In this lesson the learners cooperate in a group to complete a group task of observing and naming attributes of a deck of cards.
 

The learner will:

• use group cooperation to complete a task.
• reflect on the value of rules for group cooperation.
• identify the attributes of cards in a typical playing-card deck.
• use vocabulary related to playing card games.
   

Anticipatory Set:
On the display board, draw the four shapes of the playing card suits: a spade (♠), a heart (♥), a diamond (♦), and a club (♣). Have the learners name the shapes and tell where they have seen them before. Confirm the fact that they are all found in a deck of playing cards. Ask them to tell you as much as they can about the attributes of a deck of playing cards (colors, number in deck, number of suits, number in each suit, face cards, values).

• Review the rules for the “game of life” started on the chart paper the previous day. Recall that these rules are good for creating fun and success for the whole team. Tell the students that you are going to give them some specific instructions for today’s activity. Tell them that after the activity, they are going to reflect on the activity by adding some more rules for life (that support the common good) that they learn or observe today.
• Arrange the learners into groups of four and place one deck of playing cards in the middle of each group. Review the table positions learned in the previous lesson and establish the rules for today’s activity by assigning the person in the south position as the deck handler, the person in the north position as recorder of the group answers on Attachment One: Meet the Deck, the person in the East position as discussion leader, and the person in the West position as reporter to the class. All players participate in the discussion. (Write these responsibilities on the board for clarity.)
• Tell the students that they will be expected to cooperate as a group, follow the group rules, and to complete a specific task today. Ask the students how this set of expectations is different from the ones in the previous lesson.
• Hold up a joker and instruct the person in south position to remove the two jokers from the deck and set them aside.
• Tell the deck holder to spread the cards out face-up in the center of the group. Ask the group to look through the cards and make additional observations about the cards. Introduce the word attribute as something that can be observed about a person or thing. When they have identified some of the attributes of the cards, tell the learners that will be conducting an even more thorough investigation of the cards’ attributes in the next activity.
• Distribute a copy of Attachment One: Meet the Deck to each group and instruct them to use their deck of playing cards to answer as many of the questions as possible. Remind them to follow the rules about the roles they have been assigned.
• After the groups have had an appropriate amount of time to complete the questionnaire, have the group reporters (west position) take turns sharing their answers with the class. Use Attachment Two: Meet the Deck (Answers) as a teacher reference. The recorders may change or complete their answers during this sharing time. Challenge each group to come up with one more question about the deck that was not on the form.
• Reflect on the difference between the Lesson One group experience and the Lesson Two group experience. Ask the learners to compare how they felt about the experience and what they accomplished.
• Ask the students if they have anything to add to the rules for the “game of life” on the chart paper. This would include behaviors that helped the team be successful and supported everyone in having a good time. Discuss whether each person benefits when something is good for the whole team.
• Reflect on the lesson by asking the learners to name some behaviors of students during this lesson that helped them learn about the cards today. They may recall that other people were quiet, they followed the rules, they were kind or funny, or they worked hard. Ask the students whether following the rules makes playing more fun for everyone. Encourage them to practice fair play, taking turns, and helping others at recess and at home and in the community before they meet again, and come back to tell the class about what they did.