JA BIZTOWN for 5th Graders is Junior Achievement’s experiential-based, elementary school Capstone Program. JA BizTown encompasses important elements of work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy, providing students with a solid foundation of business, economics, and free enterprise education. Furthermore, the program content augments students’ core curriculum in social studies, language arts, and mathematics. The JA BizTown curriculum aligns with Tennessee State Standards, too. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to use critical thinking skills to learn about key economic concepts as they explore and enhance their understanding of free enterprise.
Through daily lessons, hands-on activities, and active participation in a simulated community designed to support differentiated learning styles, students develop a strong understanding of the relationship between what they learn in school and their successful participation in a local economy. JA BizTown helps prepare students for a lifetime of learning and academic achievement.
JA BizTown Curriculum
The JA BizTown curriculum is designed to minimize lesson preparation time through an efficient lesson organization. The lessons are designed as a framework and can be adapted to meet the special needs and interests of students in the classroom. Students are to complete the required nineteen lessons to ensure that they have the background knowledge necessary to fully participate in the JA BizTown experience. In addition, Enhanced Learning Opportunities (ELO), which will allow teachers to provide optional activities that complement the core curriculum, will be available. Teachers can choose, at their discretion, to have students participate in some, all, or none of these ELO activities.
Following the teacher taught classroom study, students participate in an exciting full-day visit to the JA BizTown site. At JA BizTown, students work as employees in various businesses (facilitated by volunteer educators and business professionals); they are paid for their labor, and they manage personal checking accounts. Throughout the day, students learn about time and money management skills as they work, bank, and shop as consumers.
After participating in the JA BizTown simulation, students participate in debriefing lessons to ensure a well-rounded learning experience. These lessons allow students to reflect on their JA BizTown experience and further identify the relevance of classroom learning to their future plans and goals. In an effort to address multiple learning styles, various teaching strategies are included throughout the curriculum to actively engage students in the learning process.
Please refer to the JA BizTown Curriculum Overview for a summary of the key concepts included in each lesson of the program.
Links to more information:
Request more information about JA BizTown or request to participate in the program.
Read how the JA BizTown curriculum aligns with Tennessee State Curriculum Standards.
Learn more about JA BizTown's Experiential Learning.
Sample Daily Schedule at JA BizTown.
There are seventeen JA BizTown businesses that students will operate during their day of running the town.