Lakeridge Elementary’s third, fourth and fifth grade highly capable learners recently concluded a “Merchants with a Cause” unit, which focuses on entrepreneurship and charitable giving.
They kicked off with a field trip to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle to learn how companies and foundations can support important causes. Each student was then asked to research a cause that was important to them and create a product to sell at their fair.
The unit culminated with the Merchants with a Cause Fair in early March, in which students displayed their products for sale along with informative boards and persuasive videos made on iMovie about the charities they want to raise awareness for. The fair raised over $1,900 in donations, which will go to benefit nonprofit organizations.
The students were asked to select a local, regional or global cause they care deeply about and to research and identify a charitable organization that addresses their cause. They were pushed to select organizations that are effective, innovative, inspiring and reputable. Each student wrote a persuasive paragraph about the charitable organization they chose and how it demonstrated those terms.
Before the fair, students presented their selected causes and charities to their classes and each class voted to select one nonprofit organization to be supported by the fair proceeds. The money raised was allocated based on students votes to the following three charities: International Justice Mission, Save the Wildlife and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Each student designed a product that was tied to their cause, refined their prototype after receiving peer reviews, and worked independently to make around 15 of them to sell at the fair. For example, one student made temperature-sensitive, color-changing slime to raise awareness for global warming. Another student used paper, balsa wood and foil to make small banks shaped like homes to raise money for homelessness. Others made dog treats to support animals in need.
“Merchants with a Cause” focuses on entrepreneurship and charitable giving. Photo courtesy of Craig Degginger/Mercer Island School District
