These portfolio items are provided in Word format so that you can modify them for your students' needs.
Most of the targeted SOLs are from History and Social Sciences. If you find clever ways to reach other SOLs with these resources, let us know so we can build them in!
We also provide links to classroom-tested lesson plans that you can use to build your students' knowledge and skills in the targeted areas.
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Project-Based Learning Plan: This pacing guide helps you coordinate your classroom mini-economy with the lessons and assessments on this site.
Summative Assignments: Pictures and media checklist, student reflection assignment, peer reflections. Includes prompts to help students answer the overall compelling question for this project: "What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?"
Rubrics for all Portfolio Items.
Save or Spend? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.8, K.9a, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.10; Math SOLs 3.2, 4.5c, 4.5d; English SOLs 3.4f, 3.6b, d, e). This lesson is for mini-economies in which students earn regular classroom income and opportunities to spend their earnings. Students make weekly decisions about whether to save or spend their income. They record their decisions, add up their savings, and identify the opportunity cost of their decisions.
Supporting Lessons:
Saving for the Hard Times
The ABCs of Saving
What Do People Want? And How Can I Help? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.9a, 1.8, 2.10, 3.1h; English SOLs 3.9c, e). Students collect data on their classmates’ economic wants. They also investigate how they can produce goods and services that address those wants.
Supporting Lessons:
Would You Like to Be Your Own Boss?
Toys for Me: A Lesson on Choice
Open for Business!
Why Do Different Countries Produce Different Things? (Hist/Soc Sci SOL K.9b, 2.8, 2.9, 3.8, 3.9; English SOL 3.9). In this case study, students create an example of what someone in ancient China might produce, focusing on resources unique to China. They also explain how China differs from Rome in areas of specialization. Note: This portfolio item really must be used in conjunction with one or both of the two supporting lessons below.
Supporting Lessons:
Ancient Civilizations: Resource Review Relay Race
Ancient Chinese Marketplace
What Should I Specialize In? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.8, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.9, 3.10; English SOL 3.9) Students explain their personal areas of specialization within their classroom business. They also map out their production processes focusing on natural, human, and capital resources.
Supporting Lessons:
Why Do Most People Have a Job Where They Only Make One Good or Service?
Lean On Me--We Depend On Each Other
Do I Have the Resources I Need to Make My Product? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.9, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.10; English SOL 3.9 ). Students analyze the different uses for natural, human, and capital resources that go into their product. They also evaluate the opportunity cost of using resources for one use instead of another.
Supporting Lessons:
The Productive Blues (Jeans)
Booker T. Washington: "Fifty Cents and a Dream"
How Can We Get People to Buy our Product? (English SOL 3.6a, b, c, d; 3.12). Students analyze the purpose and effectiveness of particular advertisements using a series of questions. They then compare and contrast two different ads. Lastly, they deduce design principles for creating advertisements for their own products.
Supporting Lessons:
How Can We Get People to Buy our Product?
Be an Ad Detective
What Price Should We Charge? (Math SOLs 2.11, 3.13, 3.17a). Students survey their classmates as to how many of their products they would buy at different prices. They also create a graph in order to analyze and represent their data. Lastly, they make decisions about how much to produce based on their research. The supporting lessons emphasize a crucial aspect of entrepreneurship: the need to make enough money to cover costs.
Supporting Lessons:
Terry's Lemonade Stand (Lesson plan for a case study in accounting and graphing)
Terry's Lemonade Stand (Skit script)
Terry's Lemonade Stand (Profit accounting sheet)
Most of the targeted SOLs are from History and Social Sciences. If you find clever ways to reach other SOLs with these resources, let us know so we can build them in!
We also provide links to classroom-tested lesson plans that you can use to build your students' knowledge and skills in the targeted areas.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Project-Based Learning Plan: This pacing guide helps you coordinate your classroom mini-economy with the lessons and assessments on this site.
Summative Assignments: Pictures and media checklist, student reflection assignment, peer reflections. Includes prompts to help students answer the overall compelling question for this project: "What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?"
Rubrics for all Portfolio Items.
Save or Spend? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.8, K.9a, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.10; Math SOLs 3.2, 4.5c, 4.5d; English SOLs 3.4f, 3.6b, d, e). This lesson is for mini-economies in which students earn regular classroom income and opportunities to spend their earnings. Students make weekly decisions about whether to save or spend their income. They record their decisions, add up their savings, and identify the opportunity cost of their decisions.
Supporting Lessons:
Saving for the Hard Times
The ABCs of Saving
What Do People Want? And How Can I Help? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.9a, 1.8, 2.10, 3.1h; English SOLs 3.9c, e). Students collect data on their classmates’ economic wants. They also investigate how they can produce goods and services that address those wants.
Supporting Lessons:
Would You Like to Be Your Own Boss?
Toys for Me: A Lesson on Choice
Open for Business!
Why Do Different Countries Produce Different Things? (Hist/Soc Sci SOL K.9b, 2.8, 2.9, 3.8, 3.9; English SOL 3.9). In this case study, students create an example of what someone in ancient China might produce, focusing on resources unique to China. They also explain how China differs from Rome in areas of specialization. Note: This portfolio item really must be used in conjunction with one or both of the two supporting lessons below.
Supporting Lessons:
Ancient Civilizations: Resource Review Relay Race
Ancient Chinese Marketplace
What Should I Specialize In? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.8, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.9, 3.10; English SOL 3.9) Students explain their personal areas of specialization within their classroom business. They also map out their production processes focusing on natural, human, and capital resources.
Supporting Lessons:
Why Do Most People Have a Job Where They Only Make One Good or Service?
Lean On Me--We Depend On Each Other
Do I Have the Resources I Need to Make My Product? (Hist/Soc Sci SOLs K.9, 1.8, 2.8, 2.10, 3.10; English SOL 3.9 ). Students analyze the different uses for natural, human, and capital resources that go into their product. They also evaluate the opportunity cost of using resources for one use instead of another.
Supporting Lessons:
The Productive Blues (Jeans)
Booker T. Washington: "Fifty Cents and a Dream"
How Can We Get People to Buy our Product? (English SOL 3.6a, b, c, d; 3.12). Students analyze the purpose and effectiveness of particular advertisements using a series of questions. They then compare and contrast two different ads. Lastly, they deduce design principles for creating advertisements for their own products.
Supporting Lessons:
How Can We Get People to Buy our Product?
Be an Ad Detective
What Price Should We Charge? (Math SOLs 2.11, 3.13, 3.17a). Students survey their classmates as to how many of their products they would buy at different prices. They also create a graph in order to analyze and represent their data. Lastly, they make decisions about how much to produce based on their research. The supporting lessons emphasize a crucial aspect of entrepreneurship: the need to make enough money to cover costs.
Supporting Lessons:
Terry's Lemonade Stand (Lesson plan for a case study in accounting and graphing)
Terry's Lemonade Stand (Skit script)
Terry's Lemonade Stand (Profit accounting sheet)