Step 2: Capture & Count · about 25 min
Reading and Writing Moves
Goal: Kids can name any square and read simple moves like Nf3 and Bxc6. (Early readers can stick to square names.)
You need: One board per pair · Blank scoresheets (print a lesson worksheet's back, or any lined paper)
📖 Early readers: Square names and move notation need letters. Play Captain Coordinates out loud with a demo board (kids point, you say the name), skip the written moves, and tick the pass by hand in Wrap-up when they can find squares you call out.
1 · Teach it (15 min)
Read these out loud, or put them in your own words. Show each board on screen or set it up on a demo board.
1.“Every square has a name: its column letter, a to h, and its row number, 1 to 8. White's queen starts on d1.”
2.“Each piece has a letter: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, and N for knight, because K is already taken. Pawns have no letter.”
3.“To write a move, put the piece letter, then the square it lands on. The knight going to f3 is written N f 3. A pawn going to e4 is just e4.”
4.“An x means capture. Bxc6 means 'the bishop captures on c6'. A plus sign means check.”
- Writing K for the knight.
- Reading the number first ('4e').
2 · Play it: Write-It-Down Game (10 min)
Set up: Pairs, a normal game, and a scoresheet each. Early readers: an empty board and a few pawns.
- Play slowly. After every move, both players write it down.
- After 10 moves, swap scoresheets and check each other's.
- Early readers: one kid calls a square name, the other puts a pawn on it. Swap after five.
3 · Practice and pass check
On iPads, kids open Student → Step 2 → Square Names. On paper, print the worksheet. A kid passes by getting 3 of 4 on the pass check. The pass code for this lesson is S2-L4-ZS.
Practice (5) with answers
1.Circle the square c5.
Answer: c5
2.Circle the square g2.
Answer: g2
3.Which letter stands for the knight?
- K
- ✓N
- Kn
4.White moves the knight from g1 to f3. How do we write that?
- Kf3
- ✓Nf3
- f3
5.What does the x mean in Bxc6?
- Check
- ✓Capture
- A mistake
Pass check (4) with answers
1.Circle the square f6.
Answer: f6
2.Circle the square b3.
Answer: b3
3.How do we write 'the rook captures on d8'?
- Rd8
- ✓Rxd8
- d8R
4.A pawn moves from e2 to e4. How do we write that?
- Pe4
- ✓e4
- e2
Topic order based on: Chess for Children, Part 2 (topic order). All wording is original.