Games are fun, but they also provide opportunities to improve social skills and promote teamwork and fair play among learners (i.e., social studies and character education skills). Research has shown that playing games enhances memory, concentration, logical reasoning, and analytical skills (i.e., math and science skills). The giving and sharing skills we learn in games are also appropriate in life for promoting the common good. This lesson teaches learners that games and life are more fun and productive when we all know and follow the rules of fair play.

The learner will:

• identify the need for rules in a game and in life.
• state the consequences for not following the rules of a game.
• determine geographic location by North, South, East, and West.
• start a list of rules for life that we learn from games.
   

Anticipatory Set:

Read aloud the essay with the same title as the book by Robert Fulghum: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (see Bibliographical References). Talk to the students about what they like in this list (what is funny, true, important). Tell the learners that they are going to create a similar list, but theirs will be about what they learn about life from playing a game. Tell them for the next several days to pay attention for things they can learn about the "game of life" as they learn the game of Mini Bridge.

• Have the learners sit in groups of four at tables or desks pushed together. Point out to the students the words North, South, East and West posted on the classroom walls. Tell them that these words represent the geographic directions found on a map. Tell the students to align themselves in their groups so everyone has his or her back facing one of the four directions. Hand out the NSEW Guide Cards and tell the students from this point forward, they will be referred to as the person sitting in the north, south, east or west position. (These cards will be used in all of the card games presented in these lessons.) Test their understanding by saying, "Raise your hand if you are in the north position." or "Point at the person in your group who is in the south position."
• Give a deck of cards to the person sitting in the north seat of each group, but don't tell the students this. Ask, "Can you see the attribute of the person in each group that I handed the deck to?" They may guess other attributes, but eventually figure out that you gave it to the person in the north seat. Tell them that in some games, the directions north, south, east, and west determine partners and who starts.
• Tell the dealer to take the cards out of the box, remove the jokers, and shuffle the cards. The other members of the group may help or give advice. Tell the groups that when they are ready, they may begin the game. Ignore their questions and confusion for a minute as they realize they don't know what to do. Then act surprised and say that you forgot to mention that they should come up with their own way to play the game. Ignore the confusion again for a few minutes (as long as your comfort with confusion allows). Observe how students handle this. Some will use conflict resolution skills and come to agreement on a game. Others will argue and get angry.
• Tell the groups to put their cards in a pile. Ask the students to share their feelings and reactions to what happened. Write on the display board some of their observations, frustrations, and helpful tips. Encourage them to propose ways things could have been better.
• Write the word rules on the board. Ask the students to define the word rules and explain why rules are important in games and in life (in the home, school, community, and world).
• Remind the students of the essay you read to them. Ask them if anything they have come up with in this brainstorm could go on a list of rules that help them play the "game of life" in a way that helps them and others be successful (follow the rules, listen to others, use kind words, find out the expectations before you start, take leadership, cooperate, etc.). Start a list of student ideas on chart paper to be filled in as the unit progresses.
• Ask the students if they know any games to play with playing cards. Listen for games that may be similar to Bridge, in that they include winning hands with high cards. Tell them they are going to play a very simple game that includes high cards. Review the order of cards from 2 (lowest) to 10, then jack, queen, king, and ace (highest value).
• Teach the following game rules and allow the groups to play until the end of the class period.
• Rules for High Card:

1. Place all cards, except the two jokers, into the card pile.
2. The player sitting in the north position shuffles the cards by placing them face-down and mixing them up.
3. Round One: The dealer deals one card face-down to each player, including the dealer, in a clockwise direction. Each player turns over his or her card in order. The player with the card of greatest value wins the round and collects all the cards from the other group members. (If there is a tie for the top card, each of the players involved in the tie gets a second card. The player with a higher value card wins all of the cards for this round.) The winner sets the cards face-down next to himself/herself.
4. Round Two: The dealer passes the deck to the player to his/her left (east position). This is the dealer for this round. The new dealer passes one card to each player as in Round One. Repeat the procedure in Round One and pass the deck again. Repeat untill the cards in the deck are gone.
5. When there are not enough cards for the dealer to give each player a new card, the game is over, and each player counts the total number of cards he/she has been able to collect. The player with the most cards is declared the winner of that game.
6. After a complete game, the next dealer shuffles the deck to begin a new game of several rounds. Groups may keep track of the number of complete games each player wins. The score pad may be labeled with the players' north, south, east, and west directions rather than names.
    

Send home the family letter found in the Overview of this unit. This letter communicates to families the value of learning Mini Bridge and Bridge and encourages families to practice the games learned in school.