The students then went to work designing and creating products . To choose products the class conducted a school tradeshow in which 20 students presented products they had created . Groups of students had created items such as custom-order rainbow-loom keychains , custom-order bookmarks , paintings and paper crane earrings . An overwhelming favorite of the trade show was “ frakenstuffi ”, hand-made stuffed animals made up of various animals such as butterfly-elephants . The students also chose to sell holiday cards featuring student artwork that could be purchased and delivered to students .
Students then chose student-made products to carry and negotiated purchase prices . Vendors were researched online for buying supplies . Quantities , individual prices , tax , shipping , and total costs were considered , and items were purchased using funds from the Parent Teacher Association Box Tops Fund .
Figure 1 . The “ Frankenstuffi ”
In order to learn more about store operations , the class visited a local co-op grocery store to observe the employees at work and ask questions that might help them conduct their store more successfully . While visiting the store , the students asked what the job qualifications were for cashier , stocker , and manager .
This information and job advertisements from websites and newspapers helped the students develop job qualifications and duties for their store . Students also noted that the co-op incorporated descriptive signage and customer friendly displays ( eye-catching , easy to reach , organized ), prompting them to reorganize the merchandise for younger students to lower shelves . After the field trip , students determined what jobs were necessary to conduct the store . They developed job descriptions and created a spreadsheet of weekly job shifts for class members .
The class brought store ads to school , and they studied branding in order to determine a store name , logo , identity , and image . Small groups developed and pitched graphic designs for school signs and advertisements .
STEAMed Magazine
17
January 2017 Edition