Business Valuation for Sharks -- Shark Tank Inspired Financial Literacy Project

Bringing the Entrepreneurial Spirit to your Classroom!

I might only watch one TV show. So what? It's the coolest show on the planet -- Shark Tank! This 21st Century Math Project takes students on an entrepreneurial journey that will help them understand some of the basics of small business finance.

It was also the landslide winner in next 21st Century Math Project Poll!

Name: Business Valuation for Sharks

Suggested Grade Level: 6-12

Math Concepts: Proportion, Percent and Data Analysis

Interdisciplinary Connections: Business, Financial Literacy, Accounting, Finance

Teaching Duration: 5-7 Days (can be modified)

Cost: $6 for a 22 Page PDF (3 assignment and answer keys) 

PDF Version: Business Valuation for Sharks @ TPT

The Product:  Students will create a small business plan or invention that you will pitch to a panel of Sharks in hopes that you get an investment (your grade depends on it!) They will be putting their knowledge of

Can I just show Shark Tank and pass
out on my desk? Answer = Probably Not

equity, revenue projections and valuation to the test all built around their own creation.

Although I've never taken a business or finance class, I think the last two years of watching Shark Tank have taught me more than I could have learned in a classroom. Watching the show has shown me what top executives find important in business, what types of numbers they are interested in and which types of products garner more interest from them.

While it would be impossible to cover all of these skill in a single math project, I've laid the foundation for students to grab onto some key financial terms and I've applied authentic math at each turn. Proportions, Percents and Analyzing Data Trends jump into the deep waters with this math project inspired by the popular TV show Shark Tank. Students learn some basic fundamentals of owning their own business while they learn foundational finance terms such as equity, value, EBIT and multiplier.

Hey! Don't talk bad about the Common
Core. I'm just starting to figure it out.

Bring the creativity into the math classroom! Bring the entrepreneurs. Educators don't believe our students have enough opportunities to be creative. Business leaders complain young workers aren't creative. You can't turn on the internet without seeing a story about another high school dropout who started a business and made 19 bajillion dollars. How are we supposed to work on creative? Hmmm... how about... let them be creative.

While the Common Core standards are all well and good (and this is mapped to them!), the words Common and Core don't quite lend themselves well to creativity.

In all it is four different assignments --

-- “Equity Share”. Students will compute proportions to determine equity.

-- “Valuation Station”. Students will be introduced to a basic accounting formula EBIT which is one method

You mean... I might actually learn
something that I would in college?

to compute a company’s valuation. Students will be introduced to the concept of a multiplier and will calculate valuations.

-- “Revenue Forecast”.  Students will analyze data to look for trends and project future income. They will
combine this skill with the EBIT skill from the previous activity and will analyze multipliers of related companies to estimate a multiplier for their own.

-- “Swimming with the Sharks”. Students will create a small business plan or invention that you will pitch to a panel of Sharks in hopes that you get an investment (your grade depends on it!) They will be putting their knowledge of equity, revenue projections and valuation to the test all built around their own creation.

EXTENSIONS:
Let a student run with a good idea. Encourage their creativity!

Zombie Apocalypse -- Life Saving STEM Project / Safety Plan

It's inevitable. One day Zombies will take over Earth. If you are not preparing your students, you are being irresponsible. If you want to turn your "dead" exponential and logarithm unit into an "undead" one, this 21st Century Math Project might work for you.

Forget the bird flu, are you prepared for this?

Name: Zombie Apocalypse

Suggested Grade Level: 9-12 (Algebra 2 skills)

Math Concepts: Exponential Functions, Logarithmic Functions, Modeling, Predicting, Inverses

Interdisciplinary Connections: Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse, Report Writing

Teaching Duration: 1-2 Days (can be modified)

Cost: $6 for a 18 Page PDF (3 assignment and answer keys) 

PDF Version: Zombie Apocalypse @ TPT

The Product: Students will use data from the assignment to formulate an Action Plan for the United Nations Center for Disease Control.

Turn your Algebra 2 or Pre-Calculus into a forum for United Nations research and development. Specifically focusing on exponential and logarithmic functions, students will be given the notes of a renown scientist who herself has become a zombie. They must make sense of the notes before they too succumb to

Sweet. I'll start digging my shelter now.

the virus. Students will practice evaluating, modeling, analyzing and inverting these functions.

Lets not kid ourselves, there's about 12 different Zombie TV shows on right now. Someone must be watching them. I'm not a Zombie-junky myself, but I think it's a nice way to model some exponential functions.

In this 18 page document you will be given a mapping to the Content Standards, an outline for how to implement the project, handout resources for students to use, and an answer key. In all it is three different assignments --

-- "Zombie Apocalypse" will have students (or teams) answer the exponential function and logarithm questions and develop mathematical models and make predictions. Using regression functions on TI-Graphing Calculators or Excel is necessary. This

And everyone thought I was a zombie, ha!

should take approximately 1 class period. Along the way they will explore inverse exponential and logarithmic functions

-- “Outbreak”. In this task, half of your class will turn into zombies while the other have tries to cure them... or else they will become Zombies too.

-- “Z-Day”. Asks students to use exponential decay models to determine when the Zombie population is controlled.

Okay... Zombies aren't really my thing,
but I can see how this might apply to
other Earth-threatening Epidemics

Students (or teams) will create a report to the United Nations in which they design an Action Plan, Procedures for an Antidote and Suggestions for future safeguards.

EXTENSIONS:
As far as authentic math extensions could go, perhaps students can look at student attendance data around flu season (or exam season) and see if there's any exponential growth there :-)

CSI: Algebra 2 / Pre-Calculus is Complete!!

And approved by Ben Franklin!

Nearly completing the high school curriculum, CSI Algebra 2 / PreCalculus is underway and will be complete by mid-July! 

Of course each unit can be purchased separately or you could save some cash and buy the whole eBook when it is finally available! 

For those unfamiliar with my CSI puzzles, I take a unit of math material, select a different world region and create a fictional crime spree with clues (aligned to the Common Core, hurray!)

When it is all together, here's what you will find. 

EDIT: (IT'S DONE! Here's a link to the new CSI: Algebra 2 / PreCalculus eBook)

Unit 1: Matrices (Washington, DC)  
Unit 2: Families of Functions (West Africa)
Unit 3: Radical Functions (Pacific Northwest)
Unit 4: Polynomial Functions (UAE)
Unit 5: Rational Functions (Central America)
Unit 6: Exponential & Logarithmic Functions (East Asia)
Unit 7: Advanced Trigonometry (Greece)
Unit 8: Conic Sections (Russia)
Unit 9: Series (New York City) 

Math it Up.

CSI Pre-Algebra is Now Live!

Coming to an Electronic Teacher Resource
Store Near You!

CSI: Pre-Algebra has arrived. I've been asked by a number of lower grades teacher about making something for them. It is nearly ready to go so be prepared to defend the world against the world conquering device! So here it is!

Each unit can be purchased separately or you could save some cash and buy the whole eBook! 

For those unfamilar with my CSI puzzles, I take a unit of math material, select a different world region and create a fictional crime spree with clues (aligned to the Common Core, hurray!)

HERE IT IS: The CSI Pre-Algebra eBook. 

You can now get the Interactive & Customizable Version of CSI Pre-Algebra @ NextLesson.org

When it is all together, here's what you will find.

Unit 1: Order of Operations & Expressions (South America) 
Unit 2: Factors, Primes & Multiples (Middle East) 
Unit 3: Equations & Inequalities (Europe)
Unit 4: Decimals (Oceania)
Unit 5: Exponents, Roots & Scientific Notation (East Asia)
Unit 6: Fractions (Central America)
Unit 7: Ratio, Proportion & Percent (Africa)
Unit 8: Coordinate Plane (Antarctica)
Unit 9: Data Analysis & Probability (North America)

Cool Website Spotlight -- New Global Citizens

To conclude my series of cool websites with an emphasis on global connections, I end with one that encourages students to put their knowledge to use and take action on an issue. New Global Citizens.

http://www.newglobalcitizens.org/

New Global Citizens is a United States based non-profit that aims to give middle school and high school students a global perspective and provide avenues to take action on an issue. They believe that through empowering students to become agents of change that they are in fact equipping a New Global Citizen. New Global Citizens serves as a middleman to facilitate global partnership with service agencies on the ground around the world. As opposed to seeking out a direct partnership with an international organization (which is difficult) that line of communication is open and ready for a classroom to engage in the work. For instance, New Global Citizens have a partnership with the Nyaka AIDS Orphan Project which serves children in Uganda. Teachers and student leaders, would “lead a team” to educate others about the issue, increase global awareness and raise money for a cause that helps others around the world. 

How would I use this in my math classroom? I suppose whenever fundraising occurs money and accounting are not far behind. Asking students to keep cost and revenue records lends to systems of equations and projecting future costs or revenue connects with modeling, patterns and regression. Whenever money is involved, math is not far behind. 

Cool Website Spotlight -- Skype in the Classroom

Skype in the Classroom is an extension of the popular mainstream internet based communication tool. Currently nearly 50,000 teachers and 2,400 lessons are available on Skype and with a little something for all content areas. Collaborations can connect a classroom from St. Louis to Hong Kong with little effort. A testimonial of third grade teacher shares who she has brought her classroom to China, Italy, New Zealand, Brazil, England, Albania, Israel and India with a few clicks and messages between international teachers. Famous people from the Secretary of State to famed basketball player Shaquille O’Neal have also taken part in Skype in the Classroom lessons.

In addition their catalogue of teaching resources, teachers can arrange “Mystery Skypes” with a classroom around the world. Through interacting, asking and answering questions students are asked to figure out where in the world they are and learn about another culture.

How would I use this in the math classroom? There is a wonderful collection of resources for each content area. With more careful exploration, perhaps I can find a lesson that fits into what I'm doing. The idea of connecting with a "sister" classroom across the world that is doing similar things is also very intriguing and can better connect students to the world around them!

Cool Website Spotlight -- ePals Global Community

To continue with the theme of globally connected learning opportunities, today I highlight another interesting site, ePals Global Community.

http://www.epals.com/

ePals Global Community is a site to help build connections across the globe. Teachers are able to post ads for the type of partnership they are interested in and what age-level they serve. While most collaboration efforts have specific goals (such as a student art exchange), many teachers are looking to develop pen pal relationships for their students. These interactions are also safely housed through the ePals site as opposed to direct communication to ensure safety and privacy. ePals also boasts a catalogue of engaging, globally relevant classroom resources that teachers can use for free.

How would I use this in the math classroom? This one may be more literacy focused, but if students develop relationships across the globe, perhaps they share similar math experiences.