PARTNERS GUIDE

Secondary

We are empowering our youth with real world wisdom and the entrepreneurial
spirit to make our future right here at home. The Entrepreneurial Program has to
continue! To see the kids passionate about the venture lets us know we are doing
the right thing. Business Partner, BMO

thelearningpartnership.ca
The Learning Partnership is a national charitable organization dedicated to building
stakeholder partnerships to support, promote and advance publicly funded education in Canada.
We do this through five key deliverables innovative student programs, executive leadership for
educators, knowledge mobilization and policy, celebrating leaders and ongoing collaborations
acrossCanada. If you would like to support our programs and initiatives across Canada,
please visit thelearningpartnership.ca

Founding Partner:

follow us
@TLPCanada

/TLPCanada

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PARTNERS GUIDE

PLAN FOR PARTNERS GUIDE Secondary:

ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVENTURE - 2014
Section 1

What is the Entrepreneurial Adventure Program? ...............................................7

Section 2

Program Overview and Governing Principles ......................................................11

Section 3

The Goals of Entrepreneurial Adventure .............................................................15

Section 4

Curriculum Correlations .....................................................................................17

Curriculum Expectations ....................................................................................23
Provincial Curriculum Sites .................................................................................28
Section 5

Skills for the 21st Century ...................................................................................29

Section 6

Role of the Teacher ............................................................................................33

Section 7

Role of the Business Partner ...............................................................................37

Section 8

Role of the Students ..........................................................................................39

Section 9

Calendar Timeline: An Overview of the Year ......................................................43

Section 10

Potential Instructional Sequence: SECONDARY ..................................................45

Section 11

Entrepreneurial Adventure Videos ......................................................................53

The Learning Partnership Entrepreneurial Adventure Secondary Learning Modules

Partners Guide
The Learning Partnerships Entrepreneurial Adventure (EA) program is designed as a hands-on, experiential
learning opportunity for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. As a result of their deep involvement in
this creative endeavor, students have the opportunity to develop a variety of skills that extend far beyond
the realm of entrepreneurship: expertise in developing a plan and the will and energy to see it through to
completion; how and when to use problem-solving strategies and communication skills; the rudiments of
financial literacy; and the intricacies of collaborative work, to name just a few.
The program as it unfolds is the product of the creative partnership between the classroom teacher and
a business partner, who serves both as a model of business acumen and as a co-designer of the learning
experience for students. This Partners Guide introduces you to the fundamentals of the EA program. The
designers of the program recognize that the guide presents the bare bones of the program. It is our hope
that the teacher and business partner, working together as a team, will use the guide and the suggestions
as a starting place, a framework that can be added to and supplemented with ideas, activities and
resources that they discover in the process of designing the lived-in experience of the EA program.
Wherever possible, the authors have included suggestions for activities and learning experiences that may
be included. These are not prescribed or required. They are offered as brain teasers to excite the creative
energies that we hope will generate even more exciting and imaginative ways to approach the many
learning opportunities available in the EA program.

John Ormond, National Manager,

Entrepreneurial Adventure program,
The Learning Partnership
John Ormond, jormond@thelearningpartnership.ca

Section 3

Akela Peoples
President and CEO, The Learning Partnership

Entrepreneurial thinking is a key pillar of Canadas economy.

Therefore educating students to be future entrepreneurs is critical to any school curriculum. Programs
based in entrepreneurship give young people real-life experiences that empower them with ambition and
self-belief that are useful in all facets of life.
Innovative ideas, resourcefulness, effective communication and managing risk are all essential skills learned
from entrepreneurial education and will help students in their lives, whether they choose to work for
themselves or for someone else.
Your guidance in The Learning Partnerships Entrepreneurial Adventure program as a teacher, business
mentor or community partner will help students reach their fullest potential in todays rapidly changing
world. We are grateful for your dedication.
As you take on this entrepreneurial journey, we hope that you always keep these three guiding principles in
mind as keys to success (further explained on page 11):

Students experience the program is all about young minds thinking creatively and turning their
own ideas into reality, not just about starting a business.

Partnership the program is based on creating a truly entrepreneurial environment by bringing

together students, teachers and business mentors with a passion for a good idea and an effective
partnership.

Community engagement connecting students to community networks and harnessing the local
resources available to them is critical. It strengthens the school-community relationship and exposes
students to the broader social and economic world that surrounds them outside of the classroom.

In my personal experience, nothing stimulates a student more than listening to someone who is passionate
about their work. To that end, I encourage you to share your passion with these students and look beyond
the walls of the classroom to spark a truly enriching learning experience.
Thank you for participating in Entrepreneurial Adventure. I assure you, it will be rewarding experience and I
look forward to hearing all about it. I wish you great success with the program.
Sincerely,

Akela Peoples
President and CEO, The Learning Partnership

Adrian Ransome
Entrepreneurial Adventure Advisory Committee Member
The Learning Partnership

I would like to the take this time to welcome you to an incredible journey of discovery. Your decision to
participate in a formative experiential learning program will have a profound effect on the children you
have agreed to mentor.
By partaking in this adventure, your skills, experiences and resources will help to fundamentally change the
way our children will learn. By infusing entrepreneurship into their curriculum, these children will have an
opportunity to see and learn their curriculum in a very unique and special way. They will be afforded an
insight into how the world will work in the future. They will be lifted to new levels of learning, as they are
allowed to unleash the brilliance of themselves.
As a mentor and business partner, you have opened a door through which these children will find new
levels of self-confidence, motivation and a willingness to meet challenges upfront and centre.
As a returning business partner, I can tell you, without fail, that you will have a profound influence on the
students you support. Not only will you will sense the changes within the classroom dynamic, you will see
children stepping up, assuming new roles and new responsibilities.
The opportunity to pay it forward is the driving force but the acknowledgement of leaving a legacy is the
real result.
We look forward to a successful adventure.

Adrian Ransome
Business Development
Murray & Company Limited

PARTNERS GUIDE

Section 1

What is the Entrepreneurial Adventure Program?

The Learning Partnerships Entrepreneurial Adventure
program is helping young Canadians discover
entrepreneurship, an increasingly essential skill in todays
economic and business environment. The program pairs
Kindergarten to Grade 12 classes with business mentors
to create and develop a business venture from concept
to launch and actual sales, with profits going to the
class favourite charity. Students develop entrepreneurial
and other 21st century skills such as communication,
collaboration, presentation skills, business planning and
the importance of social responsibility.
Since the program began in 1995, more than 47,500
young entrepreneurs, 1,780 teachers and 1,370 business
partners from across Canada have created more than
1,352 successful ventures that have raised in excess
of $2.7 million for charities. Partners are matched in
the fall of the school year, with programs operating
between January and May. The program culminates
in an exciting showcase event, held in a public venue
for students to celebrate their innovative ventures and
interact with the public over the lunch hour. Additional
information is available on The Learning Partnership
website at www.thelearningpartnership.ca/
EntrepreneurialAdventure.

Program Benefits
For Students
32% of young people view entrepreneurship as the most desired profession.
Explore various career opportunities.
Make a significant contribution to their community, while developing personal and social

responsibility.
Make the curriculum relevant, using real-world application experiential learning.
Develop teamwork, presentation and interpersonal skills.
Learn how to plan, organize and deliver a project project management skills.
Support creativity.
Develop strategies for informed decision-making.
Build self-confidence and esteem.
Develop an understanding of how businesses work.

The Learning Partnership Entrepreneurial Adventure Secondary Learning Modules

For Teachers

Supports the Ministry of Education curriculum; easy integration.

Provides enrichment activities.
Appeals to students at all ability levels.
Develops community partnerships.
Provides a focus for many other classroom activities.
Offers professional development opportunities.
Includes access to ideas, activities and worksheets.
Network with other colleagues from different schools and boards.
Access to a library of resources and discussion forums.
Learn from more than 19 years of demonstrated success.
Culminates with a chance to win a national award and cash prize for your classroom.

For Business Partners

Give back to community - be a part of positive change.

Build community relationships and strengthen networks.
Fulfil a sense of empathy/connection with a cause.
Sharpen presentation skills.
Serve as a role model.
Gain access to a national forum and a library of resources.
Discover what matters to todays young people.
Demonstrate corporate responsibility.
Instil a value of giving and caring.
Establish a profile in the community.
Demonstrate commitment to public education.

Program Roles and Expectations

While each partnership is unique and individual partners will negotiate the terms of their own partnership,
partners generally spend approximately 4-6 hours per month working with the teacher and students in the
classroom. The following are some suggested roles for the business partner volunteer:

Serve as a mentor or a role model for the students to enhance understanding of the entrepreneurial

process and business activities, as well as share personal knowledge and experience.
Make presentations to the class that relate to the desired outcomes of their venture.
Advise students as they work on various tasks in teams and in small groups.
Help develop or acquire resource materials students may need.
Help assess the ideas, opportunities and venture plans that students develop.
Provide opportunities for students to visit a business or businesses.
Connect the school to other businesses in the community.
Bring your personal business experience to the partnership in some way to help kids realize adream.
Participate in and contribute to the online community for EA program participants.
Encourage teacher and class to work together, utilizing online tools.

PARTNERS GUIDE

Teacher
Primary role is to act as a facilitator.
Work with a business/community partner to:
plan the project
agree to the time commitment of both partners and the classroom
plan tasks
Attend the EA workshop.
Connect with the EA community through thelearningpartnership.ca.
Brainstorm with students ideas for their EA venture.
Build a team with the students and the business/community partner.
Develop a business plan.
Integrate the project with the curriculum. It is not an add-on.
Raise money for the venture startup costs.
Complete the project by May.
If desired, apply for any of the EA National Awards.
Participate in an EA Showcase to celebrate venture successes.