"Can we play chess?"
"Can we play chess?" asked a learner.
Given any opportunity to bring in thinking skills, Mr. Butler of course said yes. This was to be challenging as in his younger years, Mr. Butler was on the chess team at school (not that long ago he hastened to add) so he may have been a little rusty. However, this was the first time the learner had ever played.
So the rules and moves were discussed, and then the game started. The method being applied was to have the learner think ahead rather than the here and now - an employable skill for the future.
Learning how to place chess pieces, where they could move became fluid for the learner, and recall and memory skills applied.
Needless to say, Mr. Butler won, but the learner was engaged throughout, and enjoyed the learning experience.