Students in Kent, WA ask, “Is it time for chess?”

My second graders love learning about chess through the First Move curriculum. When it is time for chess, I have a class full of students who are actively engaged and enthusiastic learners. This program does such a great job of introducing each piece slowly and clearly, and the games they use to teach how pieces move are great. The students love receiving their own chess sets. Every year I have students asking me when they will get their own chess set because they know from friends or siblings that they will be receiving one. Also, every year I have at least two students who tell me that they knew a strategy that someone else (an older sibling or parent) didn’t know about – en passant for example. The First Move chess curriculum gives the students a lifelong skill as they also build their skills of problem solving, good sportsmanship, concentration and strategizing. Every Friday, I know I will have students asking “Is it time for chess?” This has been a wonderful motivator in my classroom but best of all, I have enjoyed seeing how all my students are able to be successful at chess.

Thank you,

Susan Behrens

Teacher, Grass Lake School in Kent, WA