Pitching to the Sharks Lesson

This inventive ELL lesson gives students a chance to put their feet in the shoes (flippers!) of an entrepreneur. The lesson uses the popular television show Shark Tank as a framework for students to pitch products to investors (their classmates and teachers). Students harness their creativity and work together in “marketing teams” to make and deliver pitches for products that seem mundane – well, at least to the unimaginative mind!

Language Level: Intermediate
Time: 50 minutes

I. CROSSWORD WARM-UP (5 min.)

With students in groups of 4, hand out crosswords to solve.
Using PPT with some given letters, work together as a whole class to solve.

II. INTRO TASK (5 min.)

Explain task by having a student volunteer read the PPT instructions.
Have each group pick a “boring” object from a bag. See list below.
- There’s enough objects on the list for each group to choose 2 and then decide their favorite. By having preset objects, we save more time for language use. But by having students choose between 2 objects, they can feel some sense of agency.
Hand out Instructions Summary page to remind students of guidelines.
Hand out the Example Pitch Script and blank Student Pitch Script for groups to use in preparation for their pitch.
- Depending on student ability level and time, teacher can deliver an example pitch using THE PENCIL example.
Hand out large white paper (or large magnetic whiteboard) for product illustration.

III. PITCH CREATION (20 min.)

Set timer for 20 minutes. Circulate and keep students on task, reminding them that all members must speak during their pitch.
Hand out colored pencils / markers with about 10 minutes remaining. By not giving them drawing tools at the start, students are encouraged them to work on their scripts before their illustrations.
Use randomizer app to choose group presentation order and inform each group when they will deliver their pitch.