Day in Towne On The Road

Day in Towne – AmeriTowne On the Road

Before You Arrive

Teachers – you and your students will complete most of the curriculum lessons and activities, including:

  • An election for Mayor and Judge.
  • A vote on laws to govern your day in Towne.
  • Interviews for positions to work in each Young AmeriTowne business.

The Day of Towne

You and your students will visit the traveling setup of Young AmeriTowne on the Road in a city near you.  The mobile version allows the shops to be arranged specifically to fit in a variety of areas and accommodate to different floor spaces.  As your students step inside the 3,200 square foot mini-town, they will transform into Young AmeriTowne citizens and will assume positions as Mayor, Accountant, Medical Technician, Policeperson, Newspaper Editor and more.  You are welcome to bring nine parent volunteers to help with the day.  Learn more about volunteers here.

Towne Officially Opens

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and swearing-in of elected government leaders will mark the official Towne opening. Your students-turned-citizens will rush off to work in the positions they were ‘hired’ for, working together with their co-workers to successfully run their business:

  • Accountants will carefully manage finances, applying for bank loans to pay expenses and salaries and tracking revenues and expenses throughout the day.
  • Managers will calculate inventory levels, place supply orders, and coordinate staff schedules.
  • Salespeople will strategically set prices and market their products and services to compete for consumers’ dollars.  Many of the shops allow for transactions to be made through point-of-sale tablets and debit card swipe machines.

  • During their breaks from work, employees will spend their hard-earned salaries, tracking their expenditures in their personal checking accounts.  All citizens will be encouraged to monitor their account balance using the kiosks around Young AmeriTowne.  Citizens can also order products online, take an experience survey, submit a story idea to the newspaper, and more.

Result – A Powerful Learning Experience

Lessons in free enterprise and economics truly come to life in Young AmeriTowne as your students see the direct impact their actions and decisions have on themselves, their businesses, and the overall community. They see first-hand what happens to supply and demand as they change prices. They see the power of marketing as they lure customers away from their competitors. They grasp the meaning of opportunity costs as they evaluate how to spend their salaries. They begin to recognize their skills and interests from a career perspective. The list goes on.

Learn About the 9 Young AmeriTowne On the Road Businesses:

Bank
All citizens and businesses depend on the bank for personal and business checking accounts. The Bank records all transactions and delivers a final statement to each citizen and business at the end of the day. Citizens and businesses then balance to the bank statement. The Bank also processes loans for each of the Young AmeriTowne businesses. Lastly, the bank monitors student investments, provides advice, and tracks data on the computer.

Positions:President/Investment Advisor, Vice President, Tellers, Computer Operators/File Clerks

Containers Shop
Assembles, decorates and sells handy corrugated briefcases and dog tags.

Positions: Manager, Accountant, Assemblers/Finishers

Medical Center
Provides preventative medical advice and diagnoses medical problems. The Medical Center randomly selects Towne employees throughout the day to ‘fall ill’ or ‘become injured’ to simulate real-world absence situations for the Young AmeriTowne businesses.

Positions: Manager, Accountant, Doctors, Health Technicians/Insurance Coordinators

Newspaper
The Newspaper reports on cutting edge Young AmeriTowne news and offers advertising opportunities to the businesses. Employees produce the newspaper on computers, then reproduce, assemble and sell copies throughout Towne.

Positions: Editor/Manager, Accountant, Reporters, Typists/Ad Agents

Radio Station
Young AmeriTowne citizens are entertained throughout the day as the radio station plays their song requests. The Radio Station also competes for advertising dollars by offering radio spots to businesses.

Positions: Manager, Accountant, Disc Jockeys/Ad Agents

Sign and Print Shop
Designs and produces custom signs for each of the Young AmeriTowne businesses using graphic design software on the computer.  Designs picture frames as teacher gifts.

Positions: Manager, Accountant, Graphic Artists, Designers/Salespeople

Snack Shop
Students, teachers, and volunteers all depend on the Snack Shop for snack items such as frozen treats, drinks and cookies. Additionally, the snack shop offers a quiet place for Young AmeriTowne citizens to take on-line course to explore a variety of career options.

Positions: Manager, Accountant, Salespeople

Television Station
Keeps Young AmeriTowne citizens abreast of the latest news with a daily newscast. The Television Station also produces short commercials for each business, which a copy is produced for the teachers at the end of the day for the school to keep for later viewing.

Positions: Manager, Accountant, Photojournalists, Reporters/Ad Agents

Towne Hall
The center of Young AmeriTowne government. Once citizens vote on and enact laws for their Day in Towne, Towne Hall is responsible for upholding them, issuing citations, collecting fines, and reviewing cases of dispute in court. Towne Hall also issues licenses for each business and coordinates community philanthropic activities.  Additionally, the Towne Hall houses the Young AmeriTowne Parcel Service. Each business and all citizen depend on the Parcel Service for mail delivery of important documents and goods purchased online. Parcel Carriers als sells stamps and pre-stamped postcards to mail within Towne limits.

Positions: Mayor, Judge, Accountant, Police Officers, Parcel Carriers/Salespeople