Elodie Bonnefoy-Cudraz, a primary school teacher, has introduced the game of Petit Bridge in her CP-CE1 class since September 2023. Fond of games of all kinds, she has always enjoyed introducing formative challenges for her students. After a few weeks of practice, well-seasoned, they can now challenge other classes through the Petit Bridge Challenge.
« Petit Bridge is a variant of the game of bridge developed by the French Bridge Federation for students in cycle 2, so for students aged 6 and above. » Elodie introduces.
Project Genesis
Elodie Bonnefoy-Cudraz has always been a player at heart, and in her role as a schoolteacher, she has always wanted to share her passion with her students and engage them in learning through games.
We had already met her in her class for a collaborative chess game, « Quotichess »! See our report « When ‘castling’ mixes with common core skills, with Quotichess in Elodie’s class.«
Approached by Johanna Basti from the French Bridge Federation, who particularly aims to « rejuvenate » its image and is currently very dynamic towards young people and schools, Elodie did not hesitate for a second to implement this new game in her class.
« The idea was also to think about a project that could connect classes around Petit Bridge. » explains Elodie.
Thus, the Petit Bridge Challenge was born in partnership with the SCOllectif association and the French Bridge Federation.
Principle of Petit Bridge in class
Petit Bridge, like Bridge, is a game of giant battles played by 4 players, in 2 teams of 2. The goal is to make as many tricks as possible. To simplify and adapt to young children, the colors are more strongly differentiated (blue, green, yellow, and red) than in bridge (Spade, Heart, Diamond, and Club), and in each color, there are 10 cards instead of 13.
The rules of the game are very simple; the first player announces a color, for example, red. « If you don’t have red, you discard another card that is worthless because, in fact, to win the trick, you need to have the strongest card, » details Elodie.
With this game, you can work on skills in calculation, memorization, anticipation, for work with complements to 10, decomposition of numbers, for example.
In her CP-CE1 class, Elodie starts with learning the game itself. For this, she uses the pedagogical manual created by the French Bridge Federation for teachers, « which includes various guided sessions ready-made to learn Petit Bridge in class. »
« I find it interesting to alternate between learning as proposed in the manual and stopped situations where we take the time to think and structure our thoughts. » she adds.
In general, Elodie offers 45-minute sessions to her students. After about 4 months of playing, she notes real progress in her students’ gameplay.
Then comes the second step: participating in the Petit Bridge Challenge.
The Petit Bridge Challenge: a new challenge for classes
Before diving into the Petit Bridge Challenge, it is necessary to first introduce the game of Petit Bridge in the classroom. However, the challenge brings a real enhancement to the activity and allows for further development of the skills being worked on. It involves connecting classes that challenge each other on specific game situations.
« The students decide on a game situation, test it in class, and then propose it to the partner class. » explains Elodie.
The idea is also to correspond between classes because « when I write to the class on the Mastodon social network, which we use for the Petit Bridge Challenge, I produce a sentence, I provide a reasoned response, and I structure it with supporting photos, for example. » describes Elodie.
With the Petit Bridge Challenge, it’s not just about working on math; it’s about justifying, arguing, and structuring one’s response.
Today, Elodie publishes one challenge per week, which remains an open challenge, « in order to promote Petit Bridge and the approach, » she emphasizes.
The French Petit Bridge Federation, the creator of Petit Bridge, is delighted to have had the support of Michel Gouy, a retired Mathematics Inspector for the Lille Academy. He notably organized training sessions for teachers in cycle 2 and cycle 3 to promote Petit Bridge and mathematics, as part of partnerships between the French Bridge Federation and academic institutions.
« It’s Michel Gouy who specifically created the entire bank of challenges that Elodie uses for the Petit Bridge Challenge. » she specifies.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the French Bridge Federation provides free materials, both in paper and digital formats, to help you embark on this adventure. « This allows for a lower investment at the school level, considering that the deck of cards costs 6€ » Elodie adds.
Attention all enthusiasts: don’t hesitate to contact Elodie via SCOllectif to integrate this game and foster sharing among colleagues and especially among students in your classroom routine!
More information:
- Link to the program’s page: scollectif.fr/petit_bridge
- Link to the Mastodon account: mastodon.scollectif.fr/@petitbridgechallenge
- Link to the Petit Bridge page of the FFBridge and access to resources: www.ffbridge.fr/p/petit-bridge
