Friday, March 28, 2008 Message to Students

Freshman Seminar  

Ms. Kirshner sent emergency lesson plans to Mr. M. for printing and distribution to students. One of the most exciting lessons is about celebrity earnings.  Whichever lesson is used today, I expect you will have been on your best behavior.  

I seemed to have caught an upper respiratory illness from someone and I have such a sore throat that I cannot even speak.  and my ears and head hurt. Hopefully, I will be well enough to return on Monday. We will finish the Ray Kroc - Entrepreneur movie next week.  I hope you got a lot out of seeing the film, and answered all five questions about the man who is responsible for McDonald's being the muli-billion dollar business it is today. 

For extra credit:   continue your research of "franchises" and list the franchises you have gone to in the past, like Burger King, KFC, Subway, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts.  Pick one to research and find out how the company started, what they produce or sell, How much profit and sales there are as of this year.  

You may want ot see how much it costs to buy a franchise license, as well. 

Another extra credit assignment for students who like to do math problems: 

McDonald's sold perhaps 24 billion burgers by now, figure out the math. In 1972 12 billion were sold, so you can add 2 billion ever five years or go online and use google to find out the actual number of McDonald's burgers sold as of 2008.  

Thursday - Friday, March 27 -28, 2008 Freshman Seminar

AIM: Students will learn about the Salesman / Entrepreneur who is credited with growing McDonald's restaurants into a multi-billion dollar business.

DO NOW: How often do you eat at McDonald's? What is your favorite item on the menu? How much do you or does your parent spend on a typical visit to McDonald's? Do you know anyone who's worked in a McDonald's restaurant? What does that person do now?
Answer in complete sentences. Include the questions, by rephrasing them in your answer.

LP: Today we will view part of the Ray Kroc "the MacMillionaire" film about how he took a business and turned it into an empire.

Students will answer the following questions:

1. When Ray Kroc was a child his father took him to a Phrenologist, a person who can tell information about a person by feeling the bumps on the person's head. What did this "expert" tell Ray's father about his son's future?

2. What was the passion of Ray Kroc as a child and as an adult? Every chance he got he tried to do what?

3. Did Ray Kroc like school? Did he finish high school? If not, what did he do as a teenager when he should have been in high school?

4. What did Ray Kroc sell for at least 16 years, which brought him in contact with the McDonald brothers and their business, which used lots of multimixers?

5. What were the entrepreneur characteristics we have spoken about and examined that Ray Kroc was said to possess? For example, we know he was ambitious, what else? List at least 3 -5 additional characteristics as mentioned in the movie.



We will have additional questions tomorrow. Please answer these questions while you are watching the movie. There is no talking while the movie is being shown.

Homework: Look up "Franchise" online, and define it (you can go to dictionary.com) List as many franchises as you can think of or find online, and what they sell or do, and then bring the assignment to class on time tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 Freshman Seminar

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

AIM: Students will review key concepts and vocabulary and participate in brainstorming business terms for our new Word Wall.

DO NOW: Read and copy down the quote below and interpret it. How is basketball like business . Relate your interpretation to something you know for your example.

"I viewed it as a business, but I always viewed it as a game. An opportunity to show my skills, my basketball skills, amongst the best in the world." -- Michael Jordon on doing his best as a professional basketball player and businessman


Next: Period 3:
Yesterday we completed a Chapter 25 review and quiz, counted as a chapter test.
Today we will work on our new "Word Wall" together.

List at least 5 business terms you have learned in this class that you know the meaning of and write down briefly what you believe each one is. YOU CAN USE YOUR NOTES and the textbook!

Each term you come up with that is used on our wall, is for a bonus point!
Keep track!

You'll do this in pairs, but each student is responsible for his/her own 5 terms/words and definitions.

Homework: The homework from Monday is due. Check the blog for information if you don't have it jotted down. You are responsible for answering a question about zoning for and your new business.

Homework tonight: Meet over the phone and by email with your business group partners, and discuss your new business and review with them the name, the product or service, the location of the business, and the licensing, permits, and zoning matters that you need to document for the business. How will you produce or buy the raw materials for the products or the actual products or services you will sell? Will you use the Internet? Again, who is the President, Vice President? and other staff? How will profits be distributed? Type up your meeting notes to include the names of the participants who met, when, how you met (phone or email) and what was accomplished. Remember you type up the discussion as "minutes"/meeting notes. You must have it dated and all details included. You will be asked to bring this to class tomorrow.

Period 4: AIM: (Same) but this review is for the Chapter 25 Test. We reviewed yesterday. We will do another quick review and take the test.
Homework is the same.

If you have questions about grades, you are required to contact me by email at ProfessorKLK@aol.com, do not come to me in class about grades. I will not change your grade because you demand it. Think about your conduct and your attendance, timeliness, reports required, and quality of your work and behavior (classroom participation). This is a new marking period. You have a perfect opportunity to start with a fresh beginning. Finito.

Coming up...Next Entrepreneur project: A two-page report, typed with a photo -- about Ray Kroc. Who was he, how did he come up with the idea for McDonald's ? Where did the name come from? What did he do before beginning the business? Where did he come from? Where was the first location?

Volunteers Welcome - Bonus Points!

Several students have volunteered to help Ms. K. prepare the "Word Wall" for our classroom, and to prepare additional important charts. If you are interested in participating, drop me a note via email: ProfessorKLK@aol.com Students who do monitoring work, collecting, distributing and assisting with room preparation receive bonus points added directly to their grades. If you are a board monitor everyday, you receive 15 - 20 points added to your grade. If you distribute and collect the textbooks every day, it is the same huge number of bonus points. Think about it. It is a way to raise your grade and have an important role in making our classroom work for all of us.

Update: Do Now for Tuesday March 25

Ms. Kirshner

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

DO NOW: Read and copy down the quote below, and then think and interpret what it means, and apply it to something you know, something in your own experience or in the news that is a good real-life example of your interpretation….

“Too often it's not the most creative guys or the smartest. Instead, it's the ones who are best at playing politics and soft-soaping their bosses. Boards don't like tough, abrasive guys.”Carl Icahn, famous businessman commenting on how some people get ahead in business.

_________________________________________________________________
AIM: Students will review key concepts of legal structures for new businesses and licensing, permits and tax ID requirements.

LP: Students will complete the workbook key questions in class and responses will be reviewed and placed on the board. Students will then review the chapter summary for Chapter 25 in preparation for the chapter 25 test.

Homework: Students will complete the assignment of Monday, March 24 and submit it tomorrow. No latenesses will be accepted.

Note to students: This is a new marking period. You have a "clean slate" to start anew. Make sure you come to class prepared to work with notebook, pen, pencil and your fine mind. Remember, you are in high school now.
Homework is required and counts towards your grade, as does classwork, attendance, punctuality, and behavior in class towards your classmates and teacher. Follow the rules posted in the classroom and reviewed repeatedly, and you will pass the class easily.

Freshman Seminar, Periods 3 & 4 March 24-25

Welcome back from the three-day holiday weekend.
Monday, March 24, 2008

AIM: Students will know what legal steps are necessary to complete prior to opening a business.

DO NOW: Interpret the following quote as it relates to your own experiences. Use a real-life example. Be as specific as possible.

"The enemy of the truth is very often not the lie - deliberate, contrived, and dishonest -- but the myth-persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic." -- Former US President John F. Kennedy

Be prepared to discuss the quote and your interpretation of it. Write out the quote and the response.

LP: Students need workbooks and textbooks today.

Monitors distribute.

Ask: What are licenses? What do you need a license to do? What are permits? How are they different than licenses? (Put the questions and responses on the board - brainstorm with students) Why would you need one to operate a business?

What is a registration and Sales ID number? Why do you need one?
Refer to pages 306 -307 in the textbook and pages 169 - 170 in workbook. Alone or in pairs, using the textbook, complete workbook pages 169 - 170 - # 5 and Key Concepts questions 1,2,3, and complete the vocabulary section in class.

Homework: Complete the exploration question from the workbooks. For your business you plan to start, research zoning and licensing regulations in your area and describehow they will affect your business.

Quick review tomorrow. Quiz of chapter 25 tomorrow, may count as Chapter 25 Test for next marking period.

Reminder: Please make sure all books and workbooks are put away five minutes before the bell. Do not line up nor leave your seats prior to being given the okay. Lateness to class, and cutting out early, and throwing things, and other problem behavior in class is reflected in your grade each term. It's up to you whether you achieve your goals or fall behind.

Thursday, March 20 Update Freshman Seminar

AIM: Students will assess the advantages and disadvantages of a partnership and limited partnership, and contrast them with those of sole proprietorships, with the risk in mind.

DO NOW: Interpret this quote as it applies to what you are learning about entrepreneurship. Make sure to include at least one real-life example to make your point....

"The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money or to find much fun in life." -- Charles M. Schwab

LP: Today we will examine Partnerships and the Advantages and Disadvantages, using another "T" Chart. Yesterday we prepared a T Chart for the Sole Proprietorship and students placed the information in their notebook copies of the T Chart. Today we will do the same but this time for Partnerships. We will place the Advantages and disadvantages on the board, after examing the different types of partnerhips (Partnership and Limited Partnership),and placing the types and the definitions on the board and in notebooks.
We will discuss the Risk again, as sole proprietorship owner of a business vs. being a partner or limited partner.

Ask students:
" What is a D.B.A. form? Is it a certificate, a permit, or a license? Students must explain. Direct students to page 169 in their workbooks, and to complete question 5, which that question is, and then to go to key concepts and complete 1, 2, and 3, using the textbook in paired work. Not groups. Students must also complete the matching Vocabulary words assignment on page 170 in their notebooks.

HOMEWORK: Write complete sentences of your own (not from the workbook or book) correctly using the vocabulary words:
limited partnership, sole proprietorship, partnership, and permit.
...Also,
Continue to prepare the legal structure and business agreement you have been working on this week, with your business partners on the phone and by email, or in person. Make sure to document the "minutes" (typing up the discussion notes and decisions made, with the date, time met, how met, and who was involved and what was decided.)

Tell students we will be viewing another entrepreneurs success story next week. But first we will complete this chapter.

Wednes. - Thursday, March 19 - 20

TOPIC of week: LEGAL BUSINESS STRUCTURES (Chapter 25)

AIM: Students will be able to decifer (know) the difference between Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships, for setting up their businesses.

DO NOW: Think of a time when you did something jointly with a friend. What did you like or dislike about the arrangement. You don't have to use the person's real name, but you do have to give a real example and be specific with your description of the arrangement and with your response(s). Be prepared to discuss your do now in class.

LP: We will examine the Pros and Cons of Sole Proprietorships today.

Students will get into pairs with the textbook, and will use it to with a "T chart" which Ms. Kirshner will have them reproduce in their notebooks. Ms. Kirshner will ask students what "pro" and what "con" imply and will clarify the differences with students.

Using the textbook, students will place the pros on the left of the chart, and the cons on the right of the chart. The title of the chart is : "Pros and Cons of Sole Proprietorships"
Ms. K. will discuss the meaning of "returns" and of "risks" and students will draw a line under their responses on the T chart and then include the risks and returns.
Students will next determine the "returns" and the "risks" of the Sole Proprietorship legal business structure.

Discuss responses with class.

Q: What are the things entrepreneurs might do to protect themselves from these risks?
(Incorporate, get insurance, have customers sign a release)

Q: What is likely to be the effect on returns?
(Lowering risk usually lowers expected return, but makes it more secure.)

Students are asked about Risk. IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO:
Suppose you own a company that makes skateboards. Someone has an accident
while using one of your products. The cusomer claims the skateboard is defective and you are to blame because the defect was the cause of the accident. The customer sues you for $100,000. What can happen if the customer wins? (You might lose everything -- not just your initial investment, but also personal belongings and resources too. See Chapter 3 for Risk and Return review).

IMPORTANT POINT: Sole Proprietorships should only be used for businesses that do not produce a product or provide a service that can injure someone. Students are asked for examples of sole proprietorships in their neighborhoods.

NOTE: Different legal structures allow entrepreneurs several ways to set up business es that affect risk and return.... Why might the government allow these different legal structures? (different circumstances for starting business, some sorts of business structures are more vulnerable to lawsuits, and free enterprise allows owners the freedom of choice within the law, so they can set up the business structure they choose to serve different purposes. Investment, types of investment, and operation and ownership considerations are taken into account.) Discussion.

HOMEWORK: Meet with your partners of your group, over Phone, or by email, if not in person and discuss the setup of your business. Follow the assignment of Tuesday's homework, and make sure to keep a record in written form, that is "minutes" of the meeting.

Freshman Seminar, Periods 3 & 4

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

AIM: Students will be able to choose a legal structure for their own businesses.

DO NOW: Interpret the quote as it relates to your own experience, and make sure to include an example. Also, What does "to be ready" mean? ....

"The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes." -- Benjamin Disraeli, former Prime Minister of Great Brittain

This was reviewed, discussed and collected.
Students were asked next to list five things they must ask a parent/guardian for permission to do. Listed on board. Discussed.

Discussion points: How does this related to choosing a legal structure for our businesses?
There are roles in the organization, in a hierarchy, for example and President, Vice President, Sales Manager, Promotion Manager, etc. Not everyone is President. Each has to take orders from a higher authority and follow a set of laws, regulations, and procedures to operate and remain in business. This includes the requirement to pay taxes on the money received when doing business. What happens if you don't pay taxes on the income of your new business? There are legal consequences, including prison and fines.

Homework:

Meet with your business partners again after school, either in person, online, or by phone and draw up a draft of a partnership agreement with them. Make sure you specify the role of each partner and state the duties of each, as well as the time and money each will invest/contribute to the business. Then also decide how the profits will be divided. You don't need to have real dollar amounts, just to know, if one person invests 10% of the money, and 50% of the time, how much in terms of percentage of the profits will he/she receive? You must determine who has what responsibilities and how much of the profit will be distributed to the partners.

Make sure you always write down the meeting details, also known as the "minutes" of the meeting and type them up for each meeting.

Please bring your partnership agreements to class as you would your regular homework. This assignment is due on Thursday, not tomorrow, to allow you time to connect with your business partners.

Freshman Seminar Students

Monday, March 17, 2008 "St. Patrick's Day"
Ms. Kirshner, MBA, MS

Periods 3 and 4


TOPIC: Determining the Legal Structure of your business

AIM: Students will learn about the different legal structures they will consider when starting their own businesses.

(We will go back to Chapter 25 in the textbook, prior to continuing with the development of our business plans. The technology section was completed in class and for homework, using workbook sheets. Students formed their businesses and decided on a name and product/s as well as met in their groups in class and also at home, via email and phone calls after school. Students are required to take notes about the discussions during the meetings and be prepared to turn those "minutes" in to Ms. Kirshner when required to do so.)

DO NOW: Copy into your notebook and define these new vocabulary words:
limited partnership,partnership, permit, sole proprietorship


CLASSWORK: In a pair (2 students, not three or more) one reads aloud, the other listens and takes notes, and then switch roles, and read and take notes on pages 304 - 309.

Homework: Fully answer these questions:

1. Do you think a sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited partnership would be the right legal structure for your own business? Explain, keeping in mind the new business you are starting with your group from the class.

2. What government identification number must you have before you can sell a product or service? Why?

3. In addition to registration, describe two other things you have to do before opening a business.


All work must be done in your notebook and on looseleaf paper. Be prepared for a notebook check at any moment. There are regular "spot checks". Don't be caught unprepared. It will work against your grade. Good behavior counts towards your participation grade. Bad behavior is unacceptable and will not work in your favor. Note, you are responsible for reading and completing all the Malia Mills Swimwear quesions, which became homework on Friday. It should be done for collecton today. Remember late work costs you 15 to 20 points each day late.

Welcome to Ms. Kirshner's new blog for MBHS students in the following classes:

Periods 3 and 4 - Freshman Seminar
Periods 6 and 7 - MOS, Computer Applications
Period 8 - Sports Marketing