. . . the leaders of
tomorrow “need to be problem solvers, collaborators, and be flexible, creative thinkers.”
Selling Real Products
Besides learning about products and selling, I focus on helping my students become aware that they can make and sell real products to help raise funds to donate to a nonprofit orga- nization. After reading a story about children in Sweden who raise money to buy land to protect the rain forest, my students decided to create ceramic ornaments to sell to students on campus to raise money for a local animal shelter. My class learned the value of cooperative work as they joined forces to raise money for
a mutual goal. They shared materials as they created their ornaments, glazed each other’s ceramic pieces, and had fun selling their ornaments to students, teachers, and parents. My students were thrilled to hand deliver their donation to the animal shelter, knowing that effort and teamwork helped bring this project to a successful completion. Classroom projects like this often incorporate cooperative learning, which creates a
lively and highly motivated classroom environment. Students are presented with problems to be solved collaboratively, not individually, which helps students to develop a flexible and confident attitude toward meeting and resolving the challenges they face. Eileen Hat- rick, a former Los Angeles Unified School District principal, has said that the leaders of tomorrow “need to be problem solvers, collaborators, and be flexible, creative thinkers.” When students work in cooperative groups on various classroom projects, they learn the skills necessary to become tomorrow’s leaders.
The Bracelet Business
Each year my students participate in BizWorld, which is a simulation where students become entrepreneurs and run their own bracelet-making business. The culmination of the program is an amazing classroom “Marketplace Bazaar,” where parents and the fourth-grade students arrive with BizBucks (play money) to purchase their favorite brace- lets from the students’ stores. Using the BizWorld program, students learn about running a
Friendship bracelets for sale
company by interacting in small groups of six students. They read classified ads and apply for a job; make a pitch to a venture capitalist to help pay startup expenses; learn manufacturing techniques; keep track of expenses by completing a profit and loss statement; pay rent and salaries; learn marketing strategies by designing a logo, creating a slogan, and designing posters and a commercial advertising their product and store; and sell their products (bracelets) at the Bazaar. The entire project takes about three weeks to complete. The stu- dents are highly engaged as they learn the language of business and finance. After students apply for the available jobs (President, Vice Presi- dent of Finance, VP of Design, VP of Manufacturing, VP of Sales,
and VP of Marketing), I read through the applications and choose the students who will work together on each team. The student teams brainstorm to create a name and logo for their company, and they all share the work of designing and manufacturing their friend- ship bracelets. The salaries paid to the employees are equal, and during the process of this project, each VP takes a turn to lead the team. While the VP of Design has the final say on what the bracelets will look like for their team, the VP of Manufacturing can deter- mine the best way to produce the bracelets. When I pretend to be a venture capitalist, and I look the President of a bracelet com-
pany in the eye and ask her why I should invest in her company, I get a genuine response from that student. With great earnestness each president and finance officer will explain to me how their team developed the colors they will be using for their bracelets, and assure me that their company will sell the most bracelets. Students with the best sales
PAGE 8 • Connect ©SYNERGY LEARNING • 800-769-6199 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
francie kugelman
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