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Educational services promoting economic and personal finance literacy |
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Web Links: Business Choice State standard: How
businesses confront scarcity and choice when organizing, producing, and using
resources, and when supplying the marketplace Business/Entrepreneurship
(see also
Advertising/Media) resources/production/DISTRIBUTION Michigan Educators! Don’t miss Michigan Links for
more web pages concerning business and industry. Profits
Town 47920. A web site created by Indiana
elementary students introducing their community and its businesses as part of
the Community Publishing curriculum published by the National Council
on Economic Education. How
Can Entrepreneurs Control Costs?. A reading with questions on
determining the fixed and variable costs of a company. |
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Are You an Entrepreneur? Take this quiz to help you decide whether
you have the personality for successful entrepreneurship. By Kids for Kids. A site for elementary to high school
inventors and their teachers. The site takes students step-by-step through
the invention process. An extensive
set of links to information on inventors and inventions throughout history,
the invention process, and other learning resources. There is also a kids
invention competition. The Basics of
Business History: Top 100 Events at a Glance. The Street.com offers this list of the
most notable events of the 20th Century affecting business. At the top of the list is the creation of
the U.S. Interstate highway system, the Intel microprocessor, the creation of
the FED, and the Great Depression. Be Your Own Boss. The U.S. Mint offers a quiz to help young persons
determine whether they have the personality to succeed at running a business
and advice on how to get started. Building
a Dream. Advice on starting a business from
a teen entrepreneur. Business
and Ethics.
The Better Business Bureau offers advice on starting and operating a
business and its codes on advertising.
Warnings on business fraud are another feature. The Business of
Babysitting.
The University of Illinois Extension offers this online guide to good
business practices and childcare. The Consortium for Entrepreneurship
Education. Choose the Teacher Materials link for free
entrepreneurship case studies, transparency ideas, and potential projects and
activities. Not the best site on the
Internet but some of the information will be useful to educators creating a
new entrepreneurship program. Discover Business. The Small Business Administration
provides this site for young persons on the basics of starting a business.
Curriculum materials are posted for educators. Do You
Want to Be an Entrepreneur? Two slide shows from San Diego State University. What It Takes to be an
entrpreneur and How to Get
Started. eVenturing. The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurship
offers advice and links to other web sites that support entrepreneurship. Franchise and Business
Opportunities.
The Federal Trade Commission offers some warnings to potential investors and
links to information on government protections. Franchise Zone. Entrepreneur.com offers
this directory of
franchises, current news on franchising, and things to consider before
investing. Don’t miss the How
to Research and Buy a Franchise Tutorial. Gazillionaire. Download
this Windows-based science-fiction fantasy game that lets players run a
trading company in outer space. Racing from planet to planet, students buy
and sell a variety of commodities from jellybeans to lava lamps. Along the
way they’ll learn about overhead costs, profit margins, capitalization and
other business concepts. The difficulty level can be adjusted for students
from middle school up through college. Great
Entrepreneurs. Background on some
of the nation's greatest entrepreneurs plus checklists to help students
determine whether they have the stuff required to be a successful
businessperson. The site is based on a public television series that pairs
business pioneers of yesterday with the entrepreneurs of today. Lemonade Stand. Operate a lemonade stand and
learn how supply and demand affects business and profits. The same game plus a Pocket PC version are
also available at this alternative
site. My Own Business. An
online course for the entrepreneur who wants to start or expand a small
business. National Business Hall of Fame. Short bios of nearly 200 businesspersons
recognized as by Junior Achievement for legendary contributions to the free
enterprise system. A useful starting place
for identifying persons
who played key roles in the business of America ranging from Ben Franklin and
Henry Ford to Mary Kay Ash and Warren Buffet. You will recognize the
corporate names if not all the individuals. Starting
Your Business. Advice
from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Setting Up Your Own Business. A series of publications on the
principal forms of business organization used by small businesses with an
overview of the advantages, limitations, and tax implications of each
form. Find out what makes an “S”
corporation different from a “C” corporation. Source: Nebraska Cooperative
Extension. Start Your Own Business. TeenAnalyst.com offers a
ten-step guide to starting a business that covers generating the idea,
creating a business plan, business structures, finding capital, marketing and
more. StartUpBiz.com. Fill-in-the
blank templates, incorporation forms, legal agreements, market research,
step-by-step business plan, links and other resources on starting a business. |
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American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Reason Gallery. Read about technological
inventions and their impact on the nation's production possibilities
frontier. BrainPop: Technology. Videos on a variety of modern
inventions and innovations including an explanation of the assembly
line. Membership required for some
videos. Christopher Columbus Awards. A nationwide competition for middle
school students combining science and technology with community
problem-solving in a real-world setting. Common
Things Around Us Are Often Discoveries & Inventions. Brief histories
of 92 everyday items including sugar, soap, stamps, balloons, clocks, and
toothpaste. Computer History
Collection Interviews. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History
provides interviews with leaders of the computer industry including Steve
Jobs and Bill Gates. Edison
Invents. The
story of Thomas Edison goes far beyond the invention of the light bulb! EurekaAlert! From the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, breaking news on discoveries organized by
subjects such as agriculture, business, chemistry, education, health and
technology. Exploring
the History of Women Inventors. A short paper
describing the challenges faced by women inventors and suggestions for
further reading. Famous Inventions:
A-Z.
Background information on thousands of inventors from About.com. Other
links on the page offer biographical information on hundreds of inventors
with special sections for female, Asian, black and famous inventors. There are other links to related
information such as patents, trademarks, and inventors but you will have to
deal with a lot of ads. Farm
Machinery and Technology. A look at the equipment used to increase the
production of American farmers from 1776 to the present. Source: The USDA Economic Research
Institute. Archived: About.com Galileo Project. Information on the life and work
of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Visit
the site’s Catalog of
the Scientific Community of the 16th and 17th Centuries for a searchable
database of over 600 individuals who made significant contributions to
Western science. Great Idea Finder. A commercial site, which promotes inventions and
offers information on inventions and inventors. There is also an Innovation
Timeline. Greatest Engineering
Achievements of the Twentieth Century. Histories,
descriptions and a timeline for 20th century inventions such as the computer,
telephone, television, laser, and air conditioning. Handbook for Inventors. An explanation of intellectual property and what
can be patented. This guide also describes licensing, patent searches,
raising capital, and much more. The
History of Inventions. A timeline of inventions that have changed the way we live.
You can even submit your own suggestion for a significant invention! Source:
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. How
Stuff Works. Photos, videos and brief explanations of how things are
made and how they work. The Internet
Invention Store. Visit
this commercial web site to learn about new products that inventors are
trying to sell via the Internet. Invention at
Play. Games and
activities introduce the work of a variety of inventors and the playful
principles that make them successful. Invention Convention. Step-by-step
directions how to conduct this science event in your school. Students are
directed to use problem-solving and creative-thinking skills to invent a
product or process that would fill the need or overcome the problem. Notable items in the resource section
include reproducible guidelines for students, a sample judging form, a
student patent certificate and the bibliography of books. Invention
Dimension. Select Inventor of the Week Archives to search for
information on inventors and their inventions. A Trivia Challenge helps
develop research skills. There are a wealth of links to activities and other
web sites on this subject. Inventions for Sale and License. An index and details on
some of the inventions patented by one attorney. Among the categories listed are toys and games, sports and
recreation, household, food, health and beauty. Inventions, Inventors
and You. Go to the middle of this web page
to view links to student inventions and marketing materials. The bottom of
the page suggests links to other web sites on the topic. Inventive
Thinking Curriculum. Suggested learning
activities from the U.S. Trade and Patent Office promoting
young person’s critical and creative thinking and problem-solving
skills. Units address brainstorming
inventions, completing an invention, and marketing. One of the documents
provided is a primer on patents and trademarks. Enrichment stories provide examples of great thinkers and
inventors. Inventor’s
Digest. Billed
as the site for anyone who has ever said, "I've got a great idea. . .
now what do I do?" News, advice
and contacts for those with an idea. Inventors and
Invention. Enchanted Learning.com offers an online
encyclopedia of inventors and inventions.
Search by inventor, invention, historical period, or nation. Special
listings are also provided for African-American and women. KidsKonnect:
Inventors and Inventions. A gateway to dozens of sites
identified as appropriate for kids. Learn
What it Takes to Be an Inventor. A learning unit to help students understand the personal
characteristics needed to be an inventor.
Students select an inventor and prepare a report. National
Inventors Hall of Fame. Brief
bios on the persons who have been inducted into this hall of fame, an index
of inventions, and a timeline of inventors/inventions. The
Real McCoy, African-American Invention and Innovation, 1619-1930. A
brief historical essay from the Smithsonian. Totally Absurd Inventions.
A fun place to discover some of America’s goofiest patents. World Intellectual Property Organization. News and information on intellectual property rights/protections from a global perspective. Patents, trademarks and copyrights are explained. |
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Baking Bread Field Trip. The science and economics of
making bread. Cameron
Balloon Factory Virtual Tour. For advanced business students and their teachers,
a case study in production, investment decisions, and human resource
management. Crayola Factory. See how crayons and markers are made. A timeline
introduces the entrepreneurs who established this well-known business
producing children's art supplies. Dairy
Facts: From the Farm to You. Do you know how milk is produced? Also find out how
different government agencies help make sure the milk you drink is safe. Photos of a Michigan dairy farm help tell
the story. Family Farms Around the World.
Links to more than a hundred web sites featuring farms in 40 states
and 18 countries. Most include information about life on their farm, animals,
crops, marketing, problems, economics, soil, and climate. Farm
Life. Text and photos
tell about the production and marketing activities of a modern-day farm. Farm Tour. Take a tour on a pig farm. Source: The National Pork Board. The Great Picture Book of Construction Equipment. Komatzu
provides pictures and
movies of dump trucks, bulldozers and other construction equipment that
increase productivity. Hersheys:
From Bean to Bar. Take a virtual tour and learn how a chocolate bar is made. How Everyday Things are Made. Videotapes show how candy, cars, airplanes, bottles and other products are mode. Requires a high speed Internet connection. Kids
Click! Machines and Transportation. Links to a variety of web sites
focused on the various modes of transportation that help move goods and
people. Let's
Go Prospectin'! Find out what resources are mined in different states. Make
a Farm. Download software and print paper patterns that let
students create a model farm with a barn, crops and animals. Students learn about production on the
farm including where food comes from. From Seed to
Sugar. Coloring
pages show how sugar is manufactured from sugar beets. Source:
Michigan Sugar Company. Mr. Rogers' Factory Tours. View videos and pictures that show the production
process for items of special interest to children--useful in helping young
students sequence the making of a good. Pencil Pages.
A step-by-step
guide to the production of pencils and an introduction to renewable
resources. Pioneer
Life. Compare consumption and production
activities today with life in 1700 Ioway Indian Village,
an 1850 Iowa Village,
an 1875 Frontier Town,
and a 1900 Horse-Powered
Farm. Raw Materials Lineup. Can you identify the raw materials
used to produce something else? Story
of Milk. A virtual tour offers the science and economics of milk
production. Tour Where Manufacturing Happens. Gateway
to all kinds of on-line production tours. Transportation Wonderland. A site for students and educators from the U.S. Dept.
of Transportation that offers links and information on the various modes of
transportation. Yahooligans!
Machines. Links to web sites on airplanes, ships, trucks, trains and other means
of transporting goods. Wheat. Part of the 4-H Virtual Farm web site, view a series of slides showing how wheat is grown by Virginia farmers and discover some of the food items made from the crop. |
