Day In Young AmeriTowne

The Day of Towne

As students step inside a mini-town, they will transform into Young AmeriTowne citizens and will assume positions as Mayor, Accountant, Service Technician, Policeperson, Newspaper Editor and more.  Lunch is not provided–students need to bring a sack lunch when they visit.  Drinks can be purchased in two different shops with Towne money.

Towne Officially Opens

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and swearing-in of elected government leaders will mark the official Towne opening. Students-turned-citizens will rush off to work in the positions they were ‘hired’ for, working together with their co-workers to successfully run a 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.  Most shops process transactions through point-of-sale tablets and debit card swipe machines.

• During breaks from work, employees will spend their hard-earned salaries, tracking their expenditures in their personal checking accounts.  All citizens 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.

Back at School

Teachers help students evaluate their performance by comparing their checkbook register to their bank statement.  Students complete a post-test to assess learning.

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!

Hundreds of teachers agree that Young AmeriTowne is the best way to teach economics to fifth graders.  Sign up your school group today!