PUTNAM COUNTY
Shortly before the school year ended, several third graders at Putnam County Elementary School (PCES) tried on the role of business owners through a hands-on school project.
The students had to create pretend businesses from start to finish, from business plans to operations, working out the details under the guidance of PCES third-grade ELA and Social Studies teacher Dr. Rita Thomas, who came up with the idea of the project.
Students had to create products and decide how to price them, brainstorm the names of their “stores,” make posters depicting the names of their businesses, and shoot video commercials. They even used their own currency, “Eagle bucks,” named for the War Eagles, which represent sports teams within the Putnam County Charter School System.
Each student had 100 Eagle bucks to get their projects started, including business owners, who could buy products from other businesses. Their products were simple and based on what they were good at – making drawings, cards, stickers, slime, etc.
“It's one of my favorite standards to teach,” Thomas said. “The children today are not as financially literate as they should be. They always consume information on their devices. I wanted them to learn that they are not only consumers but also creators and producers of information and ideas.”
Planning and preparation for the project began in February when the students were learning about natural, capital, and human resources, as well as entrepreneurship and how economics worked.
Once the video commercials were ready, Thomas emailed them to all PCES third-grade teachers. Two classes participated in the project as business owners making up 13 businesses.
The other third-grade classes and their teachers participated as shoppers.
The students recorded the videos using an iPad, then created PowerPoint presentations with the names of their businesses, their addresses (school room number), and the description of their products.
“They learned a lot about marketing and advertising,” Thomas said.
The businesses opened only on two consecutive Fridays in May, but the refilling of orders continued every day for two weeks. In case of problems with the order forms, business owners had to find their own solutions.
“I prefer that they try to solve it on their own,” Thomas said. “They are our future entrepreneurs. They have to think outside the box. On the first day, when we opened, they learned about supply and demand, that they may run out of product and would have to restock. Some of them started problem-solving right away."
Kids had a choice whether to work in groups or alone. Every group had an accountant and a secretary. While the accountants had to balance the 'Eagle bucks' with the sold products, the secretaries were in charge of taking orders, inventory products, and restocking.
It was their responsibility to ensure that the order forms were filled correctly. All the partners were in charge of making products in every business. In one-person businesses, the owner was in charge of all the responsibilities.
“They have been really impressive. They are not perfect, but every idea and component was there,” Dr. Thomas said.
Originally from Hancock County, Dr. Thomas has been in a school system for about 30 years as a media specialist and teacher.
“I'm interested in preparing the students for the future. I was fortunate to learn about financial literacy and the freedom it brings so I try to teach kids as well,” Dr. Thomas said. “We can make our society a better place by doing what we are good at.”