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Fifth-graders buy and sell during trade fair
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Fifth-grader Justin Lewis showed off an example of the locker caddies he sold at the Nov. 16 McKinley Elementary Trade Fair.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .McKinley Elementary fifth-grader Stephen Bannon created sports keychains to sell at the Nov. 16 Trade Fair. To help sell his product, Bannon utilized a celebrity endorsement through "The Most Interesting Man in the World," (left) a frequent star of Dos Equis Brewing Company commercials.
By SARAH FOOR
Industries around the world depend on trade fairs to showcase, demonstrate and build buzz for their latest and greatest products.
On Nov. 16, the fifth-graders at McKinley Elementary staged their own small-scale trade fair, presenting items they created and utilizing advertising and marketing tools to sell to their peers.
The event has been an annual event at McKinley for more than 10 years and was organized this year by fifth-grade teachers Diane Gesacion and Laura Spey.
“The project teaches the students social studies, economics and invaluable lessons in communication. After inventing a product, the kids researched advertising techniques and are actually encouraged to use propaganda like jingles and celebrity endorsements,” explained Gesacion.
Along with a product, the students were asked to create an eye-catching display and share a “commercial” for their product in a speech. The students used tools like repetition, testimonials, over-generalizations and emotional words to garner attention. After their speeches, the students bartered and traded products with each other, discovering whose idea and hype earned a “purchase” from their peers.
Fifth-grader Justin Lewis created magnetic locker caddies for the trade fair and hoped his useful creation wouldn’t need over-the-top advertising.
“I wanted something cool that people can personalize and use how they like. The caddies can be decorated and they hold pencils or money or even candy,” Lewis explained.
Abbi Aey hand-crafted colorful bracelets and sold them by championing their one-of-a-kind nature.
“They’re handmade and each one is unique,” Aey said during her speech.
“The projects are valuable because they teach the students to be smart buyers. By understanding and actually using the misleading tools in advertising, they learn what to look for in their own purchases,” Gesacion added.