Never played bridge though some tell me it is similar to spades. Have read spades started as a spinoff from bridge. Thought about learning bridge. But never got around to it. For now have to settle for being a spades master.
When I teach complete novices how to play bridge, I spend the first two sessions teaching them, and watching them play, spades. At the third session, I start teaching bridge. I've had much success using that method.
If you have ever played Whist, it also is a building block of bridge. My parents taught my brother and I to play whist when we were 5 and 6, and then over the next couple years taught us bridge. Whist is basically like playing 1 NT in bridge all the time, and you learn the vast majority of the basics of bridge (and then you can add in bidding and trumping).