Description:
The students will gain an understanding of the stock market by entering an imaginary scenario where they are given funds to invest with a goal of increasing their investment over a period of 4 weeks.Students will use a variety of information resources to track their investments. This lesson is designed to help students understand the value of informatiion skills as they apply to real life situations.
Goals & Objectives:
LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES:
The student will use a variety of resources (electronic, print, and nonprint) to collect information about the stock exchange.
CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES:
Social Studies - The student will:
-understand the role of investor in industrial development.
-gain an understanding of the extent and impact of heavy margin buying.
Mathematics - The student will:
-add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions.
-solve consumer application problems that involve fractions and decimals and present data and conclusions in tables or graphs.
-identify real-life applications for the mathematical principles being learned that can be applied to other disciplines.
Technology - The student will:
-process, store, retrieve, and transmit electronic information.
-use search strategies to retrieve electronic information.
-communicate with spreadsheets by entering data, setting up formulas, analyzing data, and creating line graphs to visually represent data.
MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
The student will:
-become interested in the research process.
-experience increased confidence in research ability.
-understand the value of information skills.
-achieve satisfaction in research accomplish
Materials & Sources:
Resource List
Sample Stock Investment Template/Sample Portfolio Table
| Credits: |
Virtys Salter
Adapted for SOS by Kori Gerbig
School of Information Studies
Syracuse University
|
| Sources: |
School Library Media Activities Monthly
April 2002; 18(8); 15-17.
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com
|
Procedures:
INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES:
-The library media specialist and the classroom teacher may collaborate in planning this unit. While the classroom teacher focuses on the social studies, technology, and math content, the library media specialist concentrates on teaching students how the stock market works and how to track the stocks selected. If a technology teacher is available, he or she could assist students in communicating through appplication software.
ACTIVITY AND PROCEDURE FOR COMPLETION:
-The classroom teacher introduces this activity as part of a social studies unit on the collapse of financial markets in the late 1920s, as part of a unit on the impact of heavy margin buying, or a math unit on computation and estimation-solving practical problems that involve real-life data.
-The classroom teacher provides the students with an appropriate background on the stock market by introducing terms related to stock market activities, using a transparency to discuss a page from 'The Wall Street Journal,' and showing a videocassette about how the stock market works and how to get started on an investment program.
-The classroom teacher schedules sessions in the library media center where the library media specialist introduces an interactive learning project on the stock market and guides students through discussions on the stock market as an integral part of their everyday life. The classroom teacher and library media specialist assist students in using the Internet to get stock quotes.
-The classroom teacher presents the following scenario to the class. A wealthy parent of one of your classmates has won a state lottery and gives each of you $75,000 to invest in stock on the American Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, or Nasdaq. The students accept the challenge. The object of this investment is to increase the value of your stock portfolio over a four-week period. The student with the largest increase in his or her portfolio will receive a bonus of $2000.
-Prior to selecting stocks, the students track the selling prices of four stocks they would be interested in purchasing for a period of three days. They do this by using the financial section of the local newspaper, national newspaper, or Internet. Students use the template to develop a spreadsheet to analyze their price fluctuations.
-After three days, the classroom teacher assists students in making their stock purchases. They use the closing prices of the preceding day and must purchase a minimum of 100 shares of stock. Students rotate use of the Internet and newspaper(s). The commision rate is two percent for each stock purchased. Students' total expenses cannot exceed $75,000.
-The classroom teacher assists students in using a portfolio table to track their stocks and in preparing a line graph to show changes in their data over the four weeks by using gains/losses.
FOLLOW-UP:
-Following presentations, students may visit the world-famous financial district in New York. This can be done by studying a map of Manhattan that has been saved to disks by the library media specialist.
-Students may choose a 'What if...' and write an essay that is related to their investments.
-Students may create a stock investment logo for the bulletin board.
Assessment:
EVALUATION:
-The classroom teacher evaluates each student on his or her ability to access and gather information from the Internet and to organize information and create a spreadsheet, as well as on a planned and organized oral presentation. Students also are involved in self-evaluation.
Sources:
School Library Media Activities Monthly
April 2002; 18(8); 15-17.
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com
