Parents & Teachers
You are welcome to use the activities and resources on this site for free. The site is intended for students in 5th-8th grade.
For your convenience, we have provided a brief description of each store in the mall. We’ve also provided a series of fact sheets that reinforce the lessons from the site and offer ideas for related activities. The fact sheets and activities on the site can be used to complement lessons in critical thinking, language arts, writing, media literacy, business, civics, and social studies.
WEST TERRACE:
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- Shuman’s Shoes
Lesson: Ads and Endorsements
There are lots of different kinds of ads. Here, kids can design their own poster for a shoe sale or listen to a popular DJ’s endorsement to determine whether it’s an ad. -
- Market-Match Wireless
Lesson: Targeted Marketing
Businesses use target marketing to reach specific audiences. Kids can learn more about target marketing by matching different styles of cell phones with their target audiences. Kids can play this matching game again and again to beat their best time. -
- Gr8 Gadgets
Lesson: False or Misleading Ads
Misleading ads cause lots of problems for businesses and consumers. Kids can watch a misleading commercial and then learn how it has caused problems for everyone involved. They also learn how the FTC prosecutes companies that intentionally mislead consumers. -
- Nutrition Emporium
Lesson: Advertising Claims
Companies are responsible for the claims they make in their advertisements. Kids can learn more by examining a print ad with suspicious claims.
FOOD COURT:
- Pizza Pizza Pizza
Lesson: Competition
Companies compete with each other by offering some combination of higher quality, lower prices, more choices, and better service. Kids can listen to three different sales pitches for pizza to determine which one appeals to them most. 
- Candy Tooth Kingdom
Lesson: Supply & Demand
The price of goods is usually determined by supply, demand, and production costs. Here, kids guess the retail price of various candies by considering these factors. -
- Cinema
Lesson: History of American Business Competition
The FTC is guided by important laws: the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the FTC Act. Kids can learn more about the history of the FTC and its role in American commerce by watching a short video and asking questions afterward. 
- Triple Cold Creamery
Lesson: Mergers
Some mergers eliminate competition, but not all mergers are bad. Often consumers benefit because the merger combines desirable qualities from two different companies. Kids can listen to a conversation to learn more about mergers and the FTC’s role overseeing them.