Fall 2002 Community Service Project

Chess Teaches Vocabulary, Foreign Languge, Geometry, Etiquette & Critical Thinking When youngsters learn how to play chess, they learn concepts from many fields of study. The names of the pieces help enlarge the vocabulary of young students. Terms like "pawn" and "rook" extend beyond the game itself. Movements made by the chess pieces demonstrate math concepts because rooks move parallel to the edges of the board. Knights form a right angle when they move, and bishops move obliquely. Terms like en passant and making luft expose students to foreign languages. The end game forces students to exercise critical thinking skills. All these intrinsic lessons demonstrate how games can be used to teach numerous objectives.