Students attending Mini-Town are divided into two different groups. The students who are the producers run the SOE Bank, a loan department, and various food and craft businesses. Jobs include bank tellers, loan officers, rent collector, tax collector, utilities collector, cooks, and craft designers. Each employee will earn two paychecks for the work performed.
Before the field trip, students gather in their teams based on job assignments. They learn what goods or services each shop will be providing in the economy. The children make a sign or advertisement to hang in their shop.
Teammates then work together on a loan application for their business. They will need to borrow enough money to pay expenses like rent, taxes, and utilities. The loan amount also includes salaries and buying supplies from the SOE warehouse. By completing a loan application, students are practicing math addition skills and learning how capital resources are essential to start a business.
At the School Of Economics, the young producers are greeted in a town hall meeting led by certified teachers who review the vocabulary and grade-level economic concepts. They hear about the importance of teamwork in running a successful business that satisfies customers and earns enough money to pay back a loan with interest. Doors open to reveal a marketplace of food and craft shops and the crowd gasps with excitement!
Students check in to their assigned jobs wearing nametags and getting a designated “dot color” for their lunch break. They are introduced to parent and community volunteers with a handshake and smile. Those in the loan department begin processing loan applications, getting contracts signed, and delivering borrowed money to each of the shops. Cooks put on aprons and start reading recipes. Craft designers buy supplies at the SOE warehouse so that the craft assembly can begin. Teams have approximately one hour to follow written directions and make food or craft items before the marketplace opens.
Meanwhile, the second group of students who were designated as consumers, arrive at the School of Economics. They have already earned spending money in previous weeks back at their school. Teachers often set classroom or behavior expectations and reward them with $1.00 per day and use math charts or graphs to track the amount earned. Paychecks are prepared for each student to bring to the SOE Bank on field trip day.
The learning objectives for consumers are to recognize coins, know their values, and to use coins in various combinations when making purchases at the SOE shops. We want them to have a solid foundation and understanding of money before using credit or debit cards. The economic concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost come in to play in very real and tangible ways! Based on the choices, students can conduct a personal cost-benefit analysis.
The flow of the simulation is for consumers to preview or “window shop” available merchandise. Then they cash first paychecks and make spending decisions based on needs and wants, including food for lunch. Producers take turns on break also, on a carefully choreographed schedule. Everyone gets to see the relationship between consumers and producers in an economy.
Mid-day there is a period when shops close, businesses asses their sales and remaining inventory, and a deposit is made to the loan department. Students figure out how much more money they need to make to pay back the loan.
There is a second round of consumerism and breaks for producers. Final sales are made, and everyone has a full belly and bag of trinkets to take home. In addition to the food and craft merchandise, students may choose to spend hard-earned money on carnival-type games. The game requires knowing math skills to win (adding doubles, estimating, and counting by tens). The “math carnival” is staffed by parent volunteers.
Consumers can save any unspent money in the SOE Bank for next year’s visit to the School of Economics. Savings earn 10% interest.
After the consumers leave SOE, producers continue to clean up their work areas and deposit sales income to the loan department. The closing ceremony is a review of the simulation and praise for the shop teams which paid back their loan and made a profit. Fun is had by all!