Rules of the Game

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

In “Rules of the Game,” Waverly’s mother often instructs her children through proverbs, or short wise expressions. What is the meaning of the following Chinese proverb? “One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.”

Teaching Suggestion: Review metaphors with students: comparisons between two objects, suggesting a similarity. The words “like” or “as” do not appear.

• Provide students with interpretative sentence frames. The author compares _____ to _____ to show the similarity _____.

Short Activity

Utilize a copy of the rules and a physical or digital chessboard to familiarize yourself with the game of chess before playing the game for 10-15 minutes. Discuss the experience in a brief paragraph in your notes or a reading journal.

Teaching Suggestion: Place students into groups. If possible, place someone familiar with chess in each group. After the activity, lead students to discuss the appeal of chess, a game that has existed since its origins in ancient India.

• “How to Play Chess” from The New York Times gives a brief how-to overview of the game of chess.