From Prototype to Pitch

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established how they would access these resources (for example, using a search engine to find a website or the library’s online catalog to find a book). In addition to introducing an information inquiry model, the librarian also wanted to focus on a few specific skills related to online research. First, students generated a list of possible keywords based on their defined task and the questions they needed answered to complete their task. Students used KidRex (www.kidrex.org), a child-friendly search engine, to conduct a search for websites. As a group, students practiced looking at the results page of a search engine query and making educated guesses on the best websites to select based on the summary, URL and website title. Students were successful in finding websites related to business creation, but it became evident that most of these sites were too advanced to be useful, which led to a discussion on website evaluation. The librarian then introduced the students to the periodicals database Explora by EBSCO (https://www.ebscohost.com/us-elementary-schools). Using their keywords, students searched for magazine articles about starting a business. Students located and downloaded an article on their topic (which was at a much more appropriate reading level than the websites they had found using a search engine). This experience led to a discussion of the benefits of using library databases versus general web searching. The article they found not only gave structure to the remainder of the Project, it served to tie the three threads of the Project together and became the overarching theme of the Project. It suggested to “decide what you want to sell,” which opened a discussion on market research; this led students to reach out to the larger school community to establish what types of designs and objects would be most appealing to their target audience. The article also warned entrepreneurs to “manage your time,” which led to a lesson on the division of labor. Students wanted to be involved in all steps of the business process, but when they reviewed all of the tasks, it became apparent that they would have to divide and conquer. Representatives from all of the classes were selected to serve on different committees. The representatives reported back to the whole class, so everyone was informed of decisions affecting the business. Groups included a Permissions Committee that met with appropriate school administrators to determine the criteria for selling at school functions. There was an Advertising Committee that, with the help of teachers, established ways to communicate the sale to the target audience. There was also an Organization Committee that met with the school

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