Running a Business
Materials Required: Computers with a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel and various items on hand that the students can sell.
Activity Time: Three (3) 45 minute lessons
Concepts Taught: Spreadsheet
Session 1:
Begin the first lesson by explaining Spreadsheets to the students. Explain how spreadsheets
work, what they are used for and how to create a spreadsheet. Explain how to write formulas and how to enter the information on the spreadsheet. Explain the usefulness of spreadsheets in business finances.
Session 2:
The students are then assigned to imagine that they are the owners of a store. There will be a couple types of stores that they would be assigned such as a grocery store, electronics store, cosmetics store, or accessories store. They need to determine twenty items that they would sell and a realistic price they would charge. I would provide a prelist of the various items that would be available per store with the wholesale prices and suggested retail price.
The students would be given “money” to visit the other stores to make purchases. They each have the opportunity to go around and visit the other stores to make purchases. While one group would shop, the other group will record the items they sold.
Session 3:
The students would then create a spreadsheet with the “wholesale prices” and their “retail prices”. Once the information is entered into the spreadsheet, the students would need to figure out their profits. After they have used the formulas to figure their profits, we would discuss the assignment and its relationship to a successful business.