LET’S MAKE SOME MONEY!
During this project students will study economic concepts and systems. They will learn that as a consumer, producer, investor, and citizen they will be making many decisions that will affect their lives.
Students will study how money is made. (Selling goods or services) They will look at how resources are used.
1. Make a flow map using Kidspiration to show how a natural resource is used to produce goods. We could study the production of wheat since we live in a rural Kansas community.
2. Students use Kidspiration to plan and write how they could make money. What resources do they have? How could they use those resources?
Students study what an entrepreneur is and the characteristics of an entrepreneur.
1. Use a character web on Kidspiration to show the characteristics of an entrepreneur.
2. Research famous entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, etc. and then present the information using Power Point.
Students study strategies businesses use to get people to buy their products.
1. Have students look through magazines, listen to the radio, and watch TV to see how businesses advertise.
2. Introduce several strategies such as bandwagon, snob appeal, emotional appeal, and glittering generalities. Have students look at ads again to look for these strategies.
3. Use PBS kids to study advertising tricks. http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/advertisingtricks/
Discuss supply and demand and how it affects prices.
1. Watch the Brain Pop movie “Supply and Demand”.
2. Discuss our class store. Which items sell the most? How should the prices change to reflect that? How would the price change if there were only one or two to sell?
3. Use the following website: http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/boss/ Students pick from 3 businesses: a car wash, comic book publisher, or dog walking. As they run the business they make choices based on supply and demand, weather, etc.
Lesson 5-Final activity
Students will be grouped together. Each group will be given a certain amount of play money. They will buy toys to sell to the kindergarten students. (These will be provided by the teacher.) The group will also need to buy supplies and commercial time to advertise the toy they will sell. As a group they will need to decide on a price for their toy. Whichever group makes the most money will be declared the winner.
1. Groups choose toys to sell.
2. They must make a poster to advertise their toy.
3. Groups use Kidspiration (storyboard) to plan a commercial or commercials for their toy.
4. They will need to purchase time for commercials and then present them to the Kindergarten class. They may also make flyers to advertise, but they will pay for the paper they use. They may use Kidspiration or another means to record the amount they were given and what they have spent.
5. A day will be set aside for the Kindergarten class to come and buy toys. After they have finished, the groups will count their money and record profits. The winner will be announced after the teacher has examined the records kept by the group.
6. Discuss the successes and problems groups had. Talk about why some toys were more popular.