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Comparison between Ho Math Chess worksheets and

traditional worksheets

Frank Ho

Founder of Ho Math Chess Learning Centre

Vancouver, Canada

December 26, 2011

www.mathandchess.com

What’s wrong with the traditional drill computation? From my tutoring point

of view, there is nothing wrong to give them to children for practice on

fluency and grasp of basics. However, there is something wrong form

children’s point of view that is they are boring, dull and not fun. Why

children feel that way? Well, time has changed but the format of traditional

computation worksheets has not caught up with the pace of the society. The

future belongs to a generation who understands how to process information

and the information might include digits, bytes, numbers, graphics, images,

languages, symbols, equations etc. Children today might chat with others on

the internet, while downloading or uploading files and viewing movie clips

at the same time. Multi-tasking and the multi-way of processing information

seem to have come as a second nature to children, but is our computation

format reflecting the way that children are living today? Certainly not, this is

one reason why children feel so bored and lost interest to continue to work

on the same ”old” style of computation worksheets with pencil and paper.

These simple monotonic basics computation worksheets are no longer

reflecting the real world the young generation is facing today or will be

living in the future. The computing world children are facing today is much

like a rich tapestry, where a diversified fabrics and colours are integrated.

Children today are absorbing not just numbers but an array of information

like image, sound, music, symbols, spatial information, or even abstract

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ideas all bundled together and delivered through many types of media.

Children today are not happy just working on pure number drill without any

other stimulus or motivator. Realizing the importance of having fun while

learning, Ho Math Chess has been embarked on a important teaching

philosophy that is to integrate chess and puzzles into math worksheets so

that children can learn math while having fun.

Ho Math Chess has created a series of special printable workbooks to have a

synergetic effect by integrating or converging arithmetic basics computing,

chess, mazes, and information processing all in one worksheet in an

information technology environment. This is accomplished through Ho Math

Chess own trademarked proprietary technologies such as Geometry Chess

Symbol, Frankho Puzzle, Frankho Maze, a brand new chess training set.

With this new invention of math, chess, and puzzles integrated worksheets, a

child is acting as a data warehouse manager and sorts, matches, or classifies

data through simulated cell phone screen using an incredible variety of

learning concepts namely chess, symbols, spatial relation, logic, comparison,

tables, patterns, mazes, computing etc. by networking all kinds of

information together, the learning process is much like to search information

using internet. Only when children have successfully followed through

instructions (SCL) and, as a result, created a question themselves, can a

solution be found at last.

In Ho Math Chess worksheets, the questions are not written out for children

but must be mined through data warehouse, and answers must be computed

by following a series of spatial relations and then analyzed using logic

pattern to reach a conclusion. The data warehouse is shaped much like a

chess board and the chess board is simulating a cell phone screen (See figure

below). Only after children observed how data is moving through a

miniature chess board, using Ho Math Chess invented Geometry Chess

Symbols, can both of the problems and answers be found.

Ho Math Chess workbook is a multi-function workbook, it trains children

not only their basic computing ability but also train them to be an astute data

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warehouse manager or an excellent data miner by developing their problem

solving ability and critical thinking skills.

Ho Math Chess workbook provides education and also entertainment value

to get young children involved in the future world they will be facing.