Third graders buy and sell in open market
Fri, 2015-03-06 05:00
News Staff
By WENDY SLEDD
Larry Robinson, 9, knew he had missed the mark. He did not have enough gold football goals for sale in the market. It was lost profit. The House Creek Elementary School third grader was selling custom-made football goals made from ice cream sticks, spray painted in purple or gold in his classroom. Ten minutes into the sale, only two gold goals remained and not a single purple one had sold. “We did a great job knowing people probably would like them if they were gold and purple. The goals are $10 and the limited edition footballs are $6. Each of the footballs is one-of-a-kind. This one has Minecraft on it,” he said showing paper he had crafted into triangles and then handdrawn designs on them. The goals along with Edible Mini-Minions, recycled soda bottle vases and Dum-Dum butterflies were just a few of the items for sale in the open market learning project that met social studies requirements for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills as well as math and writing requirements. The project required 3rd graders to create products and sell them to fellow students who were using “Creek Cash” earned for good behavior, attendance, test scores and the amount of time they spent working to make their products. So, the amount of money each student had to spend varied, Teacher Audrey Trahan said. “We are learning economics through social students which includes supply and demand. They are using their math skills and learning about personal and financial literacy and saving and spending,” Trahan said. “They had no real concept about loaned money with interest. I told them ‘How else can you make money unless you profit from every dollar I give you for working?’” Third-grader Brianna Miles, 8, had a strong grasp on how a credit card works, debt and unplanned expenses. “You can add on to your money. You may see something you want, but you have to wait until you can afford it,” she said. “Otherwise, you are going to end up paying a whole lot more for it. And, you may see something you want more if you wait and come back.” Trahan and fellow 3rd grade teacher, Lyndy Mc-
Culley, both said their students “did an amazing job” on the unit test with zero students failing. “We will be writing this week about the experience,” McCulley said. “I look forward to seeing all the vocabulary included in that assignment. This project is one of those very time intensive projects that, in the end, is worth every minute.”