Shark Tank Entrepreneurship Project & Design Thinking Mini-Unit | Grades 6-10

🚀 Transform your classroom into a startup incubator!

This comprehensive, project-based Innovation & Entrepreneurship Mini-Unit empowers students in Grades 6–10 to think like entrepreneurs. Over the course of 3 weeks (15 lessons), students will identify a real-world community problem, apply the Stanford d.school Design Thinking process, develop a product or service, and pitch their ideas to an "Investor Panel" in a thrilling Shark Tank–inspired showcase.

Perfect for Makerspaces, Business/CTE classes, AVID, Genius Hour, or cross-curricular ELA and STEM projects, this premium resource has everything you need to facilitate a high-engagement, real-world learning experience from start to finish.

✨ WHAT’S INCLUDED (34 Premium Pages):

15 Detailed Lesson Plans: Step-by-step instructions for 50-minute blocks, including learning objectives, key vocabulary, materials, lesson sequences (Hook, Direct Teach, Guided/Independent Practice, Closure), formative assessments, and differentiation strategies for every single lesson. Market Research Worksheet: Guided template for students to validate community needs, conduct competitor analysis, and identify market gaps. Product Design Canvas: A structured blueprint for students to map out features, benefits, user personas, and unique value propositions. Pitch Deck Template (10 Slides): A slide-by-slide guide outlining exactly what to include (from the "Problem" to "The Ask"), complete with design tips and visual hierarchy rules. Audience Scoring Rubric: A 4-category, 4-level rubric (Problem/Solution, Market/Business Model, Product/Prototype, Pitch/Visual Design, Q&A) for easy, objective grading by teachers and peer evaluators. Investor Panel Facilitation Guide: Everything you need to run your Shark Tank showcase, including panel roles, Q&A question banks, session format, and award titles. Student Business Idea Journal: A multi-entry reflective journal where students document their design journey, empathy maps, HMW statements, and business models. 🧠 SKILLS COVERED:

Stanford d.school Design Thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) Public Speaking & Persuasive Communication Market Research & Competitor Analysis Financial Literacy Basics (Revenue, Cost, Profit) Problem Solving & Critical Thinking Empathy & Human-Centered Design Collaboration & Teamwork 📋 HOW TO USE: This unit is designed for a 3-week timeline but is fully adaptable.

Week 1: Focuses on Empathy, Problem Discovery, and defining the market need (Lessons 1-5). Week 2: Shifts to Ideation, Prototyping, and Business Model development (Lessons 6-10). Week 3: Culminates in Pitch Deck creation, rehearsal, and the final Shark Tank Showcase (Lessons 11-15). Simply print the student journals and worksheets, load the pitch deck template to your LMS, and follow the daily lesson plans! 🎓 GRADE SUITABILITY: Designed specifically for Middle and High School students (Grades 6–10). The materials are rigorous enough for high school CTE/Business classes, yet accessible and scaffolded for middle school STEM or ELA project-based learning.

📐 STANDARDS ALIGNMENT:

ISTE Standards: 1.4 (Innovative Designer), 1.5 (Computational Thinker), 1.6 (Creative Communicator), 1.7 (Global Collaborator). Common Core ELA: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6-10.4 & .5 (Presenting claims & multimedia), CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-10.7 (Short research projects).