Lesson Six Teaching Guide:
Suggested timings for today’s 1 hour class:
Get seated and settled - Class Intro (5 mins)
Read/Listen to Lesson/Story and review Demo board exercises (20 mins)
Students play on individual boards with partners. (25 mins)
Cleanup (5 mins)
Regroup/Debrief for review and awards for daily challenges completed. (5 mins)
Summary: Briefly review of last week’s lesson + chess challenge. Cover today’s story, demo board exercises + review questions, and the daily challenge.
Story + Demo Board Exercises & Puzzles:
Story: We follow King Mateo’s group as they prepare to explore the Night Realm. We also meet the Knights and learn how they move/dance.
Demo board: Rapid Fire Review of how the K’s, P’s, & R’s move, block, capture, and use force fields/Pillars of power. Demonstrate how the Knights move, block, and capture. Play “How Many Moves Does It Take” using the K’s, P’s, R’s. + N’s (we won’t focus on the N’s yet) .
Game Instructions:
First Game: 1 Knight + Pawns vs 1 Knight + Pawns. Second Game: 2 Knights + P’s vs 2 Knights + P’s. Third Game: K, 2 R’s, P’s + 2 Knights vs K, 2 R’s + P’s + 2 Knights.
Game Objective/How to Win:
Capture a King with any piece to win!
Practical Skills learned:
How to move and capture with the Knights. Reviewed and clarified how we use Kings, Pawns, and Rooks. Plus, we’ve learned how to see/use force fields, Pillars of Power, Butterfly Mode (Pawn Promotion), and how to use Chess Code/Addresses.
Emotional Skills Learned:
Confidence and pride in our ability to learn and apply new and challenging skills!
Daily Challenge:
Capture a King, Create a ‘Pillar of Power’ +/or Promote a Pawn (Pawn Promotion/Activate Butterfly Mode). Bonus if you can do all three!
Review Questions for Lesson Six: (Suggestions)
How does the King, Puppy Pawns, Rooks move, capture, and block danger?
When is the only time the Puppy Pawns can take more then one step in one go? When can they transform?
How do force fields work?
Have you and a friend ever made your own Pillar of Power by standing up to something new or scary together? Did you feel more powerful together?
How do the Knights move/dance?
Why is it important that leaders, like King Mateo, admit when they’re feeling overwhelmed?
Bonus: When was the last time you felt anxious or overwhelmed? What did you do to hold and work through those big feelings?
Introduce Game:
Ok everyone, It’s time to meet our Knights!
Post Game Debrief:
Review how the game went, if there were any problems/successes. Give prizes for challenges completed.
Piece Abbreviations
Kings = K, Puppy Pawns = P, Bull Rooks = R, Pony Boy Knights = N
Piece Values: (According to each pieces’ favorite number. See Lessons 3 & 10)
K = Infinity
P’s = 1 point each
R’s = 5 points each
N’s = 3 points each
Demo Board Setup and Explanations:
Board 1: Today we’ll review how we move our pieces around the chess board! And to do this, let’s play “How Many Moves Does It Take?”
Choose a piece on the board. Now choose a another piece. How many moves would it take for piece A to reach piece B? How many moves to capture it?
Now, let’s try: “Spot the Force Field!” Can you identify where the invisible force fields cross the board? Where do they begin and where do they end? Bonus, if you can also make a Pillar of Power!
Next, Can you complete the pawn chain? Which puppy pawn can complete the triangle?
And lastly, Which Puppy Pawn can activate Butterfly Mode and transform into another player!
Board 2: Now we focus on the Knights! Can we learn their dance? “One, Two, Step to the Side. Step to the Side, One, Two!” Let’s go!