Allow your students to experience being an entrepreneur!
Students often feel that the necessary math skills they are learning in class have no purpose in the ‘real’ world. Introducing student run businesses will change this instantly!
Having students use these skills in fun and project based environments, will provide give them the reason or the ‘why’ for importance of learning these essential numeracy skills. It also has the added bonus of including a range of literacy and art skills. You can do this by giving your students the chance to run a business!
What will students learn?
- Money – counting
- Budgeting
- Estimation
- Basic number (addition/ subtraction/ multiplication/ division)
- Team work
- Product creation
- Logo and business card design
How do you set it up student run businesses in your class?
Step 1: Decide whether you would like students to run their business for one day or over a period of a term. This will determine how many products they need to create.
Step 2: Students brainstorm a range of business ideas. Try to think of easy products that they can master on their own. Some ideas include; wool braided jewelry, foam magnets, cookies etc.
Step 3: Students form groups and come up with a business name, logo and business card.
Step 4: Each group researches the cost to buy materials for the products they wish to make. They then decide on a suitable cost to sell the product, and work out their profit margin.
Step 5: Design posters to advertise their products to either the school community or family members.
Steps 6: Create products. View Student Run Business Pack Here
Step 7: Sell products and adjust their design according to how well they sell and the demand from customers.
This is a great way to integrate a range of subject areas (Mathematics, English, Art etc) and bring the school community together. This may be through a Fun Day where you run each business as a stall, or by offering your students the chance to set up their tables to sell to parents at the end of the school day.
If you would like some assistance with setting up a Fun Day or Business Run project, you may wish to view the additional resource below. It includes ideas to set up, planning templates and student worksheets.
