The learners will participate in a service-learning activity that features learning and playing of the game of Bridge in an effort to promote the common good through bridging cultural, ethnic, racial, age, and/or gender gaps.
 

Anticipatory Set:
Ask the students to tell you what a bridge is. Encourage the learners to expand their definitions by describing the function of a structural bridge. Lead the learners to talk about how bridges offer connections, bring things together that might not otherwise connect, shorten traveling distance between two locations, and make things easier to reach. (Talk about how a local bridge serves the community.) Ask the learners if they are familiar with the term “bridging the gap,” and, if so, what it means. "Bridging the gap" may be defined as connecting with others who have a different perspective.

• Pick up a deck of playing cards and shuffle them as you ask the students if they know any other definitions of the word bridge. If nobody comes up with it, tell them there is a card game called Bridge, and they are going to learn to play. Tell them that students all over the world are learning to play Bridge and doing service projects related to Bridge. 
• Tell the students that the game of Bridge is one they can play for the rest of their lives because, although it has pretty simple objectives, you can continue to improve and learn more about it for years.
• Remind the learners that in the previous lesson they talked about how different games featured different rules. Ask them to tell you what they already know about the traditional deck of playing cards (four suits, two red, two black, 52 cards representing aces through tens, along with Jacks, Queens and Kings) and what games that they know that can be played with this deck of cards. They may name some games that involve trick-taking, such as Whist or Eucher or War. Tell them that many of these games are related to the game of Bridge and share some of the same rules.
• Tell the students that the game of Bridge is unique in many ways:
  • It involves establishing contracts. (Recall the discussion from the previous day around games and social contracts, rules, common good, and the “game of life.”)
  • It is played with four players in teams of two that try to take tricks.
  • It involves bidding for trump.
  • It is an old game (earliest versions of "trick-taking" games come from the 16th century) that has many derivatives (simpler games that grew out of it).
  • It is easy to learn but complicated to become expert in (players grow more advanced and skilled the longer they play).
  • Playing Bridge has been shown to make you smarter while it teaches critical thinking and social skills (concentration, memory, problem solving, collaboration, math skills, trust, fair play, and perseverance).
  • Warren Buffet and Bill Gates play Bridge and promote it as a game to teach students.
  • Many people play this game today, and some play on the Internet with people all around the world.
  • The class will use the game of Bridge to bridge the gap between themselves and people of different backgrounds (generational, gender, ability, or ethnicity).
• Remind the students that in the previous lesson, in the worksheet Suggestions from Somewhere Else Middle School (Lesson One, Attachment One), they read about "playing a card game with my grandma" as a way to build common good in the community. Ask the students, “Based on what we just learned about the game of Bridge, why might we select a grandmother as the playing partner and Bridge as the game to play when designing a service project?" 
• Discuss how playing the game of Bridge might help "bridge" distances/differences between groups of people (generational, geographical, cultural, ethnic, religious, gender, etc.). Brainstorm ideas for projects involving the game of Bridge that promote the common good. See Attachment One: Putting Play to Work for the Common Good. At this time, gather initial project ideas and encourage the learners to reflect on this over the next several days; this is not a time to decide the project.

Teacher Note: The discussion and planning for a service project using the game of Bridge should be an ongoing part of each Bridge lesson from this point on.

Have the learners share with their families that they will be learning how to play Bridge and then using this game as a way to promote the common good. Ask the students to discuss the ideas for service projects on Putting Play to Work for the Common Good (Attachment One) with their families. Students may generate more ideas at home and then share the suggestions with the class during the next Bridge lesson.
 

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