Fourth Graders Turn Geography into 'Shark Tank' Business Pitches

Fourth graders at The Lane School and their geography-based business plans were thrown into the “Shark Tank” on Thursday as they attempted to impress local tycoons.

Groups in three classes researched natural resources, local economies and popular attractions in each region of the United States. They applied the information to a business model such as a resort or restaurant, which they pitched to pretend investors.

Teachers Jennifer Prochaska, Wendy McGreal and Tina Ryan led their classes in the educational business endeavor.

The tycoons in Prochaska’s class included Casey Godfrey, Lane School principal, John Munch, assistant superintendent for Community Consolidated School District 181 and Sandy Koltis, Lane School help desk technician.

They asked questions like, “How many people can go to your resort?” and “Will you fly me out there so I can try the food and make a final decision?”

• The Southeast group pitched The Tropical Winds Resort on a beach in Miami, where patrons could swim or scuba in the Atlantic Ocean.
• In the Midwest, students mapped out the L.A.B.E.K. Resort on the popular Lake Geneva, with its Bread Bowl restaurant.
• The Southwest group designed a series of three resorts, located at the Grand Canyon, in the Flagstaff Mountains and in the city of Phoenix, with package deals to promote combination vacations.
• At the mountain region’s A.B. Ski Resort in Colorado Springs, tourists could hike, ice skate and ski indoors or outdoors in the winter and summer.
• The Cool Breeze Cafe in the Western states would serve fruit imported from Hawaii and fish fresh from the Pacific Ocean.

Munch said being a tycoon in the classroom was a great way to see what the children are learning and how they can put knowledge into action.

That’s exactly what the teachers were hoping for, Prochaska said.

“We wanted to do something more fun,” Prochaska said. “We wanted something with problem-based learning, so let’s look at geography, natural resources and economy and see how we could form a business in that region.”

Prochaska said the “Shark Tank-”inspired project has surpassed her expectations, and it showed that fourth-grade students are capable of a higher level of thought and application.

And now that they know all about the geography and natural resources of each region, they can carry that knowledge into the coming lessons on Native Americans.

As for the business models, each teacher will consider the feedback from tycoons to give the groups praise and construction on their research, plans and pitches.

The student groups in Jennifer Prochaska’s class (pictured)

Southeast:
Quinn Willman
Shi Chen
Sophia Kim
Caroline Hayden
James Mercurio

Middle West:
Erin Ranke
Anirudh Girish
Kaitlin Thick
Brendan Kelly
Lily Jackson

Southwest
Josey Foley
Reece Kolke
Michael Cannata
Tyler Simwenyi

Mountain
Trevor Burnes
Caterina Kluchenek
Davis Stermer
Grace Ashley
Beatrice Tjernstrom

West:
Maris Norton
Devon Maloney
Jacob Chaudry
Max Williams

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