CoursesforSchools

Chess is a fun educational tool that works in partnership and supports many aspects of the
Literacy and Numeracy strategies of the Primary Framework and National Curriculum for primary schools.

The training material has been constructed around the 3-4 part lesson plan used by school teachers,
with aims and objectives, monitoring and assessment.

We believe that eventually chess will be given curriculum time and needs to be taught in a way that is
assessable and in keeping with current teaching methods.

30 countries worldwide already include chess in their educational curriculum.

                                         Example
                   Lunchtime chess club / tuition

Amount of children   :   min 8/ max 16
Duration                       : 1 hour per week
Cost                               : £15.00 per child for a 6 week

Courses for schools can be funded in several ways.
Please contact us for details

A Chess Tournament For Your School

We can run a chess tournament day for your school with prizes, certificates for all and trophies for winners.

Please contact us for details

Courses starting in the Autumn Term 2008/09 week beginning 01/09/08

CHESS IN SCHOOLS

                                      Example
                After school chess club / tuition

Amount of children   :   min 8/ max 16
Duration                       : 1 hour per week
Cost                               : £21.00 per child for a 6 week

Courses for schools can be funded in several ways.
Please contact us for details

Why Offer Chess in Schools? By Chessmaster Jerry Meyers - (http://www.youthchess.net/)

1) History
Chess is a classic game of strategy, invented more than 1500 years ago in India. Legend has it that the ruler of India asked his wise
men to devise a way to teach the children of the royal family to become better thinkers and better generals on the battlefield. Chess
was the result. In the centuries since its invention, chess has spread to every country in the world. While countless other games have
died out, chess lives on. In the United States, it has received endorsements by many educators, ranging from Benjamin Franklin to
former U.S. Secretary of Education, Terrell Bell. In Western Pennsylvania, more than 70 schools and a dozen libraries offer chess
programs, reaching several thousand students each year.
2) Academic Benefits
We have brought chess to the schools because we believe it directly contributes to academic performance. Chess makes kids
smarter. It does so by teaching the following skills:
Focusing - Children are taught the benefits of observing carefully and concentrating. If they don't watch what is happening, they can't
respond to it, no matter how smart they are.
Visualizing - Children are prompted to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. We actually strengthen the ability to
visualize by training them to shift the pieces in their mind, first one, then several moves ahead.
Thinking Ahead - Children are taught to think first, then act. We teach them to ask themselves "If I do this, what might happen then,
and how can I respond?" Over time, chess helps develop patience and thoughtfulness.
Weighing Options - Children are taught that they don't have to do the first thing that pops into their mind. They learn to identify
alternatives and consider the pros and cons of various actions.
Analyzing Concretely - Children learn to evaluate the results of specific actions and sequences. Does this sequence help me or hurt
me? Decisions are better when guided by logic, rather than impulse.
Thinking Abstractly - Children are taught to step back periodically from details and consider the bigger picture. They also learn to
take patterns used in one context and apply them to different, but related situations.
Planning - Children are taught to develop longer range goals and take steps toward bringing them about. They are also taught of the
need to reevaluate their plans as new developments change the situation.
Juggling Multiple Considerations Simultaneously -Children are encouraged not to become overly absorbed in any one consideration,
but to try to weigh various factors all at once.
None of these skills are specific to chess, but they are all part of the game. The beauty of chess as a teaching tool is that it
stimulates children's minds and helps them to build these skills while enjoying themselves. As a result, children become more
critical thinkers, better problem solvers, and more independent decision makers.
3) Educational Research
These conclusions have been backed up by educational research. Studies have been done in various locations around the United
States and Canada, showing that chess results in increased scores on standardized tests for both reading and math. A study on a
large scale chess program in New York City, which involved more than 100 schools and 3,000 children, showed higher classroom
grades in both English and Math for children involved in chess. Studies in Houston, Texas and Bradford, Pennsylvania showed
chess leads to higher scores on the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.

Why Chess?
Chess turns problem-solving and learning into a game! Studies conducted over the last 30 years show that student IQs increase and
test scores improve after less than a year of systematic chess study.
Chess has intellectual brand attributes: People think kids who play are smart. Kids who play think they themselves are smart. What
kids believe can often times be self fulfilling.
Chess is fun and motivational. It develops self-esteem, builds team spirit and increases concentration.
Chess is a thinking game. It encourages students to use patterns and logical deductive reasoning to solve problems.
Chess levels the playing field. Age, gender, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, and spoken language are all irrelevant
factors when playing chess.

4) Social Benefits
In the schools, chess often serves as a bridge, bringing together children of different ages, races and genders in an activity they can
all enjoy. Chess helps build individual friendships and also school spirit when children compete together as teams against other
schools. Chess also teaches children about sportsmanship - how to win graciously and not give up when encountering defeat. For
children with adjustment issues, there are many examples where chess has led to increased motivation, improved behavior, better
self-image, and even improved attendance. Chess provides a positive social outlet, a wholesome recreational activity that can be
easily learned and enjoyed at any age.

Why does chess have this impact?
Why did chess players score higher on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking as well as the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking
Appraisal? Briefly, there appear to be at least seven significant factors:
1) Chess accommodates all modality strengths.
2) Chess provides a far greater quantity of problems for practice.
3) Chess offers immediate punishments and rewards for problem solving.
4) Chess creates a pattern or thinking system that, when used faithfully, breeds success. The chess-playing students had become
accustomed to looking for more and different alternatives, which resulted in higher scores in fluency and originality.
5) Competition. Competition fosters interest, promotes mental alertness, challenges all students, and elicits the highest levels of
achievement (Stephan, 1988).
6) A learning environment organized around games has a positive affect on students' attitudes toward learning. This affective
dimension acts as a facilitator of cognitive achievement (Allen & Main, 1976). Instructional gaming is one of the most motivational
tools in the good teacher's repertoire. Children love games. Chess motivates them to become willing problem solvers and spend
hours quietly immersed in logical thinking. These same young people often cannot sit still for fifteen minutes in the traditional
classroom.
7) Chess supplies a variety and quality of problems. As Langen (1992) states: "The problems that arise in the 70-90 positions of the
average chess game are, moreover, new. Contexts are familiar, themes repeat, but game positions never do. This makes chess a
good grist for the problem-solving mill."