Square I: Lesson 1 A Game of Lines and Coordinates Objectives: Students will be able to demonstrate horizontal, vertical, and diagonal directions. Students will be able to correctly position the chessboard. Students will begin to understand the coordinate system and be able to identify coordinates on the chessboard. Materials: Chess Activity Books, demonstration board, three crayons/colored pencils per student, and a pencil for each student Vocabulary: Vertical - lines that go up and down (later learned as files ) Horizontal - lines that go across (later learned as ranks ) Diagonal - lines that slant from one side to another Coordinate - a letter and number pair that together describe the exact position of something, such as a place on a map Intersection - the place or point where two lines cross each other Core Connection: The chessboard is all about math; pattern recognition, coordinates, and math vocabulary. Chess has a long history and historical connections to the Middle Ages.
Introduction to the Game of Chess Chess is one of the oldest skill games in the world. The game of chess dates back to the sixth century AD. Some people believe chess could have been invented as far back as the fourth century BC. Exactly when and where chess was invented is unknown. Chess is thought to have started in India or Persia. The game then spread to the Arab world and, eventually by the tenth century, to Europe. Two players play the game of chess with a chess board and 32 pieces. Special Chessboard Pattern The chessboard is a large square divided into 64 smaller squares. There is a special pattern to the chessboard. The squares alternate light-dark-light-dark in a snakelike fashion. The pattern begins in the upper left corner and goes across to the right, then down and across to the left, then down and across to the right, etc.
Student Practice Activity 1 Have students take out their Chess Activity Book and find the partially filled-in First Move Chessboard Pattern Activity worksheet. There is also a more challenging option in the teacher s curriculum book at the end of the lesson. The students will finish the pattern using a pencil or crayon for the dark squares. The students will each have a complete chessboard when they are finished coloring in the dark squares. Ask the students to count the number of light squares and count the number of dark squares (32 each = 64 total squares). V e r t i c a l H o r i z o n t a l Advanced: Challenge students by asking how many different sizes of squares they can find on the chess board. Hint: the squares overlap. Answer: There are eight different sizes of squares. There are 64 (1x1), 49 (2x2), 36 (3x3), 25 (4x4), 16 (5x5), 9 (6x6), 4 (7x7) and there is 1 (8x8). This is a total of 204 squares. Note: Some teachers find that using different sized squares cut out of construction paper helps the students identify the different squares of the chess board. Vertical, Horizontal, and Diagonal Lines D I A G O N a l Vertical lines are lines that go up and down. Write the word vertical vertically on your whiteboard. Model vertical lines with one arm pointed up and one arm pointed down. Horizontal lines are lines that go across. Write the word horizontal horizontally on your whiteboard. Model horizontal lines with your arms extended outward. Diagonal lines are lines that slant from one side to another. Write the word diagonal diagonally on your whiteboard. Model with left arm slanted up and right arm slanted down, (10 and 4 on a clock) then switch and have right angled up and left angled down, (2 and 7 on a clock).
Student Practice Activity 2 Have the students stand up and practice making vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines with their arms. Be sure they have space around them so they don t hit each other. Call out the line direction and have them follow you. Files and Ranks Vertical and horizontal are math vocabulary words. In chess there are two vocabulary words students need to learn that mean vertical and horizontal. Files - the lines running vertically up and down the chessboard Ranks - the lines running horizontally across the chessboard Diagonals are just called diagonals in chess. Model files, ranks, and diagonals on the demonstration board. Show students there are 8 files and 8 ranks and 26 diagonals! Can you find all of the diagonals? Student Practice Activity 3 Students will be using the same chessboard in their Chess Activity Book that they used to complete the chessboard pattern. Use different colored pencils or crayons for each of the three line directions Ask the students to draw one or more vertical lines on their chess board handout and label each one as a file. Ask the students to change colors and to draw one or more horizontal lines on their chess board handout and label each one as a rank. Ask the students to change colors and to draw one or more diagonal lines on their chess board handout and label each one as a diagonal. Labeling Files and Ranks The files, or vertical lines, are labeled with letters a through h (lowercase). The ranks, or horizontal lines, are labeled with numbers 1 through 8.
Use the demonstration board to show the numbers and letters to the students. This can be a bit confusing because the letters run across the bottom of the board and the numbers run up and down the side of the board. It seems odd since we said the files run up and down and the ranks run across the chessboard. Show students on the demonstration board that when you have eight vertical lines next to each other, their labels appear to go across the board, but the files are the vertical lines. When you have eight ranks on top of each other, their labels seem to go up and down vertically, however each rank is a horizontal line. Student Practice Activity 4 The students will label the files and ranks (files a-h and ranks 1-8) on the chessboard worksheet they have been working on from their Chess Activity Book. Remind students that the letters should be lowercase. Light on Right Chess Board Placement The first rule of chess is easy to remember because it rhymes: light on the right. Explain that the chessboard is placed between the two players and the board is positioned so that the square in the corner by each player s right hand is light. If the board is not set up properly the students will have to quit the game and start over. Ranks and files will be misnamed when the chess board is not set up correctly.
Student Practice Activity 5 Give a blank chessboard handout to half of the class. (You can also use your vinyl classroom chessboards, but they have the files and ranks labeled which helps students). Students give their chessboard handout to a student who does not have one. It can be handed upside down, backwards, or any direction. The student who receives the chess board handout will then set up the board between the two players as if they were going to play a game, remembering light on the right. Do this several times with different partners. Naming Coordinates Each square is where a file and rank intersect. Each square has a name. Model at the demonstration board with one finger going over to file a and then up to rank 2. The intersection of file a and rank 2 is the square named a2. The squares on the chessboard are named with letters and numbers, called coordinates. A coordinate is a pair of numbers, letters, or a number and letter that together describe the exact position of something such as a place on a map or a square on a chessboard. (The game Battleship is also set up using coordinates.) In chess, the coordinates are always file first, rank second; letter then number. The concept over and up (letters then numbers) or walk over and jump up is one way to remember. Student Practice Activity 6 Have students open their Chess Activity Book to the blank chessboard handout called Naming Coordinates. Call out a coordinates and have the students practice identifying and labeling them. Call out b5, students find square b5 on their chess board and write b5 in the middle of the square. Remind students, over then up. END OF LESSON 1 Walk around the room calling more coordinates and checking for students understanding. You may want to assign homework for students to finish labeling all 64 squares.
Name: Chessboard Pattern Activity Directions: Color in the rest of the chessboard following the alternating white/black pattern shown below.
Name: Advanced Chessboard Pattern Activity Directions: Color in the rest of the chessboard following the alternating white/black pattern shown below.