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VCU Center for Economic Education, 11-10-2015 For more PBL resources visit bie.org P R O J E C T D E S I G N : O V E R V I E W page 1 Name of Project: Mini-Economy Business Portfolio Duration: January-March Subject/Course: For 3rd-grade students; covers K-3 Social Studies (economics) standards. Targets standards adopted in 2015. Other subject areas to be included, if any: Math, English Significant Content (CCSS and/or others) a) All K-3 economics SOLs. Economic concepts are used as tools for building a business. b) Social Studies SOL 1.h for grades 3-5: Using a decision-making model to make informed decisions. c) Math SOLs 2.11, 3.13, 3.17a. Creating graphs to represent data that students collect. d) English SOL 3.6 Students analyze the purpose and effectiveness of advertisements. 21st Century Competencies (to be taught and assessed) Creativity and Innovation Financial, economics, business, and entrepreneurial literacy Critical thinking and problem-solving Communication and collaboration Information literacy Project Summary (include student role, issue, problem or challenge, action taken, and purpose/beneficiary) "What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?" The Mini-Economy Portfolio Assessment uses this compelling question to engage students in an ongoing inquiry project. Each activity uses students' knowledge of standards to pursue a coherent project goal: the creation of a flourishing classroom business. This builds on a teachers’ classroom mini-economy and ultimately culminates in a Market Day in which students buy and sell the products of their businesses to one another. Driving Question "What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?" The question is introduced after teachers have already begun a classroom mini-economy. For guidance with your mini-economy, see “The Classroom Mini-economy As An Opportunity for Problem-Based Learning,” available from the VCU Center for Economic Education.

VCU Center for Economic Education, 11-10-2015 For more PBL resources visit bie.org Entry Event Teacher sets up a “scarcity situation” in which students find that there isn’t enough of a particular good or service to satisfy their goals. For instance, there could be a scarcity of art materials, desks, or time taking care of the class pet. The teacher organizes a discussion in which students brainstorm ways to distribute the scarce good or service. The teacher suggests that one way to organize goods and services is through a market. She will use this to introduce the mini-economy, in which students buy things using money they earn in classroom jobs and in their own businesses. The driving question (“What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?”) should be introduced after the mini-economy is already established so that it is grounded in student experience. Portfolio products Individual portfolio items (7). These are assignments that show competency in SOLs, and which make up the bulk of the portfolio. Picture and media checklist Individual reflections Peer reflections P R O J E C T D E S I G N : O V E R V I E W page 2 Public Audience (Experts, audiences, or product users students will engage with during/at end of project) Market Day: students from other schools, local businesspeople Market Day Resources Needed On-site people, facilities: Gym/Cafeteria for Market Day Curricular Materials: Tables, microphone, paper, Tri-fold poster, Markers, Glue, Tape. Teachers should restrict amount of money that students can spend on their businesses, usually to $10/student. Community Resources: Donated prizes/rewards Reflection Methods (Individual, Team, and/or Whole Class) Individual reflection forms Peer reflection forms

VCU Center for Economic Education, 11-10-2015 For more PBL resources visit bie.org a P R O J E C T D E S I G N : S T U D E N T L E A R N I N G G U I D E Project: Mini-Economy Portfolio Assessment Driving Question: What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Final Product(s) Presentations, Performances, Products and/or Services Save or Spend? (Hist/Soc Sci K.8, K.9a, 1.8, 1.9, 2.10, 3.10). This lesson is for mini-economies in which students earn regular classroom income and opportunities to spend their earnings. Students make weekly decisions about whether to save or spend their income. They record their decisions, add up their savings, and identify the opportunity cost of their decisions. This activity is generally done in a prior lesson, before the driving question for the project is introduced. Supporting Lessons: Saving for the Hard Times The ABCs of Saving What Do People Want? And How Can I Help? (Hist/Soc Sci SOL K.9a, 1.8, 2.10). Students collect data on their classmates’ wants. They also investigate how they can produce goods and services that address those wants. Optional Supporting Lessons: Would You Like to Be Your Own Boss? Use this lesson to introduce the concept of an entrepreneur. Toys for Me: A Lesson on Choice Open for Business! Why Do Different Countries Produce Different Things? (Hist/Soc Sci SOL K.9b, 2.7, 2. 8, 2.9, 3.8, 3.9). In this case study, students create an example of what someone in ancient China might produce, focusing on resources unique to China. They also explain how China differs from Rome in areas of specialization. Optional Supporting Lessons: Ancient Culture: Resource Relay Race Ancient Chinese Marketplace

VCU Center for Economic Education, 11-10-2015 For more PBL resources visit bie.org What Should I Specialize In? (Hist/Soc Sci SOL K.8, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.9, 3.10) Students explain their personal areas of specialization within their classroom business. They also map out their production processes focusing on natural, human, and capital resources. Optional Supporting Lessons: Why Do Most People Have a Job Where They Only Make One Good or Service? Lean On Me--We Depend On Each Other Do I Have the Resources I Need to Make My Product? (Hist/Soc Sci SOL K.9, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.10). Students analyze the different uses for natural, human, and capital resources that go into their product. They also evaluate the opportunity cost of using resources for one use instead of another. Optional Supporting Lessons: The Productive Blues (Jeans) Booker T. Washington: "Fifty Cents and a Dream" How Can We Get People to Buy our Product? (Hist/Soc Sci 3.10; English SOL 3.6). Students analyze the purpose and effectiveness of particular advertisements using a series of questions. They then compare and contrast two different ads. Lastly, they deduce design principles for creating advertisements for their own products. Supporting Lessons: How Can We Get People to Buy our Product? Be an Ad Detective What Price Should We Charge? (Math SOLs 2.11, 3.13, 3.17a). Students survey their classmates as to how many of their products they would buy at different prices. They also create a graph in order to analyze and represent their data. Lastly, they make decisions about how much to produce based on their research. Optional Supporting Lessons: Terry's Lemonade Stand (Lesson plan for a case study in accounting and graphing) Terry's Lemonade Stand (Skit script) Terry's Lemonade Stand (Profit accounting sheet)