that the rook on f3 needs to capture a letter on each move. So the rook capturing on f5 -f7 -c7 -c5 -a5 works, but the rook capturing on f5 -c5 -a5 leaves it stuck on a5 with nothing to capture on its next move . Sticky notes may be placed letter-side up ( as in Figure 4 . 3 ) or letter­

side down .

Figure 4 . 3.

Decode the word " queen . "

Within each pair of children, the first child holds a list of spelling words ( or the chess words listed under Materials ) . He or she decides which word to spell, letter by letter, on sticky notes.

The first child places the sticky notes on the board. The word 's letters should be out of order, but with each letter a rook's move away from the previous letter. The first child positions a rook on the board such that it can capture one letter per move.

The second child uses the rook to cap­

ture each letter. The sticky notes don 't move from their squares . After repeated rook captures , the second child has col­

lected all the sticky notes . The second child unscrambles the captured letters to reveal a word. The first child confirms that the word is the intended one . If a

new word has been created instead , that is a " Eureka! " insight about how letters may spell more than one word . Then it is the second child 's turn to take the spell­

ing list and some new sticky notes . The second child writes letters on the notes and places them on the board . The first child will repeat the rook captures and word decoding.

As written , this challenge reinforces how the rook captures. If desired, chess­

men other than the rook can be used for this challenge. Place the letters so that the selected chessman captures one sticky note

Figure 4 . 4. Girl placing letters for the Decode challenge .

per move. Figure 4 . 4 shows a 6-year-old girl placing letters a diagonal move apart from each other.

Evaluation

As children play the Decode challenge, monitor to make sure they write one let­

ter per sticky note. Each child could be the decoder twice before the pair switches to pla�ing chess games for fun .

Chapter 5: