Day 1 Core Block Lesson Plan: Business & Finance

Grade Level: K-5 Homeschool Multi-Age Group

Duration: 30 minutes

Mentor Text: "Grand Opening: A Civic Square Story"

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I Can Statement

I can identify the main idea of a story, write a complete sentence, understand declarative sentences, and round prices to the nearest dollar.

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Hook (5 minutes)

Begin the lesson by showing students images of different shops (e.g., bakery, toy store, clothing boutique). Ask students:

• "What do you see in this picture?"
• "Have you ever been to a shop? What did you buy?"

Encourage a brief discussion around their experiences in shops, highlighting ideas about starting a business. This will create excitement about the upcoming activities.

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Teaching Point (5 minutes)

Introduce the key concepts of today’s lesson:

1. Identifying Main Ideas:

   • Explain that the main idea is what the story is mostly about.

2. Writing Complete Sentences:

   • Discuss the importance of complete sentences and give an example (e.g., "AJ opened a bakery.").

3. Declarative Sentences:

   • Define declarative sentences as statements that provide information.

4. Rounding Prices:

   • Introduce rounding to the nearest dollar using simple visuals or examples.

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Modeling (7 minutes)

1. Reading:

   • Read the first part of "Grand Opening: A Civic Square Story" aloud, focusing on the introduction of the characters and their shops.
   • As you read, pause to ask questions like, “What are AJ and his friends doing?”

2. Identifying Main Idea:

   • After finishing the reading, model how to find the main idea by stating, “The main idea of this section is that AJ and his friends are starting their own businesses.”

3. Writing a Complete Sentence:

   • Show students how to write a complete sentence about what they just learned: “Liam opened a toy shop.”
   • Write the sentence on a whiteboard.

4. Rounding Prices:

   • Present a price list (e.g., $1.49, $2.75, $3.10).
   • Show how to round these prices to the nearest dollar and write it on the board, explaining the rules as you go.

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Guided Practice (7 minutes)

For K-2:

• Ask students to draw a picture of a shop and write one complete sentence about it. Offer sentence starters if necessary (e.g., “In my shop, I sell…”).
• Have students practice rounding toy prices (e.g., toy car: $4.50).

For 3-5:

• Facilitate a discussion where older students partner up to share their thoughts on what the main idea of the first part of the story is. Each student should write their own complete sentence summarizing it.
• Provide a small price list for older students, asking them to round the prices to the nearest dollar, encouraging them to write the original price beside the rounded price.

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Independent Work (5 minutes)

• K-2: Complete their drawings and sentences and practice rounding prices on their own worksheets.
• 3-5: Write a paragraph summarizing the main idea of the story and include a few rounded prices within their writing.

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Reflection (1 minute)

Conclude the lesson by asking students to think about running a business. Have them reflect on the following prompt:

• "What would you like to sell if you opened your own store, and why?"

Encourage them to think of a complete sentence response and share with a partner or out loud if time allows.

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This lesson plan allows for creative engagement with the topic of Business & Finance while catering to the diverse age range within a homeschool setting.