This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Text messaging? No. Video games? No. Television? No. Chess? Yes! My favorite time of every year is the week I devote to teaching my students the game of chess and spending time playing with them, developing relationships, and challenging them to think strategically.
My students live in a community plagued with violence and gang activity.
On every street corner you can find alcohol, drugs, and gang bangers. Despite the desperate state of their community, however, they attend school everyday and are excited to learn. Just 3 years ago, their school was shut down and restaffed due to chronic underperformance and violence. Since then, the students have risen to the challenge of meeting and surpassing academic goals. While in many respects my students are average adolescents, they face many life circumstances that others could never imagine. Many of my students know how to play dice, poker, and other gambling games but not a high-quality strategy game that boosts their critical thinking skills like chess. It takes them a while to learn the basic moves of each piece, but once they get the rules down, they love to play and ask to do so every day. The chance to play chess motivates them to stay on task,finish early and play until other are done,too.
My Project
Learning to play chess exposes my students to a game that many of them have never played before. They learn new vocabulary and some history as we discuss each playing piece. They have an opportunity to practice sportsmanship and build relationships with each other as well as develop critical thinking skills. My students also learn the value of perseverance and thinking through possible consequences before making a decision. I am able to challenge them to predict the strategy of the other player and make smart moves as well. I help them develop into better players by never letting them win and pushing them to get up, dust themselves off, and learn from their mistakes. Chess provides an opportunity to learn a new game, build critical thinking skills, and learn life lessons like perseverance, sportsmanship, and determination.
Help me provide my students with high-quality chess sets to use during class.
In the past I have taught them with discount sets that contain plastic pieces that easily break. I want them to know the value I have for them and help them feel like real brainiacs by providing them with a top of the line real wooden chess set that will last my students for years to come!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Carpenter and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.