Contact Mary Suiter

Posted: 07/08/2008
Fed resource: Entrepreneurs and the Economy
Short description: Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs and the Economy
Lesson time: 90 minutes
Materials: A copy of the Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurs and the Economy booklet for each student
Audience: Elementary School, Middle School
Grades: 4, 5, 6, 7
Subjects: Personal Finance
Concepts: Personal Finance - Entrepreneurship
Documents: None
1. Distribute a copy of the booklet to each student. Ask the students if they have heard the word entrepreneur and what they think it means. (Answers will vary.)

2. Explain that students will take turns reading sections of the booklet about entrepreneurs. As they listen to the reading, they should make notes about famous entrepreneurs and their products or services.   Call on different students to read sections of the booklet.

3. After students have listened to the entire booklet, have them share names of entrepreneurs and/or products or services. List these on the board. Allow students to name other entreprneurs or products/services of which they are aware that were not mentioned in the book. Add these to the list on the board.

4. Assign pairs of students to research products and/or entrepreneurs from the list. Tell students to refer to the Entrepreneur booklet, Internet sources and other materials to identify the dates the entrepreneurs opened their businesses or the dates products were invented.

5. Allow time for pairs of students to work, then ask them to report the information they found. As student pairs report the additional information, record it on the board next to the product name/entrepreneur.

6. Tell students to use the information on the board to create an entrepreneur/product timeline. Or, create a class timeline on the wall in the classroom. Have pairs of students draw pictures and label them to represent the entrepreneurs/products the pairs were assigned. The drawings should include the name of the entrepreneur and the product/service and the date the product was invented or the business opened.

Submitted by: Susan Decker
Kennard Classical Junior Academy