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Subject: Mathematics, Business & Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy
Grade Level: 6-9
Time Allotment: 1-2 class periods

“Poultry Profits” is a comprehensive, hands-on educational activity that introduces middle school students to fundamental business mathematics concepts through an engaging, real-world scenario: starting a small-scale chicken farming business. Students take on the role of an entrepreneur, making critical business decisions and using their math skills to calculate the financial viability of their venture.

This project moves beyond abstract equations, allowing students to see the direct impact of their choices on costs, revenue, profit, and the all-important break-even point. It’s the perfect tool to answer the age-old question, “When will we ever use this in real life?”

Learning Objectives:
Upon completing this activity, students will be able to:

Differentiate between fixed and variable costs.

Calculate total startup and operational costs for a small business.

Forecast potential revenue based on production and market prices.

Calculate net profit and loss.

Define and calculate the break-even point.

Analyze how different business decisions affect financial outcomes.

Apply critical thinking to solve practical, multi-step word problems.

What’s Included:
This resource is a complete, ready-to-use package containing three key components:

Student Worksheet: A step-by-step guided worksheet that walks students through the process of creating their business plan, from choosing their chicken breed to calculating their final profit.

Teacher’s Guide: A comprehensive guide featuring a full answer key with detailed calculations for all possible scenarios, making it easy to check student work. It also includes prompts for deeper discussion questions to encourage critical thinking about “hidden costs” and business strategy.

Introductory Presentation: A 9-slide presentation to launch the activity, clearly explaining all the core concepts (Cost, Revenue, Profit, Break-Even) in student-friendly language.

Why Use This Activity?

Engaging & Relevant: The fun, relatable scenario of raising chickens captures student interest and provides a tangible context for complex math concepts.

Promotes Critical Thinking: Encourages students to think like business owners, analyzing trade-offs and making strategic decisions.

Cross-Curricular: Seamlessly blends mathematics with principles of economics, business, and financial literacy.

Easy to Implement: With a worksheet, guide, and presentation included, this project is ready to deploy in your classroom with minimal prep time.