Teaching Chess in the 21st Century: Strategies and Connections to a Standards-Based World »

A beginner chess book for teachers, chess club sponsors, or parents with young children. An elementary school teacher can use this book as a textbook to incorporate chess into their standards-based math program incorporating National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards. Also included are exemplars and rubrics and teacher tips about how to handle situations that frequently occur while students are playing chess. Tried and true tested analogies that children will relate to are incorporated so that young children can learn chess in an effective and fun way.

The lessons in Teaching Chess in the 21st Century are presented in a manor that children grasp quickly. The analogies found throughout the book are fun and relatable to the student's own life experiences, enhancing learning and the enjoyment of the game. Teaching Chess in the 21st Century is recommended for adults to use as a teaching guide for children from ages 4-11. Ten lesson plans (chapters) cover the basic rules and strategy of chess and reinforce concepts that are frequently overlooked by young chess students. Math concepts learned through chess are also highlighted throughout the chess instruction. A particular useful section for the teacher or chess club sponsor is the Teacher Tips for Chess Play Time section where the teacher will learn the proper way to handle disputes and situations that frequently occur when the children play against each other.

National Chess Master Todd Bardwick runs the Chess Academy of Denver and the Rocky Mountain Chess Camps and is one of the nation's leading and most experienced full-time chess instructors. Mr. Bardwick is also the chess columnist for the Rocky Mountain News and a columnist for Chess Life magazine.

Teachers and education experts contributed to the book which is designed to be used in the classroom for a beginner chess text. Teachers can readily reference the rubrics, benchmarks, and standards. This helps the teacher plan their lessons by organizing the essential component parts of the lesson because they know what their final objective is.