Lesson Plan (Grades 6-8): Shark Tank Classroom Edition - Designing, Pitching, and Defending a New Product

Focus: Engage students in a cross-curricular entrepreneurship challenge where they identify a real problem, invent a product-based solution, and develop a persuasive pitch package that includes a product sketch, target audience analysis, simple cost estimate, slogan, and oral presentation. Students use design thinking, reasoning, budgeting, and communication to defend their choices before an “investor panel.”

Grade Level: 6-8

Subject Area: Engineering/Design • ELA • Math • Career Readiness/Inquiry

Total Unit Duration: 1 core lesson with 2 optional extension lessons

I. Introduction

Students become inventors and entrepreneurs in a classroom version of Shark Tank where the goal is not just to make something flashy, but to solve a real problem with a thoughtful, realistic product idea. In the core lesson, students identify a need in school, home, or community life, then design a product that addresses that need while considering criteria, constraints, cost, and audience. Students create a pitch package with a product sketch, short budget, slogan, and evidence-based explanation of why their idea deserves support. The lesson feels exciting and competitive, but it stays academically grounded by emphasizing design reasoning, argument writing, presentation skills, and practical math.

Essential Questions

• How do inventors and entrepreneurs identify a real problem worth solving?
• What makes a product idea both creative and realistic?
• How do criteria, constraints, and cost shape design decisions?
• How can we persuade an audience to support our idea using evidence and reasoning?
• What makes a strong pitch more effective than just a fun idea?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Identify a real-world problem and define it clearly as a design challenge.
2. Describe the criteria and constraints their product must meet.
3. Develop a product sketch or prototype concept that addresses a target audience’s needs.
4. Use basic ratio/rate or cost reasoning to create a simple budget, price estimate, or comparison.
5. Write an argument explaining why their product is a strong solution.
6. Present and defend their product idea clearly using relevant evidence and persuasive speaking skills.

Standards Alignment

• MS-ETS1-1
  • Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment.
• MS-ETS1-2
  • Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.4 / SL.7.4 / SL.8.4
  • Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound reasoning, and appropriate details.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.1 / W.7.1 / W.8.1
  • Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3
  • Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.3
  • Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems, including pricing and financial comparisons.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can clearly explain the problem my product is trying to solve.
• I can describe what my product must do well and what limits I have to work within.
• I can create a product sketch and explain who it is for.
• I can use numbers to estimate cost or compare pricing in a reasonable way.
• I can write and speak persuasively about why my idea deserves support.
• I can respond to questions and defend my design decisions with evidence.