Lesson Plan 4: Queen, King & Knight

The Strongest, the Most Important, and the Strangest

Duration

45 Minutes

Week

Week 4 of 16

Prerequisites

Lessons 1-3

Learning Objectives

Students will move a queen along ranks, files and diagonals
Students will move a king one square in any direction
Students will execute the knight's L-shaped move
Students will explain that the knight is the only piece that jumps

Materials Needed

Chess sets (1 per 2 students)
Demonstration board
Counters for marking knight destinations
Blank 8x8 grids for the knight drill

Key Rules to Teach

Queen: any number of squares in any straight line — a rook and a bishop in one piece
King: exactly one square, in any direction
Knight: two squares one way and one square at a right angle, every time
Only the knight jumps: pieces in between do not stop it
The knight changes colour every move: from a light square it always lands on a dark one

Lesson Timeline

5 min

Review & Hook

Recap rook and bishop in one sentence each. Then: "Today you meet the strongest piece, the most important piece, and the one that does not move in a straight line at all."

8 min

The Queen

Place a queen in the middle of an empty board and count her squares (27)
Say it plainly: "The queen moves like a rook and a bishop together"
Warn about the cost: a queen is valuable, so losing her usually loses the game

7 min

The King

One square, any direction — slow, but the whole game is about him
Count the king's squares in the middle (8) and in a corner (3)
Say what is coming: "Next week we learn what happens when the king is attacked"
Do not teach check in detail yet; name it and move on

15 min

The Knight

Demonstrate the L: two squares, then one at a right angle
Have every student place a knight on d4 and put a counter on all eight destinations
Now place it on a1 and count again — only two. Corners are terrible for knights
Show a knight jumping out of the starting position over the pawns
Point out the colour change: "Light square, then dark square, every single move"

8 min

Knight Journey

Partners play the journey game below.

2 min

Wrap-Up

Ask: "Which piece is the strongest? Which is the most important? Why are those different questions?"

Knight Journey Rules

Place a knight on a1 and a counter on h8
Players take turns suggesting one legal knight move toward the target
Count the moves aloud as a class; the shortest route takes six
Play again with pawns scattered on the board — the knight ignores them completely
Finish with a race: two knights, two targets, fewest moves wins

Teacher Tip: Say the knight's move as "two and one" every time you demonstrate it, and have the class say it with you. Children who learn it as a shape in their head move knights illegally for weeks; children who count "two and one" rarely do.

Assessment

Observation: during Knight Journey, watch for L-moves of the wrong size
Quick check: place a knight on a corner and ask how many moves it has
Exit question: "If a knight is on a light square now, what colour is it on after its next move?"

Common Mistakes to Address

Moving the knight three squares in a straight line
Thinking pieces in the way block the knight
Treating the king as a strong attacker because it can move in all directions
Bringing the queen out immediately because she is powerful

Differentiation

Support: Cut an L-shaped card that fits over the board so the child can lay it down and see the knight's destination.
Challenge: Ask whether a knight can reach every square on the board from a corner, and roughly how many moves the longest trip takes.