TEACHERS’ LOUNGE CSS

Teachers’ Lounge

With teacher resources and certification opportunities, the Teachers’ Lounge is your one-stop shop for bridge education support.


Teacher Profile
If you have not created your Teacher Profile (or updated recently) make sure you do that so prospective students can find you.
Note: If you don’t yet have a recognized teaching certification, please complete the Teaching Experience Verification form so we can activate your Teacher Profile once submitted.

Education Programs

NEW COURSE MATERIALS! The ACBL Intro to Bridge Series

ACBL Intro to Bridge Series 1 and 2. If you opt to use this curriculum you can request the student materials below. If it is your first time using it, please also click here to request access to the teaching materials.

The ACBL School Bridge Program

The ACBL School Bridge Program is designed to help you bring the joy of bridge to youth. More than 4000 youngsters participate each year in schools throughout North America. The program is sponsored by the ACBL and includes teacher stipends and free textbooks.

Teacher Guidelines Teacher GuidelinesAvailable Materials Available MaterialsOrder School Bridge Supplies Order School Bridge SuppliesTeacher Stipend Request Form Teacher Stipend Request Form

ACBL Lifelong Learning Program

The ACBL’s Lifelong Learning Program is designed to introduce the game of bridge to adults age 50 or older through continuing education programs offered through colleges or universities. Sponsored by the ACBL, this program includes teacher stipends, textbooks and other materials for your classes.

Teacher Guidelines Teacher GuidelinesAvailable Materials Available MaterialsOrder Lifelong Learning Supplies Order Lifelong Learning SuppliesTeacher Stipend Request Form Teacher Stipend Request Form

Collegiate Initiative

Want to coach a college team? We’ll fund you!

Teachers'_lounge_CIThe ACBL Educational Foundation and the American Contract Bridge League are partnering to grow bridge on college campuses. We want to bring the joy and benefits of bridge to more schools and students. We’ll help with bridge supplies, coaching stipends and free ACBL first year Junior Memberships.

Work with a team of faculty, students and administrators interested in hosting a college bridge club or team. The coach may also be a local volunteer.

Questions or suggestions? Contact us at college@acbl.org.

Coaching Program

ACBL can provide a bridge kit with cards, bidding boxes, boards, instructor materials, etc., as the program starts.

Receive a stipend of $350 at the end of each semester (annual total = $700), after a brief progress report is approved.

Aim at recruiting 10 students in the first three months. All participants should be ACBL members (we’ll refund the membership fee for new members age 25 and under).

Identify student leaders to assist with club formation, recruitment and scheduling.

Sponsors

ACBL district and unit members, alumni, teachers and all other bridge enthusiasts can help by recruiting a coach or faculty advisor, or supporting the college team/club with:

  • Mentoring
  • Bridge workshops
  • Hosting games (bring pizza!)
  • Fundraising
Available Materials Available Materials
Order College Bridge Supplies Order College Bridge Supplies

teacher_materials
ACBL Teaching Materials
Intro to Bridge

NEW The ACBL Intro to Bridge Series

Using a discovery-based learning approach in line with best practices for in-person classes, the ACBL Intro to Bridge Series consists of two 10-class series designed to equip students with a simple, starting framework for bidding and play.

Series 1

Bridge Basics – Play and Bidding
Classes are 2 hours with 35-40 minutes of teacher-led instruction and 80-85 minutes of student-centered activities including 30 minutes of play.

Series 1 Class List Series 1 Class List

Series 2

Opening Leads, Beginning Conventions & Play
Classes are 2 hours with 35-40 minutes of teacher-led instruction and 80-85 minutes of student-centered activities culminating in a Pupil Game.

Series 2 Class List Series 2 Class List
Read More
Each series has a student manual including all concepts, charts, examples and activities. It can be downloaded and printed one class at a time or purchased as a complete Series 1 or Series 2 manual on Amazon. It is also a curriculum option for our learning programs (School Bridge, Lifelong Learning, Collegiate Initiative).

Each class has downloadable, digital files including a Teacher Outline, Student Manual, and Slides. Most of the classes also include topical hands which are included in the appendix of each Teacher Outline and provided as PBN files and table mats. In addition, there are shareable links to class videos for teacher prep, classroom use, and/or student review and makeup.

ACBL Best Practices Teachers and ABTA Master Teachers have earned the right to use the program automatically with their certification. Teachers who hold one of our other recognized accreditations (ACBL TAP, ACBL Online Teacher, Better Bridge, EasyBridge, LBIAD) may also request access.

Request Access

If you are a School Bridge, Lifelong Learning or Collegiate Initiative teacher please request access and/or order your materials here.

Experienced bridge teachers who do not yet have one of these accreditations may also request access by completing these steps:

  1. Complete the Teacher Experience Survey and Get Verified.
  2. Create a Teacher Profile in our Directory (learn how here).
  3. Click here to request access.
If you need assistance please contact education@acbl.org

The ACBL Bridge Series

Using a “hands-on” approach, the ACBL Bridge Series consists of a progression of five courses, each focusing on a different aspect of the game and bringing the students from absolute beginners through to the point where they can confidently play in any bridge game.

Read More
Each course is designed for eight two-hour lessons. Depending on circumstances, the teacher can choose to shorten or lengthen both the number of lessons and the time per session (although it is never recommended to go beyond two hours in a single session). Each lesson is designed to be approximately 50% discussion and 50% play. In the later series, the emphasis swings even more toward play.

For each series, there is a student text that covers all of the concepts discussed in the lesson and provides additional examples. It also covers all of the activities (exercises and sample hands) discussed during the class so that the students can review them later.

For the teacher, there is a Teacher’s Manual for each series showing in detail how to present all of the material and what points should be emphasised during each activity. There is also a set of E-Z Deal cards for each series, which make it easy for the teacher, or the students, to deal out each of the lesson hands.

Click the course links below to download corresponding PDF textbooks for free. You can also purchase any of these materials at Baron Barclay Bridge Supply.

The Play Courses

The Play Courses

Since the basic approach to the learning process is to provide students with an opportunity to play and practice whenever possible, a series of supervised play sessions were created. The Play Courses will also provide a break between lesson series. Teachers may consider scheduling three or four lesson series per year, starting at the classic times: in the fall, after the kids go back to school; in January, after the holiday season; in the spring, just in time for summer; during the summer holidays. In the interim, supervised play sessions keep the level of interest up.

Play Course Lessons Play Course Lessons

Teacher Certifications
Upon completion of any of the programs below, teachers will be recognized as certified by the ACBL* and receive these benefits:

*We also recognize ABTA Members including Master Teachers, and teachers accredited through the former ACBL TAP program.
ACBL Best Practices ACBL Best Practices ACBL Online Teacher Certification ACBL Online Teacher Certification Better Bridge Better Bridge Learn Bridge in a Day! Learn Bridge in a Day! EasyBridge! EasyBridge!

Resources

Convention Cards

CONVENTION CARDS

ACBL Convention Card: Download a PDF file and print a blank card. You may also save the file to your computer and edit this card for your personal use.
ACBL “Fat Free” Convention Card: Download a completed card with a basic system for you.
Basic 2 over 1 Convention Card: From Larry Cohen’s Conventional Wisdom Lite series featured in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin. Download the completed card. To view the Conventional Wisdom Lite series, click here.
Bridge Bulletin Standard Bridge Bulletin Standard
Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC): Download a PDF of the card as well as full instructions for using this popular convention card in single-page format or paginated format. A Spanish version of the instructions is available at Bridgear.com.

Articles, Lessons & Posters

Templates

Table Cards Table CardsTable Cards with Hands Table Cards with HandsBusiness Card Templates Business Card Templates
Boost Face-to-Face Bridge Initiative
Offering an in-person, beginning bridge course? We help expand your advertising. You contact the leads.
Boost is a joint initiative of ACBL and the ACBL Educational Foundation designed to support a return to face-to-face bridge by running social media ad campaigns for eligible teachers to generate leads and ‘boost’ their enrollment. There is no cost to participate but Boost participants must commit to contact all leads provided, complete tracking reports on outcomes, sign up students as ACBL Guest Members and coordinate with a local in-person club to offer level-appropriate play opportunities. Note: Teachers cannot take advantage of both Boost and CAP for the same course.
Boost Program Details

Boost Program Details

This program generates prospective student leads for already scheduled courses. Boost will not fill a class. It is designed to augment your current marketing approaches and “boost” your enrollment. The leads are generated through Facebook and Instagram ads based on location. There are two types of campaigns: Individual Teacher and Multi-Teacher/Location. Teachers are required to follow up with all leads and report the outcomes, as well as sign up students as ACBL Guest Members; and coordinate with their local, in-person club to offer newcomer play opportunities to connect students to their local bridge community.

Boost will not fill a class. It is designed to augment your current marketing approaches and “boost” your enrollment.

Considerations for Participation

  • Location – market viability, no more than 1 campaign per market in the same time frame, and fair representation of all districts.
  • Club Connection – partnered with a local club to offer MP-earning opportunities at the right level for beginning students.
  • Outcome Reporting – timely completion of tracking and outcome reports (previous Boost participants).
  • Individual Campaign – proven track record of recruiting members and guest members.
  • Mutli-Teacher Campaign – number of teachers participating and their teaching experience.

Criteria for Eligible Courses

  • Level is newcomer or beginner
  • 6+ classes with 9+ hours instruction; 2 courses can be linked to meet requirement (e.g., LBIAD + follow-on course) – cannot be supervised play
  • Course is not FREE (students must pay for the course)
  • Course is already on the calendar with a confirmed location, dates, and times; and being marketed outside of Boost.

Ad campaigns run for about 3 weeks, typically ending about 1 week before the course start date. So in order to process and setup campaigns, applications must be submitted a minimum of 6 weeks before the course start date to be considered.

Boost Teacher Application

Cooperative Advertising Program

CAP/Facebook Ads

You do the advertising. We’ll help pay!

The Cooperative Advertising Program (CAP) partially reimburses bridge teachers, club, units and districts for advertising expenses so long as they promote programs and lessons designed for bridge newcomers and/or to recruit ACBL members. CAP will refund 50% of eligible advertising costs with a maximum amount of $500. Qualifying advertisements must be date-specific and use approved ACBL logos. Note: Teachers cannot take advantage of both Boost and CAP for the same course.
Cooperative Advertising Program Details
Cooperative Advertising Program
ACBL reserves the right to refuse reimbursement for any reason for CAP submissions. Submissions by a person who has any ownership, management or conflict of interest in the media outlet in which they are advertising (e.g. personal websites, online and print publications) will not be approved for CAP reimbursement.
CAP Reimbursement Form
CAP Guidelines & Requirements
Eligible Media
Pre-Approval & Submission
CAP Request Checklist
Ad Templates Ad TemplatesLogos LogosClip Art Clip Art

Facebook Ads Webinar


Recruiter Incentives