Exploring Business Ideas

Australian Curriculum Context

Economics and Business: Year 3

This lesson addresses the Australian Curriculum: Economics and Business, focusing on developing enterprising skills and understanding economic concepts like needs and wants, and supply and demand. The specific curriculum area and level involved are:

• Curriculum Area: Economics and Business
• Year Level: 3
• Content Descriptions: Recognise why people work and why they might work in different ways. Identify different types of businesses and the goods and services they provide to satisfy the needs and wants of people in the local community.

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Differentiate between types of businesses: service vs product selling.
• Understand the concepts of needs, wants, supply, and demand.
• Conduct basic research and provide feedback.
• Engage in a practical exercise to conceptualise and plan a small business.

Lesson Structure

Introduction (10 minutes)

1. Greeting and Introduction: Welcome the students and introduce the topic of the day: different types of businesses.
2. Icebreaker: Quick discussion on what businesses the students know and whether they sell products or services.

Activity 1: Understanding Needs and Wants (10 minutes)

1. Mini-Lecture: Explain the difference between needs (essential items such as food, clothing, and shelter) and wants (non-essential items like toys, gadgets, and holidays).
2. Interactive Discussion: Have students list some of their own needs and wants on the whiteboard.

Activity 2: Types of Businesses (15 minutes)

1. Mini-Lecture: Explain the difference between service businesses (e.g., hairdressers, cleaners) and product-selling businesses (e.g., toy shops, bookshops).
2. Group Activity: Each student draws a business card from a pre-made set (e.g., bakery, car wash, clothing store). Each student will identify if their business provides a service or sells a product.
3. Discussion: Each student shares their business card and whether it’s a service or product business.

Activity 3: Supply and Demand (10 minutes)

1. Explanation: Describe the concepts of supply and demand with simple, age-appropriate examples (e.g., a lemonade stand on a hot day vs. a cold day).
2. Interactive Discussion: Pose scenarios to the students and ask what might happen to the supply and demand (e.g., if it starts raining, will people still want lemonade?).

Activity 4: Research and Feedback (10 minutes)

1. Research Task: Each student will choose a business type they’re interested in and research what it needs to start (e.g., materials, location, costs). Provide simple books or a supervised internet search session.
2. Feedback: Each student shares one interesting fact about their chosen business.

Activity 5: Practical 'Start a Business' Project (5 minutes)

1. Project Introduction: Explain that the students will now create a simple plan for starting their own business.
2. Instructions: Each student will draw their business, create a name, and decide what they will sell and the cost (use pre-made templates to guide their plans).

Conclusion and Reflection (5 minutes)

1. Sharing Time: Let each student briefly present their business plan to the class.
2. Reflection: Quick round-up discussion on what they learned about different types of businesses, needs and wants, and supply and demand.
3. Wrap-Up: Thank the students for their participation and enthusiasm.

Resources Needed

• Whiteboard and markers
• Pre-made business cards (service vs product examples)
• Simple research materials (books, supervised internet access)
• Drawing paper and colours
• Pre-made templates for business plan project

Assessment

• Formative: Participation in discussions and activities.
• Summative: Presentation of their business plan and the ability to articulate the type of business, needs and wants, and basic supply and demand concepts.

Extensions

1. Classroom Market: Organise a classroom market day where students "sell" their products or services to peers using play money.
2. Guest Speaker: Invite a local business owner to talk to the class about running a business.

This lesson plan is designed to be engaging and hands-on, ensuring that Year 3 students in Australia gain a foundational understanding of different types of businesses through interactive activities and practical application.