7th Grade Business Plans

Today I sat in on a 7th grade math class in which students continued working on the development of small-group business plans, a 7th grade math project now in its fourth year at TBS. Besides the interesting ideas for businesses - such as pet care and coffee, or video-game delivery service - and the lessons that come from working in groups, two content dimensions jumped out. First, learning to write business plans calls for skills from a variety of disciplines beyond the mathematical calculations and modeling; students were also learning the language of business (revenue and profit), as well as how to create compelling narrative pitches in writing and advertising, and how to present these to their peers. Second, students were learning to use spreadsheet software to calculate formulas and graphs, and being introduced to the professional and practical life use of technology as a tool to assist them in their problem solving. At the end of the class, despite repeated notices, Sima still had to go around the room to each table and convince the children to stop and transition to the next class!