Unit of work: Level 4
Let’s Get Down to Business
Let’s Get Down to Business 2 2010
Let’s Get Down to Business
Level 4: Mathematics, English, Interpersonal Development, Personal Learning, Design,
Creativity and Technology, Information and Communications Technology, Thinking
process, Arts.
Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3
Learning focus ............................................................................................................................ 3
Victorian Essential Learning Standards ...................................................................................... 5
Teaching and Learning activities ................................................................................................ 6
Activity 1: ................................................................................................................................ 7
Activity 2: ................................................................................................................................ 7
Activity 3: ................................................................................................................................ 8
Activity 4: ................................................................................................................................ 9
Activity 5: ................................................................................................................................ 9
Activity 6: .............................................................................................................................. 10
Activity 7: .............................................................................................................................. 11
Activity: 8 .............................................................................................................................. 12
Assessment .............................................................................................................................. 12
Unit resources .......................................................................................................................... 14
Assessment resource............................................................................................................ 14
Teacher materials (Teriary) .................................................................................................. 14
Meeting minutes for Unit of Work: Let’s Get Down to Business Error! Bookmark not defined.
Concept map ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Let’s Get Down to Business 3 2010
Introduction In Lets Get Down to Business, students learn about small business operations. Working
individually and in small groups students are exposed to and conduct research creatively on
small businesses in different industries. They use a range of research techniques including
developing appropriate questions to create a knowledge base for how businesses function.
Business functioning includes business personalities, applications for jobs within a business,
promoting a business and the mathematics involved in running a successful business. They
will apply the knowledge gained to a market day application involving the whole class where
they will share, sell and promote their products or services.
The unit provides opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement against the
standards in Mathematics, English, Interpersonal Development, Personal Learning, Design,
Creativity and Technology, Information and Communications Technology, Thinking process,
Arts.
Learning focus This unity addresses learning focus statements from all three strands at level 4:
Physical, Personal and Social Learning
Interpersonal
Work in teams with allocated roles and responsibilities to complete tasks within a set
time frame
Personal Learning
Reflect on their current and future thinking and learning
Give and act upon constructive feedback from peers
Discipline-based Learning
English
Develop a job application for chosen business
Write a reflective piece on learning undertaking and knowledge gained
Mathematics
Exploration of alternative strategies to develop mental computation in the area of
money.
Arts
Exploring occupations to better understand themselves and their interests
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Interdisciplinary Learning
Communication
Develop skills in organising research information and clearly developing an ad
campaign to promote their chosen business.
Use verbal and non verbal communication techniques to convey a character.
Students ask clarifying questions about ideas and information they listen to and view
on different businesses.
Students present, using a range of presentation styles information, on their chosen
business.
Design, Creativity and Technology
Develop a story board, poster and/or jingle
Use technology to communicate their ideas
Students learn to analyse how products and systems function and what they look
like, and discuss the meaning of quality in the context of design.
Information and Communications Technology
Use information and communications technology tools and techniques to research
their chosen business, develop an ad campaign and presentation.
Use information and communications technology equipment to develop their final
products for their ad campaign.
Thinking process
Use investigating and brainstorming techniques to develop a knowledge base on
how small businesses operate.
Demonstrate their creative thinking process through the creation of story boards,
and a business presentation.
Use reflective thinking in evaluating their learning and team effectiveness.
Let’s Get Down to Business 5 2010
Victorian Essential Learning Standards Let’s Get Down to Business can be used to assess a range of Victorian Essential Learning
Standards.
The table below is an example of how this unit might be used to assess some Level 4
standards.
Strand Domains Dimensions Key elements of standards Students:
Physical, Personal and Social Learning
Interpersonal Development
Working in teams
...work effectively in teams and take on a variety of roles. ...They explain the benefits of working in a team. ...they provide feedback to others and evaluate their own and the team’s performance.
Personal Learning
The individual learner
...they seek and respond to teacher feedback to develop their content knowledge and understanding.
Discipline-based Learning
English Writing
...students produce, in print and electronic forms, a variety of texts for different purposes using structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context of the writing.
Speaking and listening
Students plan, rehearse and make presentation for different purposes.
Mathematics Number In number, students extend their understanding of whole numbers, fractions and decimals. They order fractions and decimals and locate them on a number line. They use materials to explore decimals.
Working mathematically
Students devise and use mental and written methods (algorithms) to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers. They devise and use mantal and written methods to add and subtract decimals. They routinely make estimations and approximations in calculations and make judgements about their accuracy.
Interdisciplinary Learning
Communication Listening, viewing and responding
...students ask clarifying questions about ideas and information they listen to and view.
Presenting ...students summarise and organise ideas and information, logically and clearly in a range of presentations.
Comment [P1]: Plan learning sequences and units which are consistent with curriculum statements, frameworks and assessment structures commonly used in schools. This table provides the connections that this unit has with Victorian Essential Learning Standards, the Victorian curriculum framework. On page 12 of this unit, the assessment table can be found which incorporates summative and formative assessment opportunities across the range of domains.
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Design, Creativity and Technology
Investigating and designing
...Individually and in teams, they use a range of methods to research and collect data in response to design briefs. ...students take account of the views of users/consumers and produce step-by-step plans...for making products.
Information and Communications Technology
ICT for visualising thinking
...Students use ICT tools and techniques that support the organisation and analysis of concepts, issues and ideas.
ICT for creating
...Students safely and independently use a range of skills, procedures, equipment and functions to process different data types and produce accurate and suitably formatted products to suit different purposes and audiences. ...apply conventions and techniques that improve the appearance of the finished product.
Thinking process Reasoning, processing and inquiry
...Students develop their own questions for investigation, collect relevant information from a range of sources.
Reflection, evaluation and metacognition
...students use a broad range of thinking processes and tools, and reflect on and evaluate their effectiveness.
For further advice see the Assessment section.
Teaching and Learning activities This unit focuses on research of small businesses and the skills required run one
successfully.
Throughout the unit, students work in groups, with assigned roles and responsibilities.
Teachers provide opportunities for students to discuss group roles and how effectively they
are contributing to activities and completing tasks with set timelines.
Teachers also provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and how they
work in a group with assigned roles. The reflection will be completed at the final stage of the
unit of work and will be a piece of writing using word processing program and can be
presented in a way that the student chooses.
Before commencing the activities, teachers outline the four main stages to be undertaken
by students: exploration, creation, presentation and reflection.
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Activity 1:
Business Brainstorm.
This activity requires that students spend time in brainstorming different businesses, not
occupations. This must be made clear before the brainstorming session begins. Each
individual must establish a set of questions that they would like to find out about a certain
business or businesses.
Questions such as:
What makes your business so successful?
How do you go about ordering products?
How do you know how much to order?
What skills are required in order to make this business successful?
Do you have the commitment and diligence needed to make this business work?
Do you have the financial stability to start up such a business?
Why do you want to open this business and what impact do you want to have on
customers, the community and the world?
Is money your one and only motivation?
After the brainstorm, students may like to start thinking about which business they would
like to take a particular focus on, or one in which they would like to more about?
Activity 2:
Excursion to local shopping centre
Teachers organise an excursion to the local shopping centre which allows the students to
experience firsthand how particular businesses work. This could include the supermarket,
bakery, post office, cleaner, jeweller, dry-cleaner, and so on.
Students are broken up into smaller groups headed by either a teacher or parent helper and
visit each business on a rotational basis. Each group is given about 15 minutes with each
speaker, in which time they use the questions developed from the Activity 1 brainstorm to
use as prompts.
Students need to discover the following:
- What service does the business provide?
- What makes the business successful?
- What is the manager’s role in the business?
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Students listen attentively to the speakers, taking notes based on the responses given.
Following the excursion, students are given the opportunity to share their findings with their
classmates.
Activity 3:
Creative exploration of businesses
This activity may involve more than one session. Students select and learn about two
businesses they are interested in based on the brainstorm and excursion (see activities 1
and 2). Working individually, students explore their chosen two businesses through visual
art, music, drama and dance.
Their exploration may be informed by interviews, books, internet searches and the
“Worksong” video (see page ...).
Teachers discuss with students:
the physical characteristics of the business men and women visited
the various implements used within businesses
the most efficient ways to portray a character, i.e. which of the arts to utilise, and
how to research effectively
Students conduct their research, and then form their creative artworks. They use their
bodies, voices, art supplies, hand puppets (see page ...) and any other creative devices that
helps to illustrate their business.
Students present their creative representation of two businesses of choice. Teachers discuss
with students:
the importance of voice projection
use of eye contact
effective communication using emphasis
appropriate language for the context and audience, and
attentive listening when not presenting
Teachers work with students to develop and construct a rubric. Each individual is assigned a
classmate and assesses their performance using the rubric.
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Activity 4:
Applying for a business.
After students have explored the two different businesses that they have chosen in Activity
three, students will now take more of a focus on making an application/applying for that
business. The teacher will write down on the board, all of the different businesses that each
student has investigated, so they can make their choice of what they want to apply for.
(Note: There may be more than one student applying for the same business. In this case,
allow the students to discuss amongst them if they want to be in another business, or to be
in competition with each other. Either options work well, as it is important to remember, in
today’s day and age, this is a reality within and between businesses).
For this activity, in order to help the students, each person may use two forms ,such as that
below as a guideline to help them:
Business:
Business Name:
Five skills required to make business successful:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Why are you applying for this business?
Signed:
Activity 5:
Create an ad campaign, signs, jingles and promos
In this activity, students focus on the industry they have chosen to develop a business for
from Activity ... (that they have also applied for the job- Activity 3) and develop an
promotional campaign for it. The students will will work together in groups that will
continue thorughout the remaining group acitivities, collating their ideas and acting as
supportive, interactive group members.
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There are three components to the promotional campaign. A television advertisment, an
advertising poster and a jingle. The students must complete the television ad component
and they have the choice of which other component they develop in accordence with what
will best suit their business. They must justify their choice according to this suitablity.
1. Advertising poster- photographs, text, headings, clip art images can be used to
develop their poster.
A digital camera or scanner will be used to capture images.
This poster can also be created on the computer using a program such as Photoshop
or by hand using poster paper.
2. Jingle- The students will create a short jingle to promote their business.
It will be recorded using using a video recorder, digital camera, laptop, or voice
recorder of some kind.
Music, Lyrics, instruments can be used.
3. TV ad
A story board will be developed to plan the layout of their TV ad
This will illustrate
the content of each scene
The location of shooting the ad
The students will focus on developing speech, sounds and scenes to support their
campaign
They may wish to create their ad for TV or for UTube.
Students will ‘publish’ one of the three created campaigns and present it to the class.
Activity 6:
‘Put your money on your mind’
In this activity, students develop their skills in mental computation and explore alternative
strategies in preparation for Activity 7 Market Day, where they will be required to manage
transactions often without the aid of a calculator. Students are placed into groups of mixed
abilities, giving them the opportunity to teach and learn from each other.
Let’s Get Down to Business 11 2010
Students engage in four different rotations which aim to develop skills in adding and
subtracting monetary values without the use of a calculator. The four stages include
addition and subtraction of decimals, solving real-life problems involving money and games
to encourage the use of and give confidence in, mental computation.
When solving addition and subtraction problems, students work towards finding a solution
that works for them. This may include using tradition algorithms, an empty number line or
an invented strategy. Students share their answers with their group, affirming established
methods and discovering new ones alike.
In solving real-life problems involving money, students are able to practice being the vendor
and customer in preparation for Market Day. One student, the ‘customer,’ “buys” items
from a catalogue and hands over money to the ‘vendor.’ The vendor then issues the
customer with the correct change before swapping roles.
Students participate in various games that highlight the value of mental computation. For
example, in Brain vs Calculator, students divide themselves into two groups, one with
calculators, the other the ‘mental computers.’ They then solve a series of problems to see
who can solve them quickest; the calculators or the computers?
Students write short reflections after each activity reflecting on new strategies learned or
their feelings towards a particular activity undertaken. Teachers can use these reflections to
develop the students’ learning in future classes.
Activity 7:
Market Day
In this activity, each business team sets up their posters and products, and trades their
goods or services. They use their:
creative character development (activity 3)
signage and advertising material (activity 5), and
skills in business related mathematics (activity 6)
Students conduct their businesses with professionalism, utilising the skills developed
throughout the unit.
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Activity: 8
Reflection and evaluation
The students will reflect on what they learned about running a small business. Students
write what they think of the process of small businesses, reflecting on their own campaigns,
market day, the excursion meeting business owners and what that it means to them. They
will write what skills and behaviours that they developed throughout the topic and what
they could further develop.
They will reflect on their individual learning as well as their contributions and roll taken in
the group work.
This reflection may be done using a word processing program or by hand.
Assessment The Victorian Essential Learning Standards supports a combination of assessment practices:
Assessment of learning (summative)
Assessment for learning (formative)
Assessment as learning (ongoing)
Further information on these can be found at:
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/blueprint/fs/assessment.asp
When assessing student achievement, assessment criteria can be developed from relevant
standards and associated tasks or activities. The table below shows a range of assessment
criteria tools and strategies applicable to this unit. Teachers could choose to use some or all
of these or use the unit to assess other standards.
Standards Assessment criteria Evidence
Interpersonal development Working in teams
Ability to: Take on different roles and responsibilities within a group Contribute ideas to class and group discussion
Teacher observations and records of student contributions to class discussion and working in different roles in teams.
Personal Learning The individual learner
Respond to feedback given by teacher and peers to further develop their knowledge and understanding
Use of rubric for feedback (Activity 3)
Comment [P2]: Plan learning sequences and units which are consistent with curriculum statements, frameworks and assessment structures commonly used in schools.
Let’s Get Down to Business 13 2010
English Writing
Produce a job application according to appropriate text structures and audiences
Completion of job application (Activity 4)
English Speaking and listening
Students effectively plan, rehearse, and make a presentation on a business.
Teacher observations and records of student performance and preparation (Activity 3)
Mathematics Number Working mathematically
Students explore and record a range of alternative strategies that they have discovered.
Teacher observations and records of student work (Activity 6)
Communication Listening, viewing and responding
Students develop a list of relevant questions.
Teacher observations and records of students skills in asking questions. (Activity 1 and 2)
Design, Creativity and Technology Investigating and designing
Research and collect information relating to advertising their chosen business
Development of a story board for TV ad, poster and jingle
Information and Communications Technology ICT for visualising ICT for Creating
Students develop their skills by using a range of digital tools and techniques.
Teacher observations and final products in Activity 5
Thinking process Reasoning, Processing and inquiry Reflection, evaluation and metacognition
Students develop their questioning that assists in their discovery of small businesses Students develop a reflective piece of writing on their learning experiences throughout the unit of work.
Teacher observations Final writing piece handed in. (Activity 8)
See the assessment resource for advice on developing rubrics.
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Unit resources
Assessment resource
This document provides information about assessmet strategies referred to in the unit. It is
available at http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/assessment_resource.html
Teacher materials (Teriary)
Title: “So you want to start a business: Eight steps to take before making the leap”.
Author: Edward D. Hess and Charles F. Goetz
Year of Production: 2009
Place of Production: United States of America
Publisher: Pearson Education LTD
http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Start-
Business/dp/0137126670/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287454546&sr=1-
11#reader_0137126670
This is a good tertiary reference that teachers can refer to when undertaking this Unit of
work. It is somewhat similar to what the students have in the “Everything kids money
book”. This is because it provides teachers great background knowledge of what is required
in starting a new/small business, especially as some teachers may not have the personal
experience of starting their own business.
This book includes important information such as: Basic rules of starting a small business,
what is a good business opportunity? , How do you design your product? , How to manage
the business, How to deal with customers and How to manage growth or loss? Teachers will
need to undertake discussion with students at some point within the Unit of work, and
questions such as those mentioned above will be raised, therefore the need for teachers to
be prepared to help students explore such questions.
It also raises three important questions that need to be answered.
1. What will you sell?
2. Who will buy?
3. Why will they buy?
This book makes it an easy to go to reference for teachers, each chapter specifically titled
and helps teachers encourage students of what to look for and what to not look for when
starting a business.
Let’s Get Down to Business 15 2010
Title: “Foundations of Marketing”
Author: Pride- Ferrell
Year of production: 2004
Place of prodcution: United States of America
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Type: Book
This is a referenece for teachers throughout this unit of work “Let’s Get Down to Business”.
It covers all areas of marketing a product and will provide necessary information for a
teacher prior to conducting these activities. It will be of particular benefit during activity 5
when the students are marketing and promoting their business. It gives some interesting
areas of disucssion for the teacher to raise with the class. For example a discussion on E -
marketing and using technology for a global enviornment would be valuable for students
today. It also covers Target market selection, customer behaviour, product decisions, pricing
and distrubution decisions and the important promotion decisions.
Title: Open-ended Maths Activities: Using ‘good’ questions to enhance learning in
Mathematics 2nd Edition
Author: Peter Sullivan and Pat Lilburn
Year of Publication: 2004
Place of Publication: Melbourne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
This publication is a fantastic resource for teachers of all year levels as it offers a range of
problems and covers a variety of VELS Standards including Number, Measurement, Chance
and Data and Space. Each Standard is broken up into smaller sub-sections, each offering
problems suitable for junior primary, middle primary and upper primary. This resource also
has a section on The importance of questioning as well as Using ‘good’ questions as part of
richer assessment. Teachers are informed on how to create their own ‘good’ questions and
can find out how to incorporate these into student assessment.
This resource is particularly useful for teachers as it has sections particularly on Money and
Counting. Therefore, teachers can draw ideas based from the problems posed in the book
when creating activities for the students to participate in.
Let’s Get Down to Business 16 2010
Title: Earn and Learn
Author: Rob Vingerhoets
Year of production: 2006
Place of production: Burwood Victoria
Publisher: Inyahead
The “Earn and Learn” program, from which our unit of work stems, was designed and
written by Rob Vingerhoets and this text for teachers suggests ways to create a mini market
community in the classroom. Vingerhoets focuses on the mathematical purpose of the
program; however for our unit of work we have taken a more english, art, interpersonal and
communication focus. The text provides great reproducible resources and work sheets
(paper money, bank cheques, job contracts, business registrations and the like), as well as
detailed session instructions.
Although the text goes much deeper than what the unit of work does, the lesson ideas and
extension suggestions are a very useful resource which can inspire some further concepts
working within the framework of Let’s Get Down to Business. In conjunction with the text,
there are numerous websites related to the program and how it has been used in
classrooms across Australia. One particularly good website to use in relation to this text is
the author, Rob Vingerhoets’, website (http://robvingerhoets.com.au/index1.asp) which
details his publications and where to purchase them.
The great benefit of the Earn and Learn program is that it is open ended and flexible.
Students enjoy the competitive nature of business management, while learning a great deal
about employment and money.
Let’s Get Down to Business 17 2010
Student Resources
Type of resource: Book- “Everything kids money book”.
Year of Publication: 2008
Publisher: Karen Cooper
Where it is available from:
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Kids-Money-Book-
watch/dp/1598697846%3FSubscriptionId%3D14H876SFAKFS0EHBYQ02%26tag%3Dinspireh
ubpages-
20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D15
98697846#reader_1598697846
Description of how this resource can be used in the classroom:
Money is an exciting that is a huge part of everyday life for kids and grownups. You can
save it, earn it, spend it, collect it or just count it. For children that are interested in
knowing the basics of how to deal with money when starting a small business, then this
is the book to help them along their way. Businesses today revolve around many things,
but predominately money. It is this book that may help children within the classroom
and especially in Activity One (business brainstorm), where they need to establish a set
of questions in regards to everything business. Chapters include: the story of money,
keep the change, bill me: paper money, bank on it, pay day, money makes money, what
stuff costs, super spending, and share the wealth. Within these chapters important
questions are raised such as:
How do you make a profit?
How does the stock market work?
How does the whole idea of ‘money’ work?
Why does price go up and down at certain times, and not constant?
This is a useful student resource when students come across market day as activity
seven in their series of activities, as one element of the story talks to the students about
how to conduct daily trades and fair trading. It also touches on social issues such as how
to deal with and/or treat customers within or between businesses. As a helpful addition
for the students, (as most books do) the glossary at the back encourages students to
look up business terms that they may not fully understand. As it is the first unit of work
on starting a business, it is expected that not all students are going to know all terms,
and so the user friendly glossary of terms could even be put up around the classroom for
everyone to refer to. It also has websites that they can make reference to, if they so
desire.
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Type of resource: Book- “Start your own kid focussed business and more”.
Year of Publication: 2008
Publisher: Jere. L Calmes
Place: Entrepreneur Media Inc.
Where it is available from:
http://www.amazon.com/Start-Your-Kid-Focused-Business-
More/dp/1599182580/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287537595&sr=1-
4#reader_1599182580
Description of how this resource can be used in the classroom:
For students who are looking into starting their own business for this unit of work, the book
“Start your own kid focussed business and more” can be quite helpful as a resource within
the classroom. Not only does it provide students with different ideas of businesses that they
might like to look into (Activity One- Business Brainstorm), it also can assist them with
applying for the business in Activity four where they need to list some of the skills required
to make the business successful. Additionally, this book can help children to delve further
into the important aspects that they will need to consider for their specific chosen business.
It includes information such as:
A day in the life of a...
What does it take to run a business?
The state of the market?
What should you sell/would it really sell?
The key to success, etc.
How to advertise your business, especially when considering market day.
One of the most important aspects that I think will be useful for the students when starting
up their own business is the idea of teamwork. A chapter of this book is dedicated to
informing students of how they can work together as a team and build positive relationships
with one another.
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Title: Australia’s Best: Entrepreneurs
Author: Ruth Learner
Year of production: 1998
Place of production: Victoria, Australia
Publisher: Heinemann Library
Type: Book
Students can refer to this book throughout the “Let’s Get Down to Business” unit of work.
They are meeting business owners and discussing how they developed their business and
this book gives them further people to research. It provides the opportunity for the students
to widen the industries that they can research as there is limited time on the excursion. It
also gives some insight into how these people maintained success in business. Not only by
being profitable but what other components and personality traits it takes to maintain
success.
In the classroom it could have many uses. Firstly it can be used as a ‘read to‘ book as it has
some interesting points that could be great discussions for the class. Secondly it can be used
as a resource in activity... when the students are conducing research on other businesses
and industries in addition to the excursion. Thirdly as a further knowledge read for student
that completes their work and have the opportunity to read silently a book that is on the
topic.
Title: Collins Eyewitness Guides: Money
Author: Joe Cribb
Year of production: 1990
Place of production: Great Britain
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Limited
Type: Book
Money is a book that illustrates and describes the diverse world of money. It includes real
photographs of money such as Egyptian silver, Chinese hoe money, Spanish gold, siege
money as well as today’s international currencies. It offers a See, Learn and Discover
experience where for example the students can see what certain money looked/s like, learn
how it’s made or why certain customs are undertaken in different countries, and discover
how to detect forged coins. There is so much information that the students can research
and learn.
Let’s Get Down to Business 20 2010
The main use for this book in the classroom is for further research increasing their
knowledge base. They can use it during research time in the varying activities as well as
further reading when they have the chance. It can also be used as a discussion point during
a lesson to draw the student’s awareness to money around the world in different cultures. If
there were different cultures within the classroom it would also be good to incorporate
those students knowledge on money from their cultures.
Title: Classroom Focus- Money
Author: Hilary Adams
Year of Publication: 2005
Place of Publication: Sydney
Publisher: Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd
This book offers students a lot of information on money and is relative to life and systems in
Australia. There is background information including a short history of money, the making of
coins, testing money and even a section on cheques and credit cards. All of this is related to
how money works and is used in Australia. There are games that the students can play if
they are early finishers, as well as worksheets and activities that can be completed. These
are activities that students can initiate and run without the teacher.
This book also comes with a large poster that can be displayed around the room. It shows
how money is designed and created as well as how it is recycled once it has reached the end
of its lifespan. This is a fantastic resource for students, especially for those who are visual
learners and benefit from seeing what happens during this process instead of just reading it.
Students can use this poster to recreate their own showing the process and lifespan of
money, perhaps even showing the journey of a banknote from its creation to its being
recycled into plastic products.
Let’s Get Down to Business 21 2010
Title: Introduction to Marketing
Year of Publication: 2008
Publisher: D.E. Visuals
Type: DVD
This DVD offers information on a range of different business areas and how best to market
products for that business. The list of occupations includes:
- Advertising/promotion
- Clothing/textiles and fashion industry
- E-commerce
- Graphic design
- International business
- Management
- Retailing
- Web development
Being a DVD means that students who prefer audio-visual learning can sit at a computer and
watch and listen to the information provided on the area of their choice. Students are given
great insight and background into each area that they are likely to never have experienced
before. It is up to date with twenty-first century occupations that have mostly been made
available to us only recently.
For students who have overseas interests or connections, which is highly likely in most
Australian schools, the DVD offers a section on international business which could be
appealing to these students. It covers language barriers and communication, lifestyle
changes, and different company roles that may be applicable.
Students could also be given the opportunity to watch the section that appeals to them and
create a piece of writing of their choice. This could be a literary text or a multimodal text,
both of which students need to be familiar with at VELS English Level 4. For example, they
could write an essay or create a website based on the information they find on the DVD.
Type of resource: video
Found online at: http://vimeo.com/6370531
Title of program: Work Song by Reading Rainbow
A production of: Lancit Media Entertainment, WNED-TV and GPN, PBS and the US
Department of Education
Let’s Get Down to Business 22 2010
Featuring the popular Children’s book “Work Song” written by Gary Paulsen and illustrated
by Ruth Wright Paulsen (1997), this 28 minute children’s documentary travels through many
work domains, exploring numerous businesses. There is a focus on enjoying work that you
can excel at, and the requirement of work to maintain an orderly society. During the
program, viewers see people fighting fire, cooking, creating cartoons and art, teaching,
working office jobs and even making drums. Professionals in these fields speak about what
they enjoy in their line of work, answering questions that would be interesting and relevant
to students in level four. Watching the film may also assist students in getting into
character, which they are required to do in activity 3 and 7.
This would be particularly useful within this unit of work to showcase job variety, which
students may use to inspire their job choice for the market day. It will also encourage
students to think about what their skills are and how they may capitalise on them. While the
entire program is useful and enjoyable, the suite is quite lengthy; it could be beneficial to
select a portion of the feature to show. The shorter sections in which people are
interviewed on their occupation or business are the most interesting and a lot can be
gleaned from these points of view.
Towards the end of the short film, some children conduct mini book reviews of further texts
that are useful and relevant to the topic. Students undertaking the unit may take the advice
of these children in locating further texts as part of their research (activity 3). The film itself
can be viewed online anytime, thus students can access it from home or school to aid their
character development and successful market day contributions (activity 3 and 7).
Type of resource: hand puppets (chef, police officer, surgeon and fire-fighters)
Available online at: http://www.thinkbutton.com/occupations.asp
These resources are relevant to the unit because the puppets are depictions of people in
businesses or occupations. While the available four are not representative of all businesses,
they can be used as a prompt. Puppets are useful for students that revel at the idea of
hands on activity, literally! These cute puppets can help students to channel their creative
ideas about various businesses, which will enable their confidence in using drama more
widely. Although using puppets may seem very juvenile at first, the experience can be a
great starting point for character growth and may encourage students that have no interest
in drama, to have a go.
Drawing from experiences with puppets such as these four, students may choose to create
their own puppet that relates to the business they are modelling in their art time for activity
3. Essentially, the puppets would be for inspiration and character development. However,
the puppets could be used further if students choose an occupation (such as an entertainer)
Let’s Get Down to Business 23 2010
and sell tickets to puppet shows. They may even decide to make and sell puppets of their
own as their business, and thus, the puppets make for a good source of inspiration.
In level four, puppets can be incorporated into lessons in a number of ways. For some
students the puppets will be an accessible and enjoyable way to explore businesses. For
others, the puppets may encourage creativity and inspire dramatic exploration. Other
children will use the puppets directly and explicitly in their business. However the students
choose to respond to or with the puppets, their experience with them is highly beneficial
and acts as a motivational tool in the classroom.
Taking this angle in motivating students is particularly effective for kinaesthetic learners as
well as children with psychomotor, sensory and imaginational over excitabilities. Puppet use
can also help to simplify concepts which may be difficult or foreign to students, allow for an
element of story-telling and can aid in communication skills.
Let’s Get Down to Business 24 2010