Allan Gray Primary Champions

About Primary Champions – Young Business Mind

Young Business Mind is a fun-filled pathway to learning for students in primary schools. It is 100% free certificate course that takes the form of a 2D video game, offered to all primary schools and their learners in Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 (or equivalently suitable for age groups 9 to 13).

The game will be live and open in Term 2 of the schooling Calendar in South Africa in 2023 and should be played under the supervision of a teacher at school (or under a parents supervision of the learner is playing the game at home).

All that’s needed is a computer, a browser (Google Chrome recommended), a stable internet connect, and importantly, a parental consent form for each learner playing the game. Parental consent forms should be downloaded from here, completed with the guardian’s signature and uploaded back on here in order for learners to complete registration and participate in the challenge.

The teacher booklet is a detailed multi-page resource explaining how the game can be piloted within schools. Click Here to download the teacher’s booklet now. 😊

The game is based on a robust entrepreneurship curriculum and introduces learners to key concepts in business, literacy and numeracy over 5 fun filled-modules of gameplay.

The game is also equipped to assess learners and their progress through the curriculum by measuring their business performance inside the gaming world (revenue generation) and also through their academic performance in the game (short quizzes designed as multiple choice questions at the end of each module, designed to assess the learners understanding of key concepts and contexts).

All this has been specially crafted and customized for young learners between ages 9 and 13!

Who can participate in Primary Champions – Young Business Mind?

Primary School Learner

This game-based certificate course is suitable for children between Grades 4 to 7 (aged between 9 and 13). That said, younger children can also take part – after all, it’s never too early to start building that entrepreneurial mindset together with entrepreneurial skills!

The game will be of special interest to teachers of the following subject areas:
• Grade 7 – Economic and Management Sciences (EMS Teachers)
• Grade 7 – Life Orientation (LO Teachers)
• Grades 4 to 6 – Life Skills Teachers
• Teachers of Literacy and Numeracy related subject areas

How can teachers pilot the game in their schools?

In summary see below for steps that can be useful if followed. Remember to email us at info@entrepreneurshipchallenge.co.za if teachers at your school would like to join a short call or telecon with us to explain and support further (we will be happy to set this short call up and to assist your school further):

Download Teacher’s Booklet Here

Step 1 – Identify classes and grades that you would like to participate inclusively in the game

Step 2 – Fill the parental consent form with your learner’s details (child’s full name, school, grade) then download the form/s and send it to the parents of the learners that will be partaking in the pilot and playing the game to sign. Provide a week or two for the completed forms to be returned – then upload the collection of these on this website www.primarychampions.entrepreneurshipchallenge.co.za

Step 3 – Provide each successfully registered learner with their uniquely generated Player ID for login and gameplay and ensure that learners do not exchange these as these IDs, especially if they are not completing gameplay in one sit-down and need to continue at another time, as their IDs are directly linked to their progress and points in the game.

Step 4 – Divide learners into batches based on the number of computers available at school. Take learners in to play the game under your supervision one batch at a time

For example, if there are 30 computers available, then each batch should be made up of 30 learners.
Decide on a gaming sequence that works best for you at school.

Sequence A – allow each batch of learners to play the full game in a single sitting (half day in the computer facility). This sequence may be useful for teachers that have large numbers of learners to include in gameplay (multiple large batches) since it makes sure that each batch finishes the game relatively quickly

Sequence B – allow each batch to play over the course of a week or two, for 30 mins each day. Breaking it up in this sequence is useful if your intention is to alternate gaming sessions with learning-sessions in the classroom that help learners to reflect on and synthesize the learning going on with your guidance and support

Step 5 – Take a batch of learners to the computer room, and help them get to this website, so that they can register (see top right corner of this website to register and play)

Teachers or parents can also fill out the registration form for their learners instead
If learners are playing the game over multiple sessions (instead of completing it in a single long session) they will need to log back on using the exact same Player ID for their progress to be recalled in the game each time

Step 6 – Before leaving the computer room in each gameplay session with, make sure that each batch has logged out of the game so that the next batch can access the game from the login page and continue with from where they left off.

Step 7 – Complete the post-gameplay survey once the challenge closes and provide us with your feedback on new topics you would like to see included in the next year’s game, or additions in the game that would align to your teaching needs and to the learner’s development needs better.

What do students learn inside the game, how is it played and how do they benefit?

Designed specifically for children aged 9 to 13, the game is built on three pillars:

Business Pillar-

This is the main component of the course – and happens through playing of the game
Players learn about business by actually doing business inside the gaming world
Actions range from choosing a product to sell to purchasing items from suppliers, making sales to customers, generating revenue and expanding the business
The learning design is experiential, which means that children learn by doing, and by experimenting with prices, suppliers, customers and products inside the gaming world
The game is a decision-game and in this pillar, learners make decisions in starting-up their businesses, managing finances, and growing their businesses
This pillar is rich with the theme of play and experimentation

Literacy Pillar-

After playing the game and completing a range of business activities, the context of business and many concepts of business start to become relatable to the learners mind
To reinforce the concepts and context, the Literacy Corner appears in the game and attaches a word (or set of words) to a an activity just completed
Here, they learn new words and definitions associated with business
The careful sequencing of the game in this manner ensures that the learner is introduced to the language of business and is increasingly able to speak it more articulately
Effectively, this pillar helps to build the dictionary of business in the minds of young learners in an engaging way that can be remembered and understood easily

Numeracy Pillar-

After the business activities in the 2D video-game, comes the literacy corner
After the literacy corner comes the numeracy corner
This corner helps to further solidify and reinforce the learning behind each concept by associating various definitions with a mathematical operator
In this way, the game helps develop the competency of analysis in learners.
For example, learners may develop the concept of profit by playing the game, then consolidate the definition of the concept in the literacy section, and further reinforce their understanding of the concept of profit in the numeracy section by attaching it to a set of simple mathematical operations requiring them to calculate profit (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division or BODMAS).
This section of the game develops the player’s analytical abilities by encouraging them to engage with mathematical operators appropriate to their age group
To grow their confidence, amounts are kept small and no decimals are used,

By focusing on these pillars, the game is able to offer the following benefits to learners:

Strengthens children’s academic base and prepares them for high school subjects that operate within a framework, such as EMS, accounting and business studies,
Maintains strong foundation-level links to MLMMS ( serving as a foundation for mathematical literacy, and mathematics) as well as language studies.
Develops skills and mindsets from a young age that are sought after in industry, and cultivates their entrepreneurial drive. It also introduces them to the context of learning through doing business in a safe and highly entertaining gaming world.
Looking to the long term, the game has the potential to impact significantly on entrepreneurship and business in South Africa by helping to develop a generation of young people with the critical skills and mindsets needed build businesses and SME’s that in turn will create jobs, allow people to sustain their livelihoods and their families, thereby strengthening the country’s economy in the longer term. Enterprise development and SME development hold the promise of job creation, and thus prosperity – all learners should have equal access to these skills and competencies from a young age for this reason

The full game is comprised of 5 modules from start to finish. Each module requires the learner to play the 2D video game (largest element of each module is gameplay), followed by a literacy corner, then a numeracy corner, and then completion of a quiz designed to assess concepts and contexts.

Each quiz is multiple-choice and has 5 questions associated with it. Learners gain points from completing quizzes and from their attempts to generate revenue in the business game.

In this way there are:

5 modules to the full game
5 Literacy Corners that learners engage with (one at the end of each module)
4 Numeracy Corners (one after each Literacy Corner from Quest 2)
4 Quizzes (one after each numeracy corner from Quest 2)

Register for Primary Champions – Young Business Minds

Consent Forms

In order to have learners successfully registered for the Primary Champions (YBM) game and participate in gameplay, each registering learner will need to submit a signed parental/guardian consent form during registration by uploading the completed form onto this website. Teachers must ensure completed parental/guardian consent forms have been retained before completing the registration process and allowing learners to play the game in the school’s computer facilities. Parental consent is vital because children are underage, so please give parents sufficient time to fill in and return the forms before commencing play. Read registration options below to see how this can be achieved

Register Here

Below are your options for registration to onboard your learners/children for participation-

Primary School Learners

Parents

Primary School Teachers

Go to the Registration page and click on Primary School Learners button.
Complete the registration form by filling in Parent and Learner details and submit.
Submit the Parental Consent form received on your registered email address.
Receive the Learner ID on your registered email for playing the Primary Champions game.
Open the Primary Champions game on your web browser or by downloading from the relevant mobile app store.
Use the Learner ID to login and start playing the game.

Go to the Registration page and click on Parent button.
Complete the registration form by filling in Parent and Learner details and submit.
Submit the Parental Consent form received on your registered email address.
Receive the Learner ID on your registered email for playing the Primary Champions game.
Open the Primary Champions game on your web browser or by downloading from the relevant mobile app store.
Use the Learner ID to login and start playing the game.

Teacher – Digital

Go to the Registration page and click on Teacher button and then select Registration via digital consent form.
Fill in relevant Teacher and School Details.
Download the Learner detail template CSV file and fill in the learner details (Max 50 at once).
Upload the populated template file back on the website and click Confirm and Submit.
Submit the Parental Consent form received on the parent’s registered email address.
The Teacher and the Parents receive the Learner IDs on their registered email for playing the Primary Champions game.
Open the Primary Champions game on your web browser or by downloading it from the relevant mobile app store.
Use the Learner ID to log in and start playing the game.

Teacher – Offline

STEP 1: Generate Consent forms.

Go to the Registration page and click on the Teacher button and then select Registration via physical consent form.
Click on Generate Consent Forms.
Fill in relevant school details and download the digital consent CSV template file and fill in the learner details.
Upload the populated template file back on the website and click on Confirm and Submit.
A PDF file will be generated for all the learners – which can be printed and distributed amongst the learners to get physically signed by their parents.

STEP 2: Register Learners

Go to the Registration page and click on the Teacher button and then select Registration via physical consent form.
Then click on Register Learners.
Upload the scanned copies of physical consent forms in PDF format one by one.
Click on submit and check the data on the preview window.
Click submit and confirm.
The Teachers and the Parents receive the Learner IDs on their registered email for playing the Primary Champions game.
Open the Primary Champions game on your web browser or by downloading it from the relevant mobile app store.
Use the Learner ID to log in and start playing the game.

Prizes

Participation Certificates for Learners who complete gameplay

Participation Certificates for Facilitating Teachers throughout gameplay

The Top School in each Province with the highest rate of registrations versus participation and game completion in their school and Province (Top 9 Primary Schools in the Nation) will receive a R30 000 Cash Prize to use toward the school!

The Top Facilitating Teachers in each Top Primary School (9 Teachers) will each win a prize package of R2 000(R1 000 cash + R1 000 Takealot Voucher)!!!

South Africa’s leading platform for Primary School Learners!

About Primary Champions – Young Business Mind