Lesson Sixteen 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: When Oliver takes Gemma’s Queen, she spirals into a full-blown puppy identity crisis. But when danger strikes mid-flight and a mysterious fire threatens the entire crew, Gemma learns that true strength doesn’t come from a title—it comes from courage, cleverness, and being exactly who you are. Don’t miss a daring rescue, sky-high surprises, and the first steps of a royal adventure across the Serengeti!
Demo board: Demonstrate Pawn Promotion. Explain the rules. (Rule 1. Pawn must reach your opponents last rank/row on the board before is can transform. Rule 2. Pawn can transform into ANY piece except another pawn or a King. Bonus: If all 8 p’s promote to Q’s, you could have 9 Q’s in one team!
Game Instructions: Full boards
Game Objective/How to Win:
Checkmate the King to win! Most points captured wins if no checkmate occurs.
Practical Skills Learned:
Every piece has value and purpose. How Pawn Promote. Promotion is a tactical tool, earned, and temporary. Taking the initiative is important. Good defence is proactive (pawn chains). Decision making under pressure.
Emotional Skills Learned:
Becoming yourself is a real superpower. We have worth as unique individuals. How to manage envy and comparison (envy is a signal, not a sign of failure. It points to unmet needs or unrecognised strengths. But be careful to keep it I check otherwise it can overpower you!). Courage is found in action, not in status. Leadership through service.
Daily Challenge:
Promote one of your pawns by reaching your opponents side of the board (with a pawn).
Review Questions for Lesson Sixteen: (Suggestions)
Which pieces are allowed to do Pawn Promotion? What rank/row does that piece need to reach to activate Pawn Promotion?
How many Q’s could one team potentially have if all their pawns promoted?
Which pieces can a pawn NOT transform into?
Why did Gemma want to be a Q so badly? Have you ever wished you were someone else? Why?
What did Sho mean when he said “becoming yourself is a superpower? How so?
Why did Gemma hesitate before promoting?
What can pawns do that Q’s can not? Name two things that Gemma did that the Q’s couldn’t do.
When might being you, be exactly what your team needs, in life and in chess?
Introduce Game:
Ok everyone, choose a partner!
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, Billy Goat Bishops = B, Queen Giraffes = Q
Piece Values: (See lesson 3 & 10)
K = Infinity
P’s = 1 pt each
R’s = 5 pts each
N’s = 3 pts each
B’s = 3 pts each
Q’s = 9 pts each
Demo Board Setup and Explanations:
Board 1: Here we have two pawns in a race to promotion. Who do you think will reach their opponents side of the board first? Yes, Black will promote first! And how many squares, or steps does each pawn have to travel before reaching the end of the board? White has three steps to go and Black has two! What piece will the Black Pawn choose to become? A Knight, Bishop, Rook, or Queen? Which would you choose and why?
If Black chooses to become a Queen, what happens to the White King? Can you see it? And If the White Pawn were also to choose to become a Queen, what might happen to the Black Pawn?
Board 2: Now here we have another example. Who can promote first this time? And who might find themselves in danger by our newly promoted pawn? See if you can put each of the Kings in check or even checkmate!
See how helpful pawn promotion is? It can change the course of a game or even unlock the key to a win! Our mighty pawns are the only piece with the ability to transform themselves to help their team, so don’t overlook or underestimate them! They might just be the key to you winning your next match! So remember, include the pawns in your plans for chess domination! :)