Open for Business … and Learning
at Pleasant Valley eters Township
PETERS TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
The best kind of learning happens when students have the opportunity to take what is in their curriculum and apply it to a real-life situation. To educators, this is called“ Project Based Learning,” but at Pleasant Valley in their economics unit it’ s called the“ Mini Mall.” And it’ s just plain fun!
This 3rd grade project starts with the important lessons – supply and demand, understanding the roles of a consumer and producer, and understanding how things like the assembly line revolutionized industrial production in our nation. Then, they put it all to work.
Students are charged with becoming a producer of a“ good.” They make economic decisions about what type of product they can create that will be in demand from the consumers in their classroom – with a maximum price of $. 25 each.
“ The students have some hard decisions to make,” says third grade teacher Joyce Rodgers.“ They have to determine how to price the product, balance supply and demand, and market their product – making a recognizable brand. They have fun, but it’ s not easy.”
Students may opt to partner with another class member for their business or they can go it alone. To market the products, they have to create a sign and prepare a 30 second commercial to convince their classmates to visit their store on their shopping spree.
“ Some students have made videos for their commercial – they go all out,” adds Rodgers. They often also include pitches that include a free drawing, buy one get one free coupons and other gimmicks to boost their sales.
Students are not graded on their total sales, but rather on their product( construction, consumer appeal, packaging), store( display, cash register, customer service) and advertising( signage, commercial, marketing).
90 Peters Township
The students are encouraged to bring $ 2 in coins on the day of the Mini Mall to purchase products from their classmates. Learning how to handle money is an important part of the lesson as well.
“ People use digital money so often today,” explains Rodgers,“ the students don’ t really understand the exchange of real money for a product. This project boils that down to the elementary level for our students.”
This year, the unit also integrates a Junior Achievement( JA) Day for third grade at the school with local business owners and parents coming in to share lessons that
help students better understand business and applying the concepts of economics.
“ This is our second year of the JA partnership,” said Pleasant Valley Principal Greg Marquis.“ Pairing this opportunity for our students with projects like the mini-mall enhances what they are learning and really gives them a chance to apply what they have seen on paper.” Through the JA curriculum, volunteers work with the students to explore what zoning means in a city and the role different businesses play in a community. They also explored what it takes to open a restaurant in their town.
“ Our students are excited for these events,” adds Marquis.“ When they are learning and happy, that’ s a pretty great day to be at school.”