Lesson Plan: Shark Tank!

Unit Title: Inventure Challenge

Topic Title: Discovering Your Design Challenge
Name of Lesson: SCAMPER
The first few weeks of school students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with a partner
or team of three students to create a new design for ice cream cones or ice cream while indulging in the
tasty treat. Students will be introduced to the creativity strategy of SCAMPER to encourage them to
increase their fluency and flexibility of ideas. This will serve as a warm-up to the creative process
needed to solve a problem through innovation of a device in the InVenture project.

21st Century Technology:

X Interactive Smart Board
X Student ipads and laptops
X LCD Projector

Essential Question(s):
 How can I use the elements of creativity (fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration) to help me
think of a unique solution for my community’s problems ?
 How can the SCAMPER technique help me think divergently ?
 How can I use evaluative thinking to help me select the best idea and design?

Assessment Description/Performance Task:

x-Constructed response
X- Performance task
x-Formative assessment

Brief Description:
 Teacher will model the SCAMPER creativity thinking process by using clay pots in a variety of
ways with the SCAMPER acronym. (SCAMPER definition sheet attached, will be glued in
Inventure Notebooks.)
 Students will use SCAMPER for ice cream/ice cream cone improvements.
 Teacher will model how to use a decision matrix to help students choose the best idea with given
criteria.
 Students will use decision matrix to choose their best idea.
 Students will “pitch” their idea to “sharks” in a Shark Tank style format.

Instructional Methods:
 Hook/Activator: Teacher will show Shark Tank episodes and analyze them with students using the
following criteria: Originality, Marketability, Solves a Problem, Feasibility.
Hang Ease: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIT4SlRgGJ0 (scroll to 21:58 to watch this pitch)
Mo’s Bows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs_LoJDfOOU
Smart Wheel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08mCf9G9xBU

Teaching Strategy:
 Teacher will ask students if they watch “Shark Tank”. What is the purpose of “Shark
Tank”? How do you become a “shark”? What is a “pitch”? What are the people hoping
to accomplish by appearing on the show “Shark Tank?”
 Teacher will give students decision matrix and review criteria so they can evaluate the
Shark Tank ideas.
 Students will tally scores on decision matrix to determine which idea they feel would most
likely be successful.
 Teacher will tell students they will be given the opportunity to create a new product and
will present or pitch it in a classroom version of “Shark Tank.” Student teachers,
administrators or parents will serve as “sharks” and they will evaluate each group’s
product idea.

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005

  But how do people come up with their ideas?
 One strategy is a creative thinking activity called SCAMPER.
 Teacher will use the photos of clay pots to demonstrate some of the components of
SCAMPER. See attachment.
*S – Substitute
*C – Combine
*A – Adapt
*M – Maximize/Minify
*P – Put to another use
*E – Eliminate
*R – Reverse
 Teacher will model using decision matrix and review criteria to evaluate clay pot ideas.
 Teacher will give students ice cream cones with ice cream and ask them to list all of the
problems they could potentially experience with the ice cream while they eat it.
 Teacher will give them Ice Cream SCAMPER handout and have students list their ideas to
improve ice cream or ice cream cone on index cards (One index card for each letter). Review
the term “Fluency” and remind students the more ideas the better when brainstorming. This
helps them resist going with their first ideas and as a result they will more likely to have an
original idea.
 Students will collaborate with partner or small group of three to choose their favorite four ideas
to place on the decision matrix and evaluate ideas based on the criteria to select the best idea to
pitch.
 Students will sketch their idea and clearly label it on handout. Students will provide a written
description of the problem their device or product solves and who will use it.
 Students will create their product/device using household items.
 Students will create a “pitch” or presentation of their product. Students should refer to the
“Shark Tank” episodes to help them understand what a pitch is and the different styles each
team has in their pitches.
 Teacher will plan day and time for their “Shark Tank” presentations and have “Sharks” available
to evaluate each pitch/idea. “Sharks” will use the same criteria used on the decision matrix. A
music file is available with the “Shark Tank Song” to play as students come in with the product,
sketch, and other props they may want to use in their pitches.
 Teacher may choose to have the sharks report whom they would “invest” in by listing the top
two or three teams. Another variation could simply have the sharks and students share the ideas
they would enjoy using.
 Students will reflect upon their efforts by completing the SCAMPER rubric. Teachers may also
evaluate students using this rubric.

Differentiation:
 Teacher may create groups based on the students’ strengths and weaknesses of divergent thinking,
written expression, and risk-taking.
 Students may use technology to help them create their pitch for the “Shark Tank.”

For this Lesson:

 Shark Tank Sound Clip
 Student copies of SCAMPER Ice Cream, SCAMPER Decision Making, SCAMPER Sketch sheet and
Rubric for self-evaluation.
 Organize student teachers, administrators, local business people or parents to serve as “Sharks”.
 Shark rubric (Multiple copies of decision matrix will also serve as a rubric for Sharks to judge
individual ideas.)

Vocabulary:  Decision Matrix

 Criteria
 Originality
 Marketability
 Feasibility
 Users

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005

  Invest
 SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify,
Minify, Maximize, Put to another use, Eliminate,
Reverse)

Reverse: Combine:

Put to another use:

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005

Inventure: Creative thinking
I scream, you
scream, we
II all
Scamper scream for ice
cream!

Welcome back to Target! We may be in school but the summer heat is still here in Georgia.
Nothing better than a good ole ice cream cone! Here is an opportunity for you to flex your
creative thinking through a technique called SCAMPER. Creativity does not mean just being a
good artist. It means thinking in new and innovative ways. Read the questions below and
record your ideas on notecards.

S Substitute What could be substituted for the cone? What could be substituted for
the ice cream? What could be substituted for the taste? The texture?

C Combine What could be combined with the cone? With the ice cream? What other
foods? What other non-food items?

A Adapt How could the cone be adapted so it wouldn’t drip? So it would keep the
ice cream cold? So it would not get soggy?

M Modify Modify the ice cream cone. What is it like? If it were magnified, what
Magnify might it be used for? What if it were miniaturized?
Minify

P Put to What else could an ice cream cone be used for? Who else might use it?
other uses Where else might it be used?

E Eliminate What could be removed from an ice cream cone? How could it be
streamlined? Made lighter?

R Reverse What if it were upside down? Inside out? What shape could it be?
Rearrange

Evaluate your four best ideas using a decision matrix and criteria.

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005

 SCAMPER Decision Matrix

List five of your favorite ideas on the table below. Rate them on the following criteria:

Originality: Do you think anyone else in the class has thought of this idea? Is this idea already
been created and found in stores?
Marketability: Will people like using this product? Would many people want to purchase it?
Would you like to purchase and use it?
Feasibility: How realistic is the idea? Could it be easily made without spending a large
amount of money?
Helpfulness: Does this idea help to solve a problem?

4 = Addresses the criteria very well

3 = Does a good job of addressing the criteria
2 = Partially addresses the criteria
1 = Does not address the criteria at all CRITERIA
Originality Marketability Solves a Feasibility: Is Total
Be

ea
Id
st

problem it something
s

that can
realistically be
created?

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005

 INVENTURE CREATIVE THINKING
SCAMPER ACTIVITY

Draw and label a sketch of your SCAMPERED ice cream cone.

Explain how your design works, what problem it solves or why people would enjoy
using it.

Who are the users of your idea?

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005

 SCAMPER: Ice Cream Cones

Successful Progressing Does not Meet

Fluency of ideas: Student Student Student
To what extent brainstormed brainstormed brainstormed
did students push multiple ideas for some ideas for minimal ideas for
each letter of each letter of each letter of
themselves to SCAMPER SCAMPER SCAMPER
think of alternate
ideas for an ice
cream cone?
Communication: Student clearly Student Student did not
How well did communicated the communicated the communicate the
description of description of description of
students describe
his/her design, the his/her design, the his/her design, the
their design in problem it solved, problem it solved, problem it solved,
their written and the users who and the users who and the users who
description? would benefit from would benefit would benefit from
it. from it. However, it.
more detail was
needed to fully
describe idea.
Idea Sketch: Student put forth Student put forth Student put forth
effort to clearly and some effort to little effort to draw
How detailed neatly draw details draw basic details the design and it
and clear was to illustrate the to illustrate the was difficult to
the sketch of design. design. understand how it
was made.
their idea?
Collaboration: Student worked Student worked Student and
well with partner(s) somewhat well partner(s) did not
How well did and was productive with partner(s) but work well together
student work with the amount of could have been and were not able to
with partner to ideas more productive resolve
brainstormed, with the amount disagreements.
productively efficient with the of ideas Partners did not use
use class time? decision making brainstormed, time well to create
process. Student been more the pitch.
planned and efficient with the
presented pitch of decision making
idea to sharks process and in the
within the time presentation of
given. their pitch.

CCSD Version Date: July 1, 2005