Students in Jackie Larson’s sixth grade social studies classes are toy designers, and successful ones at that.
During a unit on economics, Larson challenged her students to work together on the development of a toy that their fellow classmates and the public would be interested in purchasing at a cost of $6.
“You are acting as a real toy production company,” Larson told her students, and as a real company there are expenses—facility rental, labor and materials.
So, before the students could begin to think about what they would build, Larson imposed rent on each production company at a cost of 75 cents. Then there was the cost of labor, 25 cents per team member. Before the students could even start to brainstorm and build, the teams‑two to four members—had spent between $1.25 and $1.75.
The goal was to keep production costs under the $6 sale price.
The cost of materials ranged from 25 cents for a paper clip to 75 cents for a paper cup. Use of a glue stick for 30 minutes cost a team 50 cents and if there was a need for scissors the students had to pay 75 cents.
A variety of materials were available to the students and the groups utilized their share of pipe cleaners, tape, string, paper clips, tissues and rubber bands.
There were four steps for the students to complete—brainstorm, obtain materials for building, name the toy and promote the product.
“It’s important for you to work as a team. In almost every job you will ever do you will have to work with others,” Larson told her students, pointing out the importance of discovering the strengths and weaknesses of each team member.
“It’s important for you to understand some kids are going to be better than other kids at certain things. Somebody or maybe a couple of you are going to be really creative and hands on and know what to build,” Larson said, using herself as an example. “That wouldn’t have been me. I would have been horrible at it, I would have wanted the [cost] chart and the calculator, because I love math and being organized,” she said.
“So, make sure you are letting everybody speak. Make sure you are not overlooking the quiet kid as they might have just as many good ideas as you.”
As the students brainstormed ideas, the teacher made her way around the classroom to talk strategy with the production teams. Some groups spent more time brainstorming, and others utilized the time to building and test their toys.
As the toys started to take shape, Larson reminded the students that as much as they want to keep production costs under $6, they needed to spend enough to make sure the toy was something that people wanted to play with.
“No one wants a doll,” Larson said.
The students came up with a variety of prototypes including Flick It Football, the Super Swisher 3000, and Bounce 360 that challenged players to bounce a plastic ball off a rubber band into a paper cup.
Once the toys were constructed the students presented their ideas to the class and a secret vote was taken to determine what toy was most interesting to the class.
Larson walked the students through their cost to determine their profits that ended up being based not so much on production cost, but the number of units sold.
The overall lesson of the day focused on profit and lost, cost effectiveness and the responsibility that comes with running a business.
At the close of the lesson, Larson and her students discussed ways to make their product better and reduce costs, improve time management, and she revisited the concept finding the strengths in each team member.
“What positives did we learn about our group members,” Larson asked.
One student pointed out a fellow classmate, “had great ideas,” and another student noted a member of his group has, “good handwriting.”
Larson commended all the students for working together.