Because our class at El Sol had to cancel due to their field trip, we spent time developing activities for our future visits that should last us until the end of the year. We generated a significant amount of content by creating our own, pulling from online sources, and improving on/enhancing previous activities. They are as follows. Additionally, we restocked on supplies and purchased some new items as well.
1.) I will divide the group of children into two groups evenly down the middle without letting them pick teams. I will then give one group 5 of a certain object, for example candies. I will give the other group 1 of a certain object, for example a pencil. I will tell both groups that they each need what the other has, so they must make a trade. I will tell the pencil group to trade the pencil for no less than 4 candies and will tell the candy group to trade for no more than 2 candies. The ideal trade is obviously not possible so the two groups will have to negotiate for a while. I will then begin to suggest marketing strategies to each group, for example, "You need a pencil or else you won't be able to pass your test you have to take today" and "Don't you wish you had this savory candy?" Eventually, when the kids are stuck and losing interest, I will give them new instructions that will work and they will make a deal. Then, I will explain the significance of marketing and "selling" your product. I will also talk about how sometimes deals that we want to make don't always work out perfectly and we need to cooperate to make something happen.
2.) Marketing Activity: Kids are all given the same item. Each has a piece of blank paper and markers etc. The goal is to design the best poster that advertises the product.
Materials: White paper 8.5X11, Markers
3.)
Auction Activity:
1. Ten pennies are given out to each of the students.
2. Three sticky notes will be provided to each of the students. They will also need their own pencil/pen with which to write.
3. Each student will randomly draw three items from a bag and write down their own prices on the sticky notes for each of their respective items
4. They will all post the sticky notes next to their items, thereby creating a marketplace.
5. Now, we go one by one for each student, auctioning off each of their items according to the starting prices they've set.
a. If nobody wants to buy something, we ask the seller if they are willing to lower their price. If the seller is and nobody buys it again, the seller keeps the item.
b. If more than one person wants to buy it, the highest bidder gets it.
6. The student with the highest amount of money wins a price and the student with the biggest amount of items wins a prize.
4.) Short group discussion about finding practical ways to find job opportunities that incorporate passions. If there's time, we'll incorporate drawing and award them with candy at the end. In terms of the overall visit, we should bring back timers to make sure that each group knows exactly how much time left they have to finish their activity so nothing gets skipped.
