In multicultural classrooms, teachers face the challenge of finding activities that speak to all children regardless of their ethnicity or socioeconomic status. A universal game with rules consistent across borders, chess breaks down barriers of age, gender, ethnicity, religion and language. In diverse classrooms, the game of chess can become a common language, allowing students a forum in which to relate to one another.
Chess can be used as a history lesson. Modern chess was developed in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. The king, queen, bishops, knights, rooks and pawns are symbols of real groups of people in the Middle Ages. Their roles at that time are replicated on the chess board. Ask students to research these roles in the Middle Ages and explain how these roles are understood through the game of chess. Allowing kids to study the history of these roles not only improves their understanding of the rules of chess, but can also help them to understand what life was like at that time in a fun, creative way.
Each square on the chequered board is located using a set of coordinates--a set of numbers and letters that tell the location. The eight columns of the chess board are named a, b, c, d, e, f, g and h and the eight rows are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. In this game, students draw a card, each labelled with the name of a piece and its location on the board (example: Knight a4). The student locates a4 on the board and places the knight in its place. Teaching students the language of chess can improve their math skills.
The game of chess draws many parallels to a science experiment. Every move and game is akin to testing a hypothesis. Children learn how to play the game effectively through a process of trial and error, not unlike the method scientists use to test a theory. To teach students the scientific method, ask them to explain their strategies on the chess board as though it were a scientific hypothesis.