E-commerce is Elementary:
Weldon's Bookworm Company Goes Online

Cynthia A. Weldon Collegiate School Richmond, Virginia Cynthia Weldon is a kindergarten teacher at Collegiate Lower School in Richmond, Virginia. She has developed economic education lesson plans and presented her ideas at statewide workshops for elementary teachers.

Objectives Students learn to use various computer software programs in the production of goods. Students learn to recognize and count coins, dollar bills, and checks as forms of money. Students learn to buy or barter for goods as a means of trade. Students learn that goods in modern societies usually are purchased with currency versus barter. Students learn to analyze consumer choices. Time Required 7 weeks Materials Computer Materials for producing bookmarks: paper, ribbons, laminating film KidPix and ClarisWorks software programs Class Web site or access to your school Web site Book Jelly Beans for Sale, by Bruce McMillan, Scholastic, New York, 1998 Internet access to the following Web sites: Weldon's Bookworm Company From the home page, click on the Current Projects link to access Weldon's Bookworm Company. Online Branding http://webreference.com/new/branding.html Sell It on the Web www.sellitontheweb.com

Overview
Starting a business provides an excellent opportunity for children to experience economics in a hands-on, interactive manner in the elementary classroom. By using computer software programs to produce products and by selling these products online in local and global markets, Weldon's Bookworm Company demonstrates the efficiency of new technology and examines the Internet as a medium for electronic commerce.

Teaching Activity
Explain to the class that they will start a company to create, produce, and sell bookmarks. Tell students they will sell the bookmarks locally, nationally, and internationally, in traditional markets and over the Internet. Find three elementary classes in various geographic regions to participate with your class in this lesson. (We worked with classes in Virginia, Arkansas, and Japan.) Explain that in addition to selling bookmarks to the local community, students will purchase (or barter for) one another's products online, from across the nation and globe. By working with a class abroad, students have the chance to use a barter system and trade products of equal value. They also avoid the expense of the international-exchange currency conversion fee.

The next step is to design a Web page to market, display, and sell products electronically. Start with a simple site of four pages titled the Production Process, Product Samples, Market Survey, and Order Form. As you reach each step in the process, complete the Web pages. Online branding, a term encompassing the overall look and feel of a Web site, can be used as a springboard to teach design and development of Web pages. Sell It on the Web is an Internet site that gives tips on starting an electronic business. Students can incorporate information on effective ad design when creating the class Web site.

Next, ask students to conduct a market survey to determine at what price there will be a demand for their product. Students should develop questions and post them on the Market Survey page of the Web site. Have students ask family and friends to take the survey. Our survey revealed that bookmarks would sell for the price of one dollar.

Instruct students to apply for a business loan from the local banker (teacher) in order to purchase start-up materials. Students will need to use items in the classroom, such as the class fish tank, as collateral. After granting the loan, assist students in "purchasing" materials with classroom play money.

Then decide as a class on the shape of the bookmarks. Students should vote to select the most popular design from a variety of illustrated shapes. Our class decided to create bookmarks shaped like bookworms.

Use Bruce McMillan's Jelly Beans for Sale to prompt a discussion on different ways to increase a goods' marketability. In McMillan's book, jelly beans of several colors and flavors are sold and purchased. Each student in the class has a preference as to which flavor he likes best, and which he'd be more likely to purchase. Given that offering only one flavor of jelly bean will decrease sales, discuss whether or not bookmarks containing only one theme will appeal to all consumers. Lead students to the conclusion that offering a variety of choices is the best business decision. Brainstorm ideas with the class; then narrow the choices down to six categories. Our students chose Collegiate School, animals, sports, food, countries, and nature.

Discuss economic terms. Then ask students to examine a collection of bookmarks displayed in a variety of conditions and discuss product quality. Defining bookmarks as a want versus a need is the final step in understanding that the product must be appealing in order to sell.

Ask students to devise a logo for their company. Our students wrote the letter W on sticky tabs and placed them on the back of each bookmark signifying authenticity. "If you don't see a W on the back, it isn't a Weldon's Bookworm Bookmark."

At this time, also work with students to create business cards using ClarisWorks Draw, along with hand-written and illustrated advertisements to promote the business.

It is now time to create your bookmarks. If the class is producing bookworm bookmarks, have students use the "circle selector" tool in KidPix to interlace three circles. Place three bookmark shapes into each document and then copy them into each child's work folder.

Begin production. Divide the class into two groups and allow for two one-hour sessions. In the first session, assign one group to production and the other to quality control. In the second session, reverse the roles. Assign three bookmark categories for production in each session. Check off each child's work as satisfactory as he or she completes each bookmark.

Upon completion, students should take inventory by sorting bookmarks into six baskets and tallying the total number in each category. Help students post product samples, the production process, and the order form on the Web site. Inform the community and participating classes abroad that online sales are now available. Allow students' families and friends time to purchase bookmarks electronically prior to selling them at a school fair. Our students sold bookmarks at the Village Green Fair, a yearly fundraiser, after first selling them online. (Assign students to work at the fair in 30-minute shifts.)

To monitor electronic sales, designate a class messenger. The messenger should begin checking the class e-mail twice daily for orders for approximately three weeks. When the messenger receives an online order, he or she should record the information on forms posted next to the computer. Explain to students that they are responsible for filling out invoices and acting as couriers for local orders. Assist students in filling national and international orders. Each customer should receive a product envelope containing four items: an invoice, bookmark(s), a business card identifying the student who filled the order, and a return envelope. Payment should be returned in the enclosed envelope.

At the conclusion of the exercise, lead students in a discussion to determine which bookmarks were more popular locally, nationally, and internationally. Our students made an interesting observation: the greater demand for school-theme bookmarks was within the community. At the Village Green Fair, all the bookmarks relating to Collegiate School sold out, but they were not nearly as popular nationally or internationally. Many interesting reasons were discussed as the students analyzed the choices consumers made when purchasing bookmarks.

Conclusion
The number of consumers purchasing products online is growing rapidly. A great way to demonstrate this phenomenon of electronic commerce is by providing young students with real-life, interactive experiences. These classroom encounters demonstrate a variety of ways in which technology has become an integral part our existence. By producing bookmarks using computer software programs and selling products online, students begin to see the great impact and convenience of technology in our economy.

Economic Concepts Advertise  To tell the public about the goods and services a business sells. The information provided often includes prices. Consumer  A person who is willing and able to buy goods and services. Demand  The quantities of a good or service consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices at a given time. Goods  Items made by people (or found in nature). Interest   A fee paid by a borrower to a lender for the use of the lender's money. Loan  Money or other items of value given to people for their use in return for a promise to repay the money or return the items at a later time. Market Survey   An interview of potential consumers to determine at what price they would be willing to buy a product. Producer  A group or individual who makes goods or provides a service. Production  Creating or providing goods and services. Profit  1. Total sales (revenues) of a business minus all costs of production; 2. The extra money a business keeps from sales after paying all its costs. Services  Products that cannot be touched or stored, for example, medical care, sales, education, transportation, and communication. A service is consumed at the instant it is produced. Scarcity  The condition that results because people's wants are relatively unlimited and the resources available to satisfy those wants are relatively limited. This condition forces people to make choices. Want  A desire that can be satisfied by consuming, i.e., buying a good or service.