Core Skills Analysis
Mathematics
- The student practiced pricing by choosing a price for the business, which builds early understanding of number sense, value, and simple economics.
- Creating a price list or deciding on cost encourages comparison, estimation, and reasoning about what customers might be willing to pay.
- If posters or fliers included amounts, the activity supported reading and writing numbers in a real-world context.
- Making money-related decisions helps connect math to everyday life and introduces the idea of profit and planning.
Language Arts
- Choosing a business name developed word choice and helped the student think about how language can attract attention.
- Writing posters and fliers strengthened persuasive writing by encouraging clear, concise messages that persuade people to notice the business.
- The student likely practiced organizing information so it is easy to read, which supports communication skills and audience awareness.
- Creating a logo and name also built vocabulary about branding, identity, and how words and images work together.
Art & Design
- Designing a logo gave the student experience with visual symbolism, where a simple image represents an idea or business.
- Making posters and fliers supported layout design, color choice, and the use of visuals to grab attention.
- The activity encouraged creativity and planning, since the student had to decide how to make the business look appealing.
- Combining text and images helped the student understand how design can communicate a message quickly.
Social Studies / Economics
- Starting a business introduced the basic idea of entrepreneurship and what it means to offer something people want.
- The student learned that businesses need names, branding, and pricing to communicate with customers.
- Creating fliers and posters showed how businesses advertise to share information and reach an audience.
- The activity may have also built awareness of consumer choice and how businesses compete for attention.
Tips
To extend this activity, have the student explain what the business sells, who the customers are, and why the chosen price makes sense. Next, compare two different logo or poster designs and discuss which one is easier to read or more memorable, helping the student think like both an artist and a business owner. You could also create a simple pretend budget by listing materials, price, and possible earnings so the student sees how businesses plan ahead. Finally, let the student present the business to family members, then revise the name, slogan, or flyer based on feedback—this strengthens communication, confidence, and problem-solving.
Book Recommendations
- A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams: A child helps the family save money and plan carefully, connecting to real-world money decisions and goals.
- Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin: A playful story about negotiation and persuasive messages, which connects well to fliers and business communication.
- The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone: A classic story about work, effort, and making something from scratch, which fits the idea of starting a small business.
Learning Standards
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.A.2 — Students apply measurement and money ideas in real-world situations such as pricing items.
- CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1 — Can be connected to repeated addition when thinking about how much money is made from multiple sales.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1 — Writing persuasive posters and fliers supports opinion/persuasive writing with reasons and clear messages.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.4 — Creating business materials requires clear, organized writing appropriate for a specific audience and purpose.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.4 — Presenting the business idea builds speaking skills for sharing information clearly.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.6 — Choosing business names, slogans, and descriptive words expands vocabulary use in context.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7 — Using images and text together in posters and logos reflects how visual and written elements work together to create meaning.
Try This Next
- Design a 3-step worksheet: business name, logo sketch, and price choice with a short reason for each.
- Write 3 persuasive flyer slogans and circle the one that would best attract customers.
- Create a simple math problem: If one item costs $___ and 5 are sold, how much money is made?
- Draw two poster layouts and compare which one is easier to read from far away.