Lauren Swersky

UWP 104D Dr. Rinard

Surviving The Shark Tank
A Lesson Plan in 12
th
Grade Business & Writing

Objectives/Purpose:
Apply business concepts learned throughout the course to an entrepreneurial
setting
Merge creativity with business knowledge to construct a business pitch that will
help bring a new product idea to fruition
Understand entrepreneur, investor, and consumer perspectives via role play
Narrow an idea and target it to a specific audience
Use social media to understand marketing strategies
Determine the most important and attractive elements of a product
Explore writing strategies across the curriculum
Better understand the entrepreneurial mindset by working with experienced
mentors
Learn to write and execute an effective product pitch
Reflect on the purpose, process, and applicability of the assignment

Time: 160 minutes preparation, 4 Days lesson (90 minutes per day)

Audience: Students will be writing for themselves, their peers, guest CEO mentors, and
acting angel investors (the sharks).

Grade: 12
th
Graders in a Business Class (17-18 years old)

Overview: This lesson plan focuses specifically on teaching students how to write and
perform an effective business product pitch. The lesson plan is part of a larger end-of-
the-course project that challenges students to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and
create their own unique product that they will pitch to acting angel investors during a
class simulation of the TV show Shark Tank. This lesson plan should be completed
several days before the final simulation takes place.


Rationale: One major purpose of formal education is to equip students with tools that
are transferable to the marketplace. In 2013, Forbes released an article claiming that
critical thinking, problem solving, judgment and decision-making, active listening, and
sales and marketing are among the top 10 most critical job skills that will get one
hired. Throughout the lesson, students will have the opportunity to develop and
strengthen these important skills, giving them a competitive advantage over their peers.
This lesson is designed to help prepare students for a realistic high-pressure situation
that they may encounter as future entrepreneurs.

California Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and
media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve
a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.11-12.1.A
Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s),
distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization
that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

Academic Literacies/Habits of Mind: Students will learn to think critically about market
demands and niches, practice listening to peers, consider alternative perspectives
through role-play as the entrepreneur, investor, and consumer of a product, develop
product claims, and organize knowledge in a concise, cohesive manner. Students must
apply business concepts previously learned in the class to a new context.

Prior Knowledge & Pointers: Prior to this lesson plan, students should have already
started working on their product idea and written up a proposal that includes a
description of the products functions, design, intended market, and predicted cost.
They should already understand the business terminology & concepts listed in
Appendices (Shark-tionary), and should be comfortable applying them to various
business contexts. The teacher should be very familiar with the TV show Shark Tank and
should know how to navigate Twitter. Encourage students to utilize the Shark-tionary as
a point-of-reference throughout the lesson.

Preparation:
Find a Shark Tank episode appropriate for your class (20 minutes)
Create product sheets for Day 1, Activity 2 (60 minutes)
Look up Twitter tweet examples for Day 2, Activity 1 (20 minutes)
Create coded anonymous Twitter accounts for each student (60 minutes)

Materials:
Computers & Class Projector
White Boards & Dry Erase Markers
Butcher paper & Markers
Journals

Procedure:
DAY 1: Getting familiar with the pitch
Activity 1 (45 minutes):
1. Your class will watch an episode of Shark Tank. Have students focus on the
entrepreneurs product pitch (typically, this is the first 60-90 second
introduction). They should take notes on what is included.
2. Class brainstorm. Ask students: Which pitches do you think were most effective?
Why? What did they include? Write student responses on the white board. Try
to get the class to help you formulate a possible fill-in-the-blank script on the
white board. (Example: My name is ___ and my product is ____. I am seeking
$____ for a ___% stake in my company. Have you ever wondered ______ ? Well I
have the solution to that! The _____ (name of product) is designed to
____________________.)
Activity 2 (45 minutes):
1. Divide the class into groups. Tell them that each group has up to $150,000
that they can use to invest during the game.
2. Give each group a straight-forward description, image, name etc of a product
(each group gets a different one)
3. Groups have 15 minutes to come up with a scripted pitch using the product
sheet given to them.
4. Groups will then pitch the product to the class. After each pitch, each group
will have to decide how much of their money they want to invest in that idea
(to make it more realistic, they will have to decide before actually getting to
hear other pitches...this will be tracked on the white board)
5. Class discussion: As investors, what were you looking for in the pitch? What
made you decide to invest in one versus the other? List some qualities of good
pitches on the board.
Note: Remind the class that when they start working on their own pitches, they need
to keep their audience in mind and use terms or concepts that are framed to spark
interest in the investors---What will the investor gain and why should they choose to
invest in your product rather than another product?

DAY 2: Finding a focus (determining the most important product points/elements that
should be used in the pitch, learning how to market, thinking about the audience, and
using social media)
Activity 1: Examining Twitter tweets (20 min)
1. Explain that many people use social media forums to market their
products/brands. In order to get noticed, companies must usually try come up
with a catchy, concise way to get the audience interested.
2. Pull up tweets on the latest technology and project them onto the board.
(Preparation: look up some new tweets on new technology that would be good
examples)
3. Which tweets sound interesting to the class? Choose a few different ones that
students liked and ask them what they preliminarily think about the product and
what it is. Then, click on the URL in the tweet that links it to more information
about the product. Did the tweet accurately capture what the product was?
Activity 2: Writing a Twitter tweet (30 min)
Imagine that youre ready to get your product idea out to the world. Using your
product proposal sheets, write your own tweet about your own product in 140
characters or less. Each student will post his/her tweet on Twitter. Project the
tweets onto the board. (Preparation: make twitter accounts for each student
using anonymous name/arbitrary number)
Activity 3: Peer response to tweets (20 min)
Students will be assigned to meet with three other classmates who will comment
on their tweets and be prompted to do the following:
o Add a comment to the tweet you are responding to and write what you
think the product idea is about, who the audience is, and why, based on
the tweet, the product seems unique/useful/important. What do you like
about the tweet? How can it be more effective?
Activity 4: Journal reflection (15 min)
What was challenging about the tweet assignment?
What did you like about it?
What did you learn from your own tweet and others?
Based on peer comments, how might you change your tweet to make it more
effective/better describe your product?

DAY 3: Develop a message map and practice pitching it
Activity 1: Determine the most important aspects of the product (10 mins)
On a sheet of paper, students will brainstorm and bullet point all the features of
their product, what makes it unique, why its helpful/what it can do for you etc.
Activity 2: Peer perspectives (15 mins)
1. Students swap their papers with a partner in the class.
2. Students will be instructed to take colored markers and circle bullet points that
are related to each other (same topic/category/element) and name that
topic/category/element it falls under (Example: a student may circle solar
powered, waste free, and recycled and label them as the topic of
environmentally sustainable)
Activity 3: Students make executive decisions (15 mins)
1. Students will get their list back and decide if they like the groupings and topic
names their peers made or if they can think of a more fitting one etc.
2. Students will choose three of the most important/most effective topics or
elements of their product or company
Activity 4: Sketching the message map (5 mins)
Students use their whiteboards to draw a circle and write the name of their
product and what it does inside the circle. (Example: Yankee makes homemade
candles and scented products). Next, they will draw three lines stemming from
the circle and write the three elements they chose.
Activity 5: Knowing your product & mission (15 min)
Students write a brief explanation of what they are pitching. It will include their
product name and the three key categories/elements/aspects of it. They will
practice the explanation. (Example: Welcome to Lush. We make handmade
soaps and cosmetics. Everything in the store is fresh, environmentally friendly,
and part of our profits support ethical campaigns.).
Activity 6: Practicing quick product & mission explanations (20 mins)
Students make a note card sized version of their message map if needed and go
around the classroom taking turns pitching it to their peers. They must give each
other feedback on how it can be more effective.
Activity 7: Class discussion (10 min)
How might we incorporate our message map ideas into our pitches? Are they
effective to use in the pitch, or are they better used for our own background
knowledge when writing our final pitch?

DAY 4: Write the pitch
Activity 1: Consolidating prior work (35 mins)
1. Students will have their completed proposal templates (product name,
audience, elements, etc) by their side.
2. They will take their Twitter tweet and write it at the top of their sheet of
butcher paper.
3. Underneath the tweet, they will draw a prototype of their product as well as
the products logo.
4. Beneath that section, they will redraw their message map.
5. Under the message map, students will add the different bulleted words they
used to describe their product idea (Day 3, activity 1). If they think of any new
ones, they can add or change them.
6. Students will reference their proposal template and mention the audience(s)
& market that the product is geared towards.
Activity 2: Writing a product pitch resembling those used in the show Shark Tank (25
mins)
Students will look at the pitch scripts they wrote with their groups on day 1 and
use them to help formulate their own 60-90 second product pitch.
Activity 3: Practice pitches with guest CEO mentors (30 mins)
Using their scripts, students will pitch their product to a guest CEO mentor. They
will discuss with their mentor what they need to work on and what steps they
will take to make their pitch more effective.

Assessment: Students knowledge will be assessed throughout the lesson plan during
various assignments (group pitch presentation, tweet and peer response to tweet, pitch
scripts etc.) Students will receive full credit if they fully participate in and complete all
the in-class activities. Failure to participate in or complete one or more in-class activities
on a given day will result in a no credit grade.

Ponderings: If students are struggling with the assignments, consider having students sit
and work together in small groups during the activities so they may share their progress
or struggles with one another. If this seems to be more beneficial, consider extending
your lesson plan by an extra day to allow more group help time. If you have English
Learners in your class, you may want to give them the option to complete the
assignment in their native language. When students are instructed to give peer
feedback or pair up with another student, consider pairing the ELs who share a native
language together. You may want to pair the EL students with guest CEO mentors who
also speak their native language.

Appendices: Shark-Tionary (Pages 6-10)

References:
Thank you to the creators of Shark Tank for inspiring the overall end-of-the-course final
Shark Tank simulation project. This particular lesson plan and the associated activities
were uniquely created and written by myself (with the exception of the message map).
The message map idea was borrowed from a YouTube video I came across titled
Message Map: How To Pitch Anything in 15 Seconds. The Shark-tionary (see appendix)
mentioned as a potentially helpful resource was taken directly from the SharkTank
Millionaires Blog.

Message Map: How To Pitch Anything In 15 Seconds. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved June 3, 2014,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phyU2BThK4Q

SharkTank Millionaires. (n.d.). SharkTank Millionaires. Retrieved June 3, 2014, from
http://sharktankmillionaires.blogspot.com

Appendix 1
THE SHARK-TIONARY
1. ASSET - Something valuable that an entity owns, benefits from, or has use of, in generating income.
2. BREAKEVEN FORMULA - A formula used to determine the break even point for: (1)Sales
volume (number of units): fixed costs / contribution per unit. (2) Sales revenue (dollar amount)
fixed costs x price per unit contribution per unit.
3. BUSINESS MODEL - Description of means and methods a firm employs to earn the revenue projected in
its plans. It views the business as a system and answers the question, "How are we going
to make money to survive and grow?"
4. CAPITAL - Wealth in the form of money or assets, taken as a sign of the financial strength of
an individual, organization, or nation, and assumed to be available for development
or investment.
5. COMMISSION - Mutually agreed upon, or fixed by custom or law, fee accruing to an agent, broker,
or salesperson for facilitating, initiating, and/or executing a commercial transaction.
6. COMMITMENT - (Lending): Written assurance from a lender to a borrower that a
specified amount of loan or line of credit will be made available at a certain rate and during a
certain period. Lenders charge a commitment fee for this service.
7. EQUITY - (Accounting): (1) Ownership interest or claim of a holder of common stock (ordinary shares)
and some types of preferred stock (preference shares) of a company. On a balance sheet,
equity represents funds contributed by the owners (stockholders) plus retained
earnings or minus the accumulated losses. (2) Net worth of a person or company computed by
subtracting total liabilities from the total assets. In case of cooperatives, equity
represents members' investment plus retained earnings or minus losses.
8. FRANCHISING - Arrangement where one party (the franchiser) grants another party (the franchisee)
the right to use its trademark or trade-name as well as certain business systems and processes,
to produce and market a good or service according to certain specifications. The franchisee
usually pays a one-time franchise fee plus a percentage of sales revenue as royalty, and gains (1)
immediate name recognition, (2) tried and tested products, (3) standard building design and
dcor, (4) detailed techniques in running and promoting the business, (5) training of employees,
and (6) on going help in promoting and upgrading of the products. The franchiser gains
rapid expansion of business and earnings at minimum capital outlay.
9. INVENTORY - (1) An itemized catalog or list of tangible goods or property, or
the intangible attributes or qualities.(2) The value of materials and goods held by an organization
(1) to support production (raw materials, subassemblies,work in process), (2) for
support activities (repair,maintenance, consumables), or (3) for sale or customer
service (merchandise, finished goods, spare parts). Inventory is often the largest item in
the current assets category, and must be accurately counted and valued at the end of
each accounting period to determine a company's profit or loss. Organizations whose inventory
items have a large unit cost generally keep a day to day record of changes in inventory
(called perpetual inventory method) to ensure accurate and on-going control. Organizations with
inventory items of small unit cost generally update their inventory records at the end of an
accounting period or when financial statements are prepared (called periodic inventory method).
The value of an inventory depends on the valuation method used, such as first-in, first-out
(FIFO)method or last-in, first-out (LIFO) method. GAAP require that inventory should be valued
on the basis of either its cost price or its current market price whichever is lower of the two to
prevent overstating of assets and earning due to sharp increase in the inventory's value
in inflationary periods. The optimum level of inventory for an organization is determined
by inventory analysis. Called also stock in trade, or just stock.
10. INTEREST - (Finance): A fee paid for the use of another party's money. To the borrower it is
the cost of renting money, to the lender the income from lending it. Interest on all debt is
normally deductible before taxes are assessed on a company's income. Corporate
legislation requires disclosure of interest payable on loans, and companies often show
a single interest figure in the income statement while providing details in a note that may
also include netting out of interest received or some other adjustments. In cost accounting,
interest is normally excluded from cost computations on the grounds that (being
a payment for capital) it is equivalent to dividend, and hence is a finance item and not a cost
item. The rate of interest is usually expressed as an annual percentage of the principal, and is
influenced by the money supply, fiscal policy, amount being borrowed, credit worthiness of the
borrower, and rate of inflation. the two types of interest are simple interest and compound
interest.
11. INVESTMENT - (1) Money committed or property acquired for future income.
(2) Two main classes of investment are (1) Fixed income investment such as bonds, fixed
deposits, preference shares, and (2) Variable income investment such
as business ownership (equities), or property ownership. In economics,
investment means creation of capital or goods capable of producing other goods
or services. Expenditure on education and health is recognized as an investment in human
capital, and research and development in intellectual capital. Return on investment (ROI) is
a key measure of an organization's performance.
12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) - Knowledge, creative ideas, or expressions of human mind that
have commercial value and are protectable under copyright, patent, servicemark, trademark,
or trade secret laws from imitation, infringement, and dilution. Intellectual
property includes brand names, discoveries, formulas, inventions,
knowledge, registered designs, software, and works of artistic, literary, or musical nature. It is
one of the most readily tradable properties in the digital marketplace.
13. LICENSE - Revocable written (formal) or implied agreement by an authority or proprietor (the
licensor) not to assert his or her right (for a specific period and under specified conditions) to
prevent another party (the licensor) from engaging in certain activity that is normally forbidden
(such as selling liquor or making copies of a copyrighted work). Intellectual property licenses
generally mean that the licensor will not invoke ownership protection laws if the
licensed property (art, design, patent, etc.) is copied, sold, or used by the licensee. A license is
not a right, because the licensor may not have the legal power to give all necessary permissions
that constitute a legal right. It is also not a lease, and is not assignable by the licensee. Also
called permit.
14. LIABILITY - (1) Finance: A claim against the assets, or legal obligations of
a person or organization, arising out of past or current transactions or actions.
Liabilities require mandatory transfer of assets, or provision of services, at specified dates or in
determinable future. (2) Accounting: Accounts and wages payable,
accrued rent and taxes, trade debt, and short and long-term loans.Owners' equity is also termed
a liability because it is an obligation of the company to its owners. Liabilities are entered on the
right-hand of the page in a double-entry bookkeeping system.
15. LIQUIDITY - (Investing): The ability to quickly convert an investment portfolio to cash with little
or no loss in value.
16. LOGISTICS - Planning, execution, and control of the procurement, movement, and stationing
of personnel, material, and other resources to achieve the objectives of
a campaign, plan, project, or strategy. It may be defined as the
'management of inventory in motion and at rest.'
17. MARGINS - Commerce: Difference between the cost price and selling price of a product.
18. MARKET - An actual or nominal place where forces of demand and supply operate, and
where buyers and sellers interact (directly or through intermediaries) to trade goods, services,
or contracts or instruments, for money or barter. Markets include mechanisms or means for (1)
determining price of the traded item, (2) communicating the price information, (3)
facilitating deals and transactions, and (4) effecting distribution. The market for a particular item
is made up of existing and potential customers who need it and have the ability and willingness
to pay for it.
19. MARKETING - The management process through
which goods and services move from concept to the customer. As a practice, it consists
in coordination of four elements called 4P's: (1) identification, selection, and development of
a product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution
channel to reach the customer's place, and (4) development and implementation of
a promotional strategy. As a philosophy, marketing is based on thinking about
the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. Marketing differs
from selling because (in the words of Harvard Business School's emeritus professor of marketing
Theodore C. Levitt) "Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people
to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is
all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as
consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs."
20. MARKET VALUE - The highest estimated price that a buyer would pay and
a seller would accept for an item in an open and competitive market.
21. MASS MARKET - Un-segmented market in which products with mass appeal products (aspirin,
orange juice, soft drinks, paperback romances, etc.) are offered to every customer through
mass retailers or independent stores, and promoted through mass media.
22. NICHE MARKETING - Concentrating all marketing efforts on a small but specific and well
defined segment of the population. Niches do not 'exist' but are 'created' by
identifying needs, wants, and requirements that are being addressed poorly or not at all by
other firms, and developing and delivering goods or services to satisfy them. As a strategy, niche
marketing is aimed at being a big fish in a small pond instead of being a small fish in a big pond.
23. OVERHEAD - 1. Resource consumed or lost in completing a process, that does
not contribute directly to the end-product. Also called burden cost.2. Accounting: A cost
or expense (such as for administration, insurance, rent, and utility charges) that (1) relates to
an operation or the companyas a whole, (2) does not become an integral part of
a good or service (unlike raw material or direct labor), and (3) cannot be applied or traced to any
specific unit of output. Overheads are indirect costs.
24. PATENT - Limited legal monopoly granted to an individual or firm to make, use, and sell its
invention, and to exclude others from doing so. An invention is patentable if it is novel, useful,
and non-obvious. To receive a patent, a patent application must disclose all details of the
invention so that others can use it to further advance the technology with new inventions.
Patentable items fall under four classes (1) Machine: apparatus or device with
interrelated parts that work together to perform the invention's designed or intended functions,
(2) Manufacture: all manufactured or fabricated items, (3) Process: chemical, mechanical,
electrical or other process that produces a chemical or physical change in
the condition or character of an item, and (4) Composition of matter: chemical compounds or
mixtures having properties different from their constituent ingredients. In most of the world,
patents are granted on the 'first to apply' basis, with a protection period of 7 years (India) to 20
years (European Union). In the US, they are granted for 17 years on the 'first to invent'
basis. Responsibility of identifying, locating, and suing the patent violators, however, rests solely
with the patent holder; patent law provides only means of prosecution and determination of just
compensation.
25. PARTNER - Individual who joins with other individuals (partners) in an arrangement (partnership)
where gains and losses, risks and rewards, are shared among the partners.
26. PRICE - A value that will purchase a definite quantity, weight, or other measure of
a good or service. As the consideration given in exchange for transfer of
ownership, price forms the essential basis of commercial transactions. It may be fixed by
a contract, left to be determined by an agreed upon formula at a future date, or discovered or
negotiated during the course of dealings between the parties involved. In commerce, price is
determined by what (1) a buyer is willing to pay, (2) a seller is willing to accept, and (3)
the competition is allowing to be charged. With product, promotion, and place of marketing mix,
it is one of the business variables over which organizations can exercise some degree of control.
It is a criminal offense to manipulate prices (see price fixing) in collusion with other suppliers, and
to give a misleading indication of price such as charging for items that are reasonably expected to
be included in the advertised, list, or quoted price. Also called sale price and selling price.
27. PROFIT - The surplus remaining after total costs are deducted from total revenue, and the
basis on which tax is computed and dividend is paid. It is the best known measure of success in
an enterprise.Profit is reflected in reduction in liabilities, increase in assets, and/or increase
in owners' equity. It furnishes resources for investing in future operations, and its absence
may result in the extinction of a company. As an indicator of comparative performance, however,
it is less valuable than return on investment (ROI). Also called earnings, gain, or income.
28. PROJECTION - Planning: Process of moving forward in time through imagining of future events,
or estimates based on certain assumptions or past trends.
29. PROPRIETARY - Planning: Process of moving forward in time through imagining of future events,
or estimates based on certain assumptions or past trends.
30. RECOUPMENT - 1. Direct or indirect recovery of funds spent (such
as R&D costs) on an activity (such as from licensing the resulting know how).
31. REVENUE - The income generated from sale of goods or services, or any other use
of capital or assets, associated with the main operations of an organization before
any costs or expenses are deducted. Revenue is shown usually as the top item in an income
(profit and loss) statement from which all charges, costs, and expenses are subtracted to arrive
at net income. Also called sales, or (in the UK) turnover.
32. ROYALTY - Compensation, consideration, or fee paid for a license or privilege to use
an intellectual property (brand, copyright, patent, process) or a natural resource (fishing,
hunting, mining), computed usually as a percentage of revenue or profit realized from the use.
See also technology licensing.
33. SALES REVENUE - The amount realized from selling goods or services in the normal operations of
a company in a specified period.
34. STOCK - 1. Equity capital raised through sale of shares.2. The proportional part of a company's
equity capital represented by fully paid up shares.
35. VALUE - 1. Accounting: The monetary worth of an asset, business
entity, good sold, service rendered, or liability or obligation acquired.2. Economics: The worth of
all the benefits and rights arising from ownership. Two types of economic value are (1)
the utility of a good or service, and (2) power of a good or service to command
other goods, services, or money, involuntary exchange. 3. Marketing: The extent to which a
good or service is perceived by its customer to meet his or her needs or wants, measured
by customer's willingness to pay for it. It commonly depends more on the
customer's perception of the worth of the product than on its intrinsic value.















Lesson Plan Reflection:
The lesson plan assignment has challenged me to consider the complexities of
education from an alternative perspective. Writing a lesson plan gave me greater, more
realistic insight into the world of a teacher. As a student, it is easy to pinpoint the areas in
which I think teaching and education can be improved. As a teacher, I am tasked with
identifying those areas, determining how to strengthen them, considering student learning
styles, abilities, and prior knowledge, and finding a way to do all of this in an engaging
manner while incorporating the standards.
My lesson plan idea sprouted when I was sitting on my couch at the end of the
week, eager to watch my new favorite show, Shark Tank. My roommate and I were
conversing about how much we have learned from this show and how we wish we were
taught some of these concepts in school. Eager to learn more business terminology
commonly used on the show, I opened up a Google tab on my computer and began a
search. I stumbled upon the Shark-tionary and began teaching myself some of the concepts.
I soon realized that a shark tank simulation would be an exciting lesson plan to write.
I began writing the plan thinking I would be able to teach and execute a Shark Tank
simulation within a one-week time frame. I began writing activities for the lesson plan and
soon realized that this project was going to be way more complex than I originally
anticipated. I decided to narrow this lesson plan to focus on learning how to write a pitch. I
started thinking about what I wanted the students to learn by the end of the lesson, and
then worked backwards to write full plan. Throughout the lesson plan writing process, I had
to continuously think about how to make the activities challenging, but provide students
with great support. I wanted there to be ample scaffolding for the students throughout the
pitch writing process.
I thought it would be helpful to start with having the students write a pitch for their
product ideas in groups, but realized this may be a bit too challenging to begin with. I
decided to instead give students all the information they need about an existing product so
that they can focus on writing a basic pitch script. I added the group investment element to
this activity because I thought it would be great way to get the students oriented with the
investors mindset.
My next challenge was figuring out how to get students to narrow their product idea
to one that is concise, detailed, and highly focused. I also wanted them to think about
important marketing strategies. I thought that using Twitter would be an exciting way to do
this and at the same time engage the students by using a modern, applicable platform that
they are familiar with. Once they finalized their tweet, I wanted to have them start writing
their pitch. I realized that though the tweet was a great springboard, students would benefit
from more scaffolding. I thought the message map activity would be a great way to get the
students selecting the three most alluring aspects of their product idea, before trying to
pitch it. The activities that followed would prompt students to reflect on & utilize all they
have learned and produced during the lesson plan before writing the final pitch. As a last
step, I thought it would be beneficial to have students practice their pitches with
experienced CEO mentors.