Toy PlanetHow It Works: Toy Planet is a unit designed to teach children to operate a business. They design a store, supply it with merchandise (on paper) and create advertisements. They also manage the store's debits and credits by using a spreadsheet. They keep track of their products through a database and learn how promote a sale of their merchandise. The boys and girls also construct a web page to show what their company is all about. This is carried out in a cooperative manner in the classroom and is not only fun but informative as well. Standards: Estimated Class Periods To Complete: 6 Software Materials Used: FrontPage or other web page design software, Internet connection, a spreadsheet application, desktop publishing, and a database application Keywords:
database, spreadsheet, web page, company, store, entrepreneur, business, math,
advertisement, merchandise, sales Students:
The students involved consisted of my 5th grade class
including ESOL
(English for Students of Other Languages), ESE (Exceptional Student
Education), and regular 5th grade students. These students had various
exceptionalities and by grouping them in a variety of modes they were able to
work together to achieve the goals required. Overall:
They were very creative when deciding what kind of
"business" to start in the classroom and were enthusiastic
throughout the course of the lessons. Tips:
Have the students decide together on what the business
should be and then work in small groups to perform the various parts of the
unit. They can then "teach" the others the skills learned. |
About the Teacher: Ann Stephenson has taught upper elementary school for twelve years. She has been awarded
numerous grants, including IMPACT II Disseminator and Adapter grants. She has
been the school site coordinator of the Citibank FamilyTech Program for six
years and is a National Board candidate. Subjects: Math Grade Levels: 4 thru 6
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