The Second Grade Class at Mintonye elementary has been learning financial literacy with Junior Achievement (JA) for the last five weeks. Pam Robertson, a retired TSC second grade teacher, is the JA volunteer working in Mrs. Bymaster's Classroom.

The JA program for second grade focuses on the businesses in our community and the many jobs they offer. Students explore different career opportunities, production methods, learn about taxes, decision making, and how money flows through our community. Posters, simulation games, and small group discussions are used by the program to encourage an active learning environment for all the students.

The focus of the lesson this week was, "People at Work." The students learned about the production method by playing a simulation game on making pizzas. The students were in groups of four. Each group had to see how many "perfect' pizzas they could make in a specific amount of time that could be sold to customers. Students discussed what a pizza they would be willing to pay for as a customer would look like. They also discussed the Pizza Store Owners costs and responsibilities as a store owner. Each pizza was to be sold for $5.00 and each employee was paid $1.00 for each "perfect or sellable" pizza they made. They did not get paid for pizzas that were not sellable. After the activity the students graphed the results of each group that made pizzas, about the production process, goods and services, and how people get paid for work. The students really enjoyed the lesson and learned a lot about goods and services in our community.

The students and the JA volunteer, Mrs. Robertson, all had fun while the student learned valuable lessons. “These hands on lessons are the best part of the JA program. They take a lot of planning and input, but the students really understand the concepts we are teaching at the end of the lesson," Mrs. Robertson.