US20160339332A1

US20160339332A1 - Educational card game system and method of use

Info

Publication number: US20160339332A1
Application number: US14/720,394
Authority: US
Inventors: DIANA Diem-Phuong Nguyen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-05-22
Filing date: 2015-05-22
Publication date: 2016-11-24

Abstract

An educational card game, designed primarily for children. A designated deck of cards are broken into several sets, with the respective sets designated on the backs of the cards. The front of the cards has at least one colored symbol. The cards, and therefore symbols on the cards, can be designated as number, letter shape, image or other symbol, depending on what the child is to team from that particular deck of cards. The cards are meant to be played as one of a number of games, so that players can learn while having fun. In one embodiment, a player with a deck of cards attempts to match either the color or symbol of a card atop a “play” pile.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of educational games; and more specifically, to educational card games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The task of properly preparing children to begin their educational journey can, in this increasingly skills-based and technological world, be a daunting one for parents. Adults often find it difficult to prepare young children for kindergarten or assist them in teaming to read. Some card games have been created to attempt to educate children but so far, the existing card games are unsatisfactory. Small children cannot easily both hold typical game cards and manage multiple cards at once, and can sometimes be confused by games that require each player to conceal cards from the other players.
In fact, games that are set up so as to require that the players conceal cards from each other can be counter-productive because adults playing the game cannot, help small children learn. Such games are designed to be played with emphasis on a competitive dynamic, rather than cooperation, to be workable. However, it is well-known that children typically learn best with adult assistance. Children can be frustrated when they feel they are not getting help they need, leading to negative feelings toward both learning and typical educational card games. In addition, small children, of around pre-school age, can have difficulty holding onto the cards and keeping track of what is on them. These are not part of learning, but a distraction from it.
Further, children need to learn multiple things as they enter their education. These include, for example, colors, shapes, numbers, letters of the alphabet and the differences in sounds between the letters. What card games that do exist generally focus on trying to teach a child a single item, such as colors or numbers. This results in games that only try to convey a single item, and can quickly make the games boring and repetitive.
Card games to teach children reading are particularly limited. Educational games used to teach children reading skills may teach blended sounds of vowels and consonants but rarely use the vowels sounds to complete the connection, showing the children similarities and differences between vowels and consonants—for example, “amp”, “ump,” “ant,” and “ent.”
Therefore, there is a need for an improved card game that helps achieve these goals in educating children.

SUMMARY

An interactive educational card game is comprised generally of a set of cards with a unique mix of symbols and colors.
A typical card has a front side and a back side which both serve a function in play. The front of the card has a colored symbol and may have a secondary symbol used to help reinforce the first symbol. The hack of the card is labeled as part of a set within the cards.
The amount of cards in each deck can be any number suitable for the particular educational task of that set. In one embodiment, for example a card deck of letters has 26 cards because that is the number of letters in the alphabet (or 52 if small and capitalized versions of letters are both used and displayed on separate cards). However, other sets will have different numbers of cards, in this letters embodiment, the letters of the cards-are broken down into several sets, herein denoted by colors, in this embodiment, the 26 letters of the alphabet are broken into five approximately equal sets: red, blue, green, orange and purple.
in an embodiment, the back of each card is clearly labeled, by color set designation which the card is part of. The front of the card has a symbol to be learned that is one of a number of possible colors. As will be seen in further embodiments, the symbol can be any suitable item for children to learn, such as a number, letter, word, shape, or an everyday item, depending on the theme of that particular deck of cards. The present invention can be designed to have a series of subjects used around the time of pre-school or kindergarten to transition children into reading.
The breaking down of complex subject matter into manageable color-coded sets makes it easier for children to learn and parents to teach. As shown by the labeling of the backs of cards, the games played with the cards herein do not depend, or have in part, hiding the cards from other players or strategies based on deception. Because a deck of cards is divided into smaller named sets by color coded backside, this makes it easy for game teachers such as parents or teachers to organize and use them. Unlike other educational card games wherein children must learn the entire deck at the same time, dividing the subject cards up into smaller, logical parts helps children learn more quickly because they only have to focus on a more limited number of images—five to ten images in a number of embodiments—at the same time. They learn these more quickly through speech & repetition.
In one illustrative embodiment of an educational game that can be played, cards are drawn from a draw pile. Each player takes a pre-determined number of cards (typically 5-7) and lays the cards down face-up. In this figure, a player has selected five cards. Again, the players do not hide cards from each other or keep them to themselves. This is unlike most other card games, where one of the primary objectives for each player is to hide their cards from other players: an objective these games cannot function without.
Rather than the whole card deck, the child may only play with a specific smaller set of cards for more focused learning. By dividing the overall card set up, children can learn more quickly because a child only has to focus on the more limited number of cards of the specific smaller set.
With the cards laid out face-up and viewable to all players, this allows an approach for easy learning and assistance when needed. This is a more realistic option for teaching small children as they often cannot hold cards. A card teacher is usually present to help guide the child through the game, though may be less so as the child advances. The face-up\ and face-toward the learner orientation of the cards makes it easy for children to play and easy for parents and caregiver to assist. However, when a child or children gain some familiarity with the particular game, the child or children can guide themselves through the game.
A player lays a card from their set on a play pile 30. This card will have both a symbol and color. As the card is laid down, the child may be asked to sound out what is on the card to reinforce learning of the symbol. The next designated player will need to lay down a card that has either the color or symbol of the previously-played card, or if present, one of a few “wild” cards that can be added.
If a player has no suitable cards, the player draws a card from the draw pile. If the card can be played, it is. If it cannot be played, the player keeps it. The game ends when a player plays all their cards. However, the emphasis is on finishing this task—not winning or losing.
In another embodiment, a deck of cards designed to help children learn numbers is shown. As in the previous embodiment, the cards are broken into color-coded sets for convenient organization. When a card is played, a colored number is displayed and the player will look for a card with either the same number or color.
Ideally for learning, a player will be asked to repeat the sounds or letters utilized during every turn to assist learning.
As Children play the games, their knowledge and skills generally increase through three phases of learning. During the first phase, they typically need assistance selecting cards to play and discard. A card teacher often has to guide the children to knowing what the primary symbol or secondary symbol on a card are. In a second phase, the child or children can play independently with minimal or no guidance. In a third phase, the child or children not only know the cards, but Know when to strategically play a card in a way that causes another player to draw a card
Further, basic shapes such as circles, squares and triangles can be substituted for numbers or letters, to help a child learn such symbols. Other, more complex shapes such as other polygonal shapes can be added or substituted to help a child learn those, such as, e.g., a pentagon, hexagon, or octagon, or symbols such as for a musical note.
Also, a number of colors can be specifically taught as well. In an embodiment, a number of objects can be a number of designated colors, and the game played with these. This can be done with common objects such as a dog, cat, ball, etc. that can be colored and placed on the cards.
Other embodiments can also be used to help children phonicaliy with either long vowels, short vowels or both. The front of a typical card 13 a can have the vowel itself, a letter combination commonly used with the vowel, a word with the vowel, or both. These embodiments can help children progress through reading phases and teaches how words are built, strengthening spelling skills.
The cards can also be placed in sets, labeled and colored to help children learn blended phonic consonant sounds that appear at the beginning, end or other places in a word.
The present invention guides card teachers, such as parents, through the game by order and color, making the game educational, non-competitive and easy to use. The card sets can be used in combination to teach children, in a cumulative manner, a number of things they need to learn.
Further, multiple sets of cards can be used, in combination as a system, to teach children subjects in the order of preschool to elementary school subjects in a cumulative fashion, one building upon another. As an example, subjects can be played and taught in a planned sequence. A game series can begin with preschool subjects: such as numbers, shapes, Colors, the alphabet, and sounds. A player can transition into more things like a phonics series, building from short vowels phonics, beginning blended sounds, long vowel sounds, and ending blending sounds, along with their respective word families. Sights and high frequency words can be added from there, such as colors, shapes, numbers, alphabet uppercase, lowercase letters, alphabet sounds, phonics, days of week, months of years, time, phonics, sight words, etc. Any suitable subject that can be symbolized on cards can be taught by altering the cards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an top view of an aspect of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing an embodiment of the invention in use.

FIG. 3 is a top view of another aspect of another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. The following descriptions are made referring to the figures, wherein like reference number refer to like features throughout this description.
Turning to the figures, and to Tables 1-8 herein as necessary, the interactive educational card game 10 is comprised generally of a deck of cards with a unique mix of symbols and colors. Turning to FIGS. 1-3, several embodiments of the card game are provided. Turning specifically to FIG. 1, a typical card of one embodiment, denoted 12, of the invention is shown. The card has a front side 13 a and a back side 13 b which both serve a function in play. The front of the card has a colored primary symbol 14 and may have a secondary symbol 16 used to help reinforce the first symbol 14. The back of the card 13 a is labeled as part of a set within the deck of cards 10, in this embodiment.
Turning first to table 1, a deck of educational cards 10 is provided. The amount of cards in each deck can be any number suitable for the particular educational task of that deck. For example, this card deck 10 has 26 cards because that is the number of letters in the alphabet (or 52 if small and capitalized versions of letters are both used and displayed on separate cards). However, other decks will have different numbers of cards. The letters of the cards are broken down into several sets, herein denoted by colors. In this embodiment, the 26 letters of the alphabet are broken into five approximately equal subsets: red, blue, green, orange and purple.

TABLE 1

(Letters)

	Letter Set	Color

A-E	a-e	Red
F-J	f-j	Blue
K-P	k-p	Green
Q-U	q-u	Orange
V-Z	v-z	Purple

FIG. 1 depicts a sample card of this set. The back of the card 13 b is clearly labeled, by color set designation, which the card is part of. The front of the card has a symbol 14 to be learned that is one of a number of possible colors. The front of the card 13 a has a symbol 14 to be learned. As will be seen in further embodiments, the symbol 14 can be any suitable item for children to learn, such as a number, letter, word, shape, or an everyday item, depending on the theme of that particular set of cards 10. The present invention is designed to have a series of subjects used around the time of pre-school or kindergarten to transition children into reading.
In this embodiment, the symbol is a capital letter “A.” The letter “A” is part of the red set, as depicted on the back of the card 13 b, though the letter itself can be any color. A secondary symbol 16 is also present in the form of the word “ant” The word is provided as an example of something that begins with the letter “A” to reinforce the letter to a child. A picture of the ant is also shown. The secondary symbol 14 or picture of if need not be present. It is there as an aid to understanding the primary symbol 16.
Upper and lower case letters are two distinct sets of letters and for children, learning upper and lower case letters can be two distinct tasks, as shown in Table 1, a deck can be comprised of cards with both upper and lower case letters. For ease of learning, the upper and lower case letters can be separated into two smaller decks for play or even provided in two distinct decks. Once a child learns one, the child can then turn to the other, learning them in more graspable pieces. When the child has some familiarity with both, they can be combined or recombined into a single deck.
and further comprising the step of either playing the upper and lower case letter cards simultaneously, or dividing the deck into a lower case letter set and an upper case letter set and playing the sets one at a time.
As shown by the labeling of the backs of cards, the games played with the cards herein do not depend, or have in part, hiding the cards from other players or strategies based on deception. Because the deck of cards 10 are divided into small named groups by color coded backside, this makes it easy for game teachers such as parents or teachers to organize and use them. Unlike other educational card games wherein children must learn the entire deck at the same time, dividing the subject cards up into smaller, logical parts helps children learn more quickly because they only have to focus on a more limited number of images—five to ten images in a number of embodiments—at the same time. They learn these more quickly through speech & repetition.
The cards 10 can be comprised of any suitable material known in the art for cards, such as a laminated paper or pulp, or resin. Preferably the cards are comprised of waterproof material such as laminate or resin.
Turning to FIG. 2 and Table 2, cards are drawn from a draw pile 20. Each player takes a predetermined number of cards (typically 5-8 and lays the cards down face-up. In this figure, a player has selected five cards. Again, the players do not hide cards from each other or keep them to themselves. This is unlike most other card games, where one of the primary objectives for each player is to hide their cards from other players: an objective these games cannot function without.
Rather than the whole card deck 10, the child may only play with a specific smaller set of cards for more focused learning. By dividing the overall card deck 10 up, children can learn more quickly because a child only has to focus on the more limited number of cards of the specific smaller set. For example, returning to Table 1, the game can be quickly arranged so that a child is only playing, for example, with red set. The 5-10 cards of this more limited set would focus the child specifically on learning letters A-E.
With the cards laid out face-up and viewable to all players, this allows an approach for easy learning and assistance when needed. This is a more realistic option for teaching small children as they often cannot hold cards. A child can play alone, in a two-person game with a card teacher, or with other children. The game overall is typically used as an educational tool for two players but can be expanded to use as a recreational game for two or more players. A card teacher is usually present to help guide the child through the game, though may be less so as the child advances. The face-up and face-toward the learner orientation of the cards 10 makes it easy for children to play and easy for parents and caregiver to assist, unlike games in which cards are to be hidden from opponent. In this game, that problem is eliminated, and adults may provide immediate help to reduce frustration in children. However, when a child or children gain some familiarity with the particular game, the child or children can guide themselves through the game.
A player lays a card from their set on a play pile 30. Because children playing the game only have to draw or discard one card at time, this makes the games herein mostly hands free for them. This reduces the difficulty smaller children can have handling cards, decreasing frustration with the game(s). This card 12 will have both a symbol and color. Returning briefly to FIG. 1, if this card were laid down, the color may be blue, and the symbol would be “A.” It is helpful if the teacher, as the card is laid down, asks the child to sound out what is on the card to reinforce learning of the symbol 16, “A.” The next designated player (that same child if the game is being played solo, or another child or the card teacher if it is being played multi-player) will need to lay down a card that has either that color (blue in this example), that symbol (“A”) or if chosen, one of a few “wild” cards that can be added to increase the variety of the game. For example, the child, if the child had such a card, could lay down a blue ‘C”(same color) or a green “A” (same letter), if a player has no suitable cards, the player draws a card from the draw pile 20. Unlike typical such games, in a more competitive mode, in which the player would have to draw cards until one is found that can be played, the player simply draws the one card. If the card can be played, it is. If it cannot be played, the player keeps it. In either event, if there is more than one player, the turn changes and another player now draws. The game ends when a player plays all their cards. However, the emphasis is on finishing this task—not winning or losing. Typically, no score is kept for this reason.
Turning back to Table 2 and returning to FIG. 2, a deck of cards 10 designed to help children learn numbers is shown. The cards 10 are broken into color-coded sets for convenient organization. A “12” card is shown in the play pile 30, and the back of the card would indicate this card is part of “Set Green.” If the color on the card is blue, then the player can play the “12” card 12 b, or if the number on any other card is blue, play that one. This continues until all the cards are played. Ideally for learning, the child will be asked to repeat the sounds or letters utilized during every turn to assist learning.
As Children play the games, their knowledge and skills generally increase through three phases of learning. During the first phase, they typically needs assistance selecting cards to play and discard. A card teacher often has to guide the children to knowing what the primary symbol 14 or secondary symbol 16 on a card are. In a second phase, the child or children can play independently with minimal or no guidance. In a third phase, the child or children not only know the cards, but know when to strategically play a card in a way that causes another player to draw a card

TABLE 2

(Numbers)

	Number Set	Color

	1-5	Red
	6-10	Blue
	11-15	Green
	16-20	Orange
	10, 20, 30, 40, 50,	Purple
	60, 70, 80, 90, 10

	* Note:
	Purple set allows children to earn to count to 100 by multiples of 10

Turning to Table 3, basic shapes such as circles, squares and triangles can be substituted for numbers, to help a child learn such symbols. Other, more complex shapes such as other polygonal shapes can be added or substituted to help a child learn those, such as, e.g., a pentagon, hexagon, or octagon, or symbols such as for a musical note.

TABLE 3

(Shapes)

	Shape Set	Color

	▴  ▪	Red
	♡ ♦	Green
		Blue
		Orange

Turning to FIG. 4, while the game helps children learn the colors involved in general play, a number of colors can be taught in an embodiment as well. A number of objects can be a number of designated colors, and the game played with these. This can be done with objects shown herein in other embodiments, such as numbers or letters. However, common objects children need to learn to recognize can be substituted as well. For example, objects such as a dog, cat, ball, etc. can be colored and placed on the cards. For example, a pink dog (part of Set Blue) card can be played, then matched by either another dog card, or with another pink object.

TABLE 4

(Colors)

	Color Set	Color

	Red, Blue, Yellow	Red
	Pink, Green, Black, White	Blue
	Gray, Purple, Orange, Brown	Green

	NOTE:
	Colors can be in the shape of objects such as Bear, Cat, Car, Ball, Dog, etc.

Turning to Tables 5-6 a deck of cards 10 in other embodiments can also be used to help children phonically with either bog vowels, short vowels or both. The front of a typical card 13 a can have the vowel itself, a letter combination commonly used with the vowel, a word with the vowel, or both. These can be on separate cards, or combined into a single card, as the “A” and “ant” were in the card of FIG. 1.
Turning to FIG. 3, a sample pair of cards 12′, 12 a′ are shown. The backs 13 b′, 13 b″ indicate they are part of the same set. The front of the cards 13 a′, 13 a″ show the long vowel of “O” in a phonetic combination “ope” and in the complete word “cope.” A game using the cards of the long vowel deck, short vowel deck or combination can then be played as already indicated herein.
This is in keeping with good phonics practice, which tends to begin by introduction of base sounds, such as “ed,” “eg,” “et,” and “an,” as building blocks from which to learn words that go with those base (e.g., fed, Meg, net, hen)/ This helps children progress through reading phases and teaches how words are built, strengthening spelling skills.

TABLE 5

(Phonic Short Vowels)

Vowel Set	Color

a	(ad ag am an ap at)	Red
e	(ed eg el er et)	Blue
i	(ib ig it ip ix)	Green
o	(ob og om on op ot	Orange
u	(ub ug up un ut)	Purple

TABLE 6

(Phonic Long Vowels)

Long Vowel Set	Color

a-e	(ay ai ane ape ame ate	Red
	ete eve ee)
a-o	(ade aze ake ase ace	Blue
	ope ote ova one ome)
i-u	(ike ite ice ide ime	Green
	ube ule use ude)
o-e	(oke ode ole ow oa	Orange
	each eat ea eat)

Turning to Tables 7-8, the cards can also be placed in sets, labeled and colored to help children learn blended phonic consonant sounds that appear at the beginning, end or other places in a word, it is particularly helpful, in these phonic embodiments, if a card teacher is present and can ask the child playing to sound out the symbols on the cards as they are played. A deck of cards 10 used to teach children reading skills teaches blended consonant sounds by adding vowel sounds to complete the connection. Turning to FIG. 8, some examples of vowel-added sounds are illustrated in parentheses. For example, “amp”, “ump,” “ant,” and “ent” are included in the embodiment of FIG. 8.

TABLE 7

(Phonic Blended Sounds)

	Blended Set	Color

	ch th sh wh sm sn	Red
	sp si sc sk sw st	Blue
	bl cl fl gl pl gl rl	Green
	fr br cr pr dr tr qw	Orange

TABLE 8

(Phonic Ended Blended Sounds)

Blended Sounds Set	Color

mp	(amp ump imp)	Red
nd	(and ond end)
nt	(ant int unt ent)
nk	(ank ink unk)	Blue
st	(ist ast ust est)
sp	(asp isp)
sk	(ask isk usk esk)	Green
ft	(aft if tuft eft)
ch	(ich uch atch itch utch etch)	Orange
sh	(ash ish ush)
th	(ath oth eth ith)	Purple
ng	(ang ing ong ung)
lk	(ilk ulk)	Yellow
ar	(art arp ard)

The present invention is different from any known educational card game because it guides card teachers, such as parents, through the game by order and color, making the game educational, non-competitive and easy to use. The card decks 10 can be used in combination to teach children, in a cumulative manner, a number of things they need to learn. Before children can work on worksheets and play card or board games, they need to have knowledge of colors, shapes, numbers, alphabet and sounds to fully absorb what they are learning. The present invention can teach the basics to allow children as young as two years old to play more advanced games. Once they learn colors, they progress to learn shapes, numbers, letters, and then sounds and combining sounds to form complete words. The repetitive, yet changeable nature of the game will help instill the material that the child/player is learning.
Further, multiple decks of cards 10 can be used, in combination as a system, to teach children subjects in the order of preschool to elementary school subjects in a cumulative fashion, one building upon another. As an example, subjects can be played and taught in a planned sequence. A game series can begin with preschool subjects: such as numbers, shapes, Colors, the alphabet, and sounds. The player can transition into more things like a phonics series, building from short vowels phonics, beginning blended sounds, long vowel sounds, and ending blending sounds, along with their respective word families. Sights and high frequency words can be added from there, such as colors, shapes, numbers, alphabet uppercase, lowercase letters, alphabet sounds, phonics, days of week, months of years, time, phonics, sight words, etc. Any suitable subject that can be symbolized on cards can be taught by altering the cards 10.
As has been illustrated, each subject can be broken down in segments/group to be taught. This breaking down of complex subject matter into manageable color-coded sets makes it easier for children to learn and parents to teach. With the color-coding on the backs of cards, the cards can be easily reorganized of the cards 10 are dropped or otherwise moved out of place.
Several illustrative sample game embodiments are disclosed below. These are representative only and it is to be understood that they are not intended, by any means, to be a complete or exhaustive list of games that can be played using the cards 10 herein.

Game 1: Matching

This is basic a matching game, with wild card used as in the game of poker. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins. As in other embodiments, during game set-up, all cards are placed face-up to make it easy to provide a player assistance.
Sample Rules of the “Matching game”
Pre: Select one subject to play, take one color set from that subject to begin.

- 1. Shuffle cards
- 2. Pass out 5-8 cards to each player. Place cards face-up and facing the learner/player, for younger children, these could fake the form of numbers, shapes, and colors cards.
- 3. Create a discard pile by taking one card and placing it face up.
- 4. Use the rest of card to create a draw pile
- 5. A player draws. The youngest player goes first
- 6. The player tries to find a card in his/her drawn set that matches the card showing at the top of the discard pile. The matching may, depending upon the cards used, can be by symbol, color, letter, or other feature of the cards.
- 7. The player, as he/she draws or discards a card, says aloud the image, word or sound being taught when drawing or discarding the card.
- 8. If a wild card is drawn, it can be use at any time to change suit colors.
- 9. If a player does not have the appropriate card, that player must draw a card from the draw pile and say the image aloud. The player plays the card if it matches the card atop the discard pile. If card does not match, the player keeps that card and the next player goes.
- 10. If the draw piles run out, save top card from the discard pile and shuffle the rest of the cards underneath it to create more Draw cards.
- 11. The first player to get rid of all their cards win.
- 12. If a game ends with cards still in draw pile and a new game is started, the new game should be set up and played with those cards retained while the rest are shuffled This ensures that all cards are played for a thorough learning experience.
- This game is recommended 3 game per day for 5 days a week

Game 2: Sequential Order

This game is to be played with alphabet uppercase cards, lowercase cards & number cards only. There is one player only. The game is designed to teach sequential order, and assistance is allowed.
Sample rules for Sequential order:
Pre: Select a subject to be played. Select one color set from that subject to begin

- 1. The player holds the stack of card face up in hand
- 2. The player, one by ones sods each card into its own mini color set bases on the color of the symbol on the car,
- 3. The player takes, in turn, each mini color set and places it in order (e.g., Uppercase, set red: A, B, C, D, E). Once done, the player says the image aloud in order. This may be repeated moving backwards through the cards as well.
- 4. The player repeats through all the sets.

Game 3: Before or After, More or Less

The following game has some similarity to the card game “war.” Game teaches value, placement order or vowels depending on the cards being used. “Before or after” can be played with Number Cards or Alphabet Cards. The game “More or Less” can only be played with Number Cards. Players can make or use a “cheat sheet” of notes for assistance. This game is designed to be played with 2-4 players
Sample rules for Before or After, and More or Less.
Pre: Select subject to be played, and select one set or multiple color sets from Number or Alphabet Cards.

(More or Less)

- 1. Pass all card out to all players until pile runs out.
- 2. All players flip one card over. Each player says aloud the symbol on their card. Whoever has the number with More (most value) collects all cards, and places the cards aside.
- 3. If two players have the same value card, than those two players will go into another duel until someone wins. The winner gets all the cards played in that round.
- 4. The game continues, and the above steps are repeated until one player runs out of cards.
- 5. The collected cards are counted for each player. The player with the most collected cards wins.
  “Before or After” is a similar game, but involved letter cards instead of number cards. In this game, whichever drawn letter comes “before” the other player(s) letters is treated as higher in value and the player with that letter wins the hand.

Game 4: Finger Trace

Finger Trace can be played with Number Cards, Alphabet Card, or Shape Cards. One or more players are required. This game teaches how to form letters, numbers and images
Sample Rules for Finger Trace:
Pre: Select a subject, and select a color set or sets;

- 1. Pass out cards to each player(s).
- 2. Players trace each symbol on each card as it is written. Adults can help assist by showing children the correct way to follow an image. This serves as a precursor to writing.

Finger Trace can be played in conjunction with other games. For example, in one embodiment.
Finger trace is used in accompaniment to the “Matching” game.
Other embodiments, wherein players or card teachers create other games based on a card system 10 herein are also possible, such as, e.g., variations of games such as “Old Maid” or “Go Fish.”
The educational card system herein can also be used to reach learners who have difficulty with other educational methods. Children as young as 2 years old can learn from the cards, though the card system can be used by other, older people. It can be helpful for those for whom English is second language individuals with intellectual disabilities or birth defects or surgery, people who lack vocal ability. Players who cannot vocalize do not have to say aloud what is on the cards, but can learn by simply playing and listening. Listening can become a player's strength. The open plays nature of the card system allows players who lack movement to not have to move the cards They can instruct other players or a card teacher to do so.
The symbols, colors, and themes of the cards are not limited to any particular ones and may even change over time, depending on what is most educationally relevant for a given child or set of children. The symbols, colors and themes can be adjusted depending upon the child(ren) involved and their specific educational needs. For example, the game can be tailored for children in different regions of the country, so that a priority can be placed on children learning specific symbols more than others, in particular prior to kindergarten. For example, cards can be created for Native American children to learn important symbols of their peoples. As another example, children in the southwest united states may be given cards with commonly-found items such as cacti, armadillos, gullies, and rattlesnakes. Such items would be more common, and important to learn there, while less common and of lower importance in other regions of the country.
Additionally, this system is not limited to English or even the Indo-European language family. The number of cards of the sets can be raised or lowered, as appropriate, and cards printed in another language, to help non-speakers as well
The card game system can also be packages differently base on audience. A teacher, parent, education specialist researcher or medical professional may get different packaged version base on their needs. For example, an educational specialist needing to work on specific letters or shapes may get a specific set of cards tailored to that need.
It is also anticipated that that the cards may be in an electronic form or version, such as in a software/application.
It is to be understood that white certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, the expression of these individual embodiments is for Illustrative purposes and should not be seen as a limitation upon the scope of the invention. It is to be further understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.

Claims

1. A method of providing an educational card system, comprising the steps of:

providing a deck of cards, and

dividing the deck into at least two preselected sets,

wherein the front of each card of the deck has at least one primary symbol in one of several pre-selected colors,

and wherein the back of each card of the deck has a label designating which of the at least two sets it belongs to.

2. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the label on the back of each card is color-coded, and further comprising the step of designating each card into a set by color-coding.

3. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a secondary symbol on the front of each card.

4. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 3, wherein the primary and secondary symbols are a vowel, a letter combination the vowel is a part of, a word with the vowel, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the primary symbol is a letter.

8. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the primary symbol is a number.

7. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the primary symbol is a shape or image.

8. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 7, wherein the symbol is a shape, and the shape is a circle, square, or other polygonal shapes.

9. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the primary symbol is a vowel, a letter combination commonly the vowel is a part of, or a word with the vowel.

10. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the primary symbol is a blended phonic consonant, or a word containing a blended phonic consonant.

11. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

having a first player draw at least two cards from a draw pile,

having the first player lay down the hand of at least two cards down face-up, and

having the first player place an initial card of the hand into a play pile,

having the first or a second player select a card that has the same color or symbol as that of the initial card,

and either placing that card on the initial card or drawing a card from the draw pile.

12. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 11 further comprising the step of;

removing the cards of all but one set, so that at least the first player is playing with cards of the one remaining set.

13. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

each player vocalizing the primary symbol on each card, either as it is selected from the draw pile, added to the play pile, or both.

14. The method of providing an educational card system of claim-1, wherein the primary symbol is a letter, and the deck is comprised of at least two cards having upper case letters, and at least two cards having lower case letters,

and further comprising the step of either playing the upper and tower case letter cards simultaneously, or dividing the deck into a lower case letter set and an upper case letter set and playing the sets one at a time.

15. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, providing the additional step of:

selecting and providing at least a second deck and setting the order of play of the at least two decks so that they are capable of being used in order combination to teach the at least first player at least two items in a cumulative manner.

16. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 15, wherein the at least one item is at least one vowel and at least one blended consonant set

17. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, providing the additional step of:

adjusting the primary symbol to the geographic region the first player is playing within.

18. The method of providing an educational card system of claim 1, wherein the primary symbol is in a language other than English.

19. A method of providing an educational card system, comprising the steps of:

providing a deck of cards, and

dividing the deck into at least two pre-selected sets,

and wherein the back of each card of the deck has a label designating which of the at least two sets it belongs to,

and placing the deck of cards in electronic form as part of a software application.