Lemonade+for+Sale+Reinforcing+Activity

 Students will be able to describe the role of entrepreneurship in a market economy.  Students will be able to describe the role of competition in a market economy.
 * Objectives: **

 Packs of the different mini candy bars.  Fake money.  Several pieces of Card board.
 * Materials Needed: **

After reading “Lemonade for Sale”, the first thing the teacher should do is have a discussion with the class about what is an entrepreneur. Ask the students what products in today’s world or what services in today’s world do they think would make a lot of money. Hold a brainstorming discussion with students about this concept of what an entrepreneur does and why it is important in a market economy. Show video of the story of the creator of “Famous Amos” chocolate chip cookies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LuBOv1y4CI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9rb3Sn7vs
 * Procedures: **

 Also discuss the economic principle of competition with the students. This discussion and presentation should take up one class period.

 The next class period, start out the class by telling the students they are going to be candy bar entrepreneurs today. Their task will be to sell candy bars to their classmates in class. The teacher will divide the class into three separate groups (two groups of sellers, and one group of buyers). At first there will be only one seller of the candy bars. Have the first group of sellers design their candy bar shop. Have them use the cardboard to decorate and make signs advertising their product. This should only take five to ten minutes. Have them set a price for the candy bars that gives them a certain percentage of profit. Discuss profit margin with the class and what this concepts means. The buyer group will be given the fake money and told that they are hungry, they have no other store around and the candy bar stand is the only way they will be able to get something to eat. Students then should line up to buy the candy bars from the candy bar stand. As the students run out of candy bars, they will be forced to buy more. The teacher will charge them a certain fee to buy more products from the teacher. Students will then have to raise prices in order to make their set profit margin.

 Now the teacher will tell the class that another group of sellers, (led by another group of student entrepreneurs) has noticed the success of the first candy bar stand and have decided to set up shop. This candy bar stand will be set up on the opposite side of the classroom. They will be selling the same candy bars, but will add another service to the candy bar stand. Have the students brain storm what they could do to differentiate themselves from the first candy bar stand (other than lower price). They could come up with adding additional services, they could come up with different promotions such as boisterous students proclaiming their candy bars are of better quality (even though they are exactly the same), decorating their stand to like nicer, etc. The point is to get the students to add more of a value/different value for the customers to get them to buy candy bars from their candy bar stand.

 Now the buyer group is divided. Ask students which candy bar stand they would want to buy their candy bars from. Most students should say the new one due to the “added value” of the new candy bar stand. Ask the students what just happened with the old candy bar stand. Ask the students what economic principle was just introduced? They all should answer competition. Ask the operators of the old candy bar stand what they would do to compete against their new competition. They could say lower prices (caution students they don’t want to get in a price cutting war and what happens to profits in this case) or they could say add new line of candy bars to their stand, or redecorate their stand to make it more attractable. The students could also say they would offer promotions, such as buy one get one free, etc.

 With the new promotion the buyers are going back to the old candy bar stand for their sugar fix. Ask the students what the second candy bar stand should do to get back their customers. This debate can go back in forth until one candy bar stand is forced out of business due to lack of sales and profit. Teacher can end the activity by giving distinct advantage to one of the candy bar stands. This could be that they reached a deal with the makers of the candy bars that if they buy certain quantity they get a price break. The other candy bar stand is not afforded this opportunity and forced to go out of business as a result. Or, they get outside investment that allows them to expand their services such as adding drinks, nice dining room, etc. Hold a discussion with the students about the activities and discuss what they learned.