Mt. Washington Valley School To Career Partnership

Project-Based Unit

Title of Unit: SHOW ME THE MONEY

Subject Area	Grade Level	Time to Complete
Social Studies: Economics	6	10-15 days

Authors’ Names	School Address	Phone, E-mail
Ray and Brenda O’Brien	JHF Madison Elementary	356-5381 367-4642

Framing Question

You have noticed that people buy greeting cards and you would like to get in on the money making possibilities. How could you produce greeting cards profitably?

Workplace or Community Context

Manufacturing is a fundamental piece of any economy. Operating profitably is required for survival. Raising capital is required to some degree in any start up business.

The Project
Overview

A. Introduction:

1.Framing Question: You have noticed that people buy greeting cards and you would like to get in on the money making possibilities. How could you produce greeting cards profitably?

2.Find out what range of prices exist for greeting cards

3.Get into groups of three or four

B. Getting started:

1.Design and plan what your cards will look like (A diverse range of methods would be illustrative later i.e. assembly line, custom, computer, sub-contracted out to a printer.)

C. Estimating costs:

1.Make prototype using cheap materials from around the room

2. Make a production run to see how many your team can make in a period of time.

3.Determine unit cost by totaling labor (students decide hourly rate), and materials and dividing by the number of units produced. ( good opportunity to use spreadsheet)

C. Getting a loan from a bank:

1.Determine how many units you will make in an initial production run

2.Calculate total cost of production run

3. Determine cost of loan needed

4. Meet with bank loan officer to obtain loan

5.Recalculate unit cost including interest

5.Decide what you will charge per card.

D. Reflection:

1. Compare your results and procedures with other entrepreneurs.

2. List things that you think are good business practices and why.

3. Graph whole class results showing good business practices.

4. List things that you would change in your own practice and why.

E. Products to be evaluated:

A graph of the unit cost of each prototype showing the mean, median, and mode.
An explanation that shows how your unit cost was calculated accurately.
A graph of good business practices indicating frequency.
Summarize your project using the following vocabulary accurately: unit cost, loan, interest, opportunity costs, productivity, entrepreneur.

Alignment with New Hampshire Curriculum Frameworks

Framework	How it is addressed in your project
Social Studies: Economics Standard 5. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze the potential costs and benefits of economic choices in market economies including wants and needs; scarcity; tradeoffs; and the role of supply and demand, incentives, and prices.	Using the information obtained while looking at the range of prices that exist for greeting cards, designing, planning, and choosing a prototype, determining the cost of a loan, deciding the cost per card Doing the reflection piece
Social Studies: Economics Standard 6. Students will demonstrate the ability to examine the interaction of individuals and businesses in market economies including competition, specialization, productivity, traditional forms of enterprise, role of money, role of financial institutions.	Making the prototype and production run Getting a loan from a bank Doing the reflection piece
Math. 1a. Formulate and solve real-world problems	Calculating unit cost
2a. Demonstrate an understanding of mathematical concepts and relationships through a variety of methods	Creating a graph
2b. Use mathematical skills, concepts, and applications in other disciplines	Working through this problem in economics
3c. Students will compute through multiplication and division Use calculators in appropriate situations	Calculating unit cost
3d. Students will use estimation skills and strategies	Determining unit cost
5a. Broad Goal: Students will use data analysis, statistics, and probability to analyze given situations and the outcomes of experiments	Developing the loan application and in the Reflection piece
6a. Students will explore simple linear equations	Creating a spreadsheet
7a. Students will explore rates of change in discrete (cost per unit) settings	Explaining the differences in unit cost
8a. Broad Goal: Students will use a variety of tools from discrete mathematics to explore and model real-world situations.	Determining unit cost, creating a spreadsheet, and making a loan application

Timeline

[In the table below, break your project down into achievable steps or milestones and describe each. Also, in sequence, list and describe classroom and workplace activities that support your project.]

Project Step or Supporting Activity	Description

Project Resources

[Include published curricula, texts, lessons you developed, materials, technology, people and places that you will use as resources for the project-based unit.]

Assessment

[Describe, in detail, how you will assess the project. Include rubrics that you will use to score student products.]

Implementation Plan

When do you plan to implement your project-based unit?

List the steps you need to take to implement your project-based unit. Include approximate meeting dates with your peers and your project-based learning consultant.

Mt. Washington Valley School-to-Career Coordinator
PO Box 1066 Conway, NH 03818 Phone/Fax: 603-447-2350