Lesson Plan 15: Full Game Practice
Everything, At Once, With a Scoresheet
Prerequisites
Lessons 1-14
Learning Objectives
- Students will play a complete game from start to finish
- Students will record moves in algebraic notation
- Students will shake hands and resign or accept a result properly
- Students will review one game and name one moment it turned
Materials Needed
- Chess sets (1 per 2 students)
- Scoresheets, one per student
- Clocks if available (optional)
- Demonstration board for the review
What to Teach This Week
- Notation: files a-h, ranks 1-8, piece letters K Q R B N, and the pawn gets no letter
- Special symbols: x for a capture, + for check, # for mate, O-O and O-O-O for castling
- Touch move: in a serious game, the piece you touch is the piece you move
- Clocks: press with the same hand that moved
- Sportsmanship: shake hands before and after, and say nothing during someone else's game
Lesson Timeline
8 min
Notation Crash Course
- Name a few squares as a class, then write three moves together
- Play five moves on the demo board while the class writes them
- Check as a group and fix the two that always go wrong: captures and castling
5 min
Clock and Conduct
- Demonstrate pressing the clock with the moving hand
- Agree the class rules: handshake, silence, no advice from spectators
25 min
Full Games
- Pairs play a complete game, recording moves
- Circulate but do not coach during play — note moments for the review
- Pairs that finish early swap opponents and play again
5 min
Review One Game
- Put one finished game on the demo board, with permission
- Ask the players, not the class, what they were thinking at the turning point
- Name one thing each side did well before naming anything that went wrong
2 min
Wrap-Up
Each child writes one sentence at the bottom of their scoresheet: the moment the game changed.
Game Day Procedure
- Shake hands and agree who is White
- Set the board with a light square at each player's right
- Record every move as it is played, both sides, on one sheet
- At the end, write the result: 1-0, 0-1 or 1/2-1/2
- Swap scoresheets with your opponent and check each other's notation
Teacher Tip: Ask the players to narrate the turning point themselves rather than announcing it. A child who says "I took the bishop and then lost my rook" has just analysed their own game, which is the skill this week is really teaching.
Assessment
- Scoresheets: collected and checked for legible, correct notation
- Observation: handshakes, clock use, silence during games
- Exit sentence: each child's written turning point
Common Mistakes to Address
- Recording only your own moves
- Writing the destination square without the piece letter
- Pressing the clock with the other hand
- Talking during a neighbour's game
Differentiation
- Support: Pre-fill the move numbers on the scoresheet so the child only writes the moves, and allow shorthand for castling.
- Challenge: Ask the student to annotate two moves of their own game with a sentence each, then find one move they would change.