Year 6 Build a Business

In Year 6 Mathematics, the girls were challenged to explore the mathematics behind what makes a successful business. Through the Build a Business project, the girls were tasked with designing their own business. The brief was to create a product that appealed to a targeted demographic, in this case Year 3 and Year 4 girls, to be sold on Market Day. Working in small groups as business partners, the Year 6 girls began the process by developing a Business Plan. During this phase of the project, the girls spent time researching and calculating all the associated costs required to create their product. This included mathematical calculations to determine the quantity of materials required to purchase to create a specified number of products as well as calculating the cost price for each individual product. From here, the girls were able to assign a suitable sale prices and estimate the profit they anticipated to make on Market Day.

There was a buzz of excitement on Market Day last Wednesday. The Year 3 and Year 4 girls came to school ready with their $5 to spend on the most enticing products! The Year 6 girls started their business with a small float and each transaction involved the use of effective and efficient mental strategies to calculate total cost and change required. Each business developed their own record keeping process to ensure their books were balanced at the end of the trading period. The girls were required to use effective and efficient strategies to count the cash they had collected and to double check each other’s calculations. With the final totals recorded, the girls then set to work to calculate their profit margin. In coming back to the original question “What does it take to build a successful business?”, the girls then analysed their financial data and reflected on their experience of being business owners. Collectively, Year 6 made a profit of $833.30 which they have decided to donate to the Cancer Council.

Living in a predominately cashless society, children do not have the breadth of opportunities to handle, manipulate and count cash like they used to. Nonetheless, financial literacy remains an essential life skill. In the younger years, financial literacy in Mathematics is best taught through practical financial problems. The Build a Business project provided a meaningful context for the girls in Year 6 as the business owners and the Year 3 and Year 4 girls as the customers to apply mathematical concepts such as place value, mathematical operations, efficient strategies for calculating with money, data analysis, reasoning and problem solving. There was certainly lots of mathematics to process and understand!

Cristi Wilsmore
Deputy Head of Primary (Teaching and Learning)