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I am extremely pleased with the thinking ahead that I am seeing when my students play the pawn games. They are looking at what would happen if ………., and some are even looking several steps ahead already, I also like the manners that are taught and used in the game. I wondered if my students would ever be able to not talk during our first games, but I never have to say anything now and I can hear them THINKING!
Charlene Brocke, 3rd Grade Teacher, Kamiah Elementary, Kamiah, ID
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America's Foundation for Chess has created a professionally designed, standards-based curriculum titled First Move™, utilizing the game of chess as a learning tool for 2nd and 3rd grade students. Students are having fun learning, while the requirements set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act, and state standards are being met.
Our vision is to provide elementary school students with an opportunity to develop essential life skills such as the power to think ahead, make good choices, and think analytically. Also, as classrooms have become increasingly diverse, it was important that we design our First Move program with tools that bridge social, economic, and cultural boundaries, in order to narrow, and eventually close the achievement gap. |
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The program is titled First Move, and is comprised of three essential parts: The curriculum, training, and ongoing support. The program is taught in the classroom during the school day, once per week for an hour, and consists of 30 lessons over the course of the school year. The cost of the program is shared between the schools and AF4C. Central to the success of the program is preparing and training teachers to incorporate First Move into their classrooms. Our collaborative training program, personally assigned mentors, and ‘Teach the Teacher’ workshops’ help connect the program to core subjects and learning concepts already being taught.
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Comcast's Stella Thurkill Interviews 'The Chess Lady' Wendi Fischer
Wendi Fischer explains why the AF4C's First Move chess program has been so successful as a teaching tool in the classroom.
Watch the Interview >>
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