SUBJECT: Math

GRADE: Seventh Grade

TECHNOLOGY: Spreadsheet

BY: Rachel Ashe, Jessica Dancu, Rachel Herzog, Avery Willis

PLAYING THE STOCK MARKET

Target Grade/Subject:

This lesson plan is directed towards middle school math, specifically students in seventh grade. The high involvement and high application skills associated with this lesson suggest a targeted population of middle to advanced mathematics students. The lesson targets a pre-algebra setting where students have a solid understanding of arithmetic and working with decimals and fractions.

This age group needs to develop a sense of responsibility seeing as they are at the turning point age where they are learning to gain more independence from their parents and teachers. This lesson plan caters to this age because of its everyday involvement. Students must be responsible and motivated enough to check newspaper stock standings every day. This age group enjoys working with money and technology like the Internet, which this lesson utilizes. Because of their high energy and short attention span, they tend to be visually oriented, thus the graphing will be very beneficial for their understanding of how their stocks are behaving. Middle school children struggle to feel a sense of industry and this applicable, tangible project can help them acquire such feelings. This lesson steers clear of abstract formulas, word problems, and uninvolved homework, which most students this age dislike.

Objective:

Satisfying the SOL 7.5, the student will accurately solve consumer application problems involving daily recordings of their simulated bought stock with computation of spending allotment, broker’s fee, and net loss/gain using decimals and percents.

Materials:

Ø Daily newspaper with the New York Stock Exchange information

Ø Access to the internet to find out about basic data on the corporation the student invests in

Ø Spreadsheet to record daily closing prices and stock data

Ø Graphing the spreadsheet information

Ø Any additional articles/magazines about specific corporation the student buys stock from

Ø Overheads of definitions and the newspaper

Lesson Description:

This lesson will require one or two days worth of instruction to get the students started on a project that after you instruct them, they will be able to take individual responsibility for and complete on their own.

Ø First introduce where and when the New York Stock Exchange started..

Ø Explain what a share is and how you buy stock.

Ø Explain what role a broker plays.

Ø Place an overheard up to fill in definitions for: 1) NYSE 2) bond 3) a share 4 ) stockbroker 5) close 6) Dow Jones Average 7) Market trend Ask the students for their opinion on the definition and then fill it in.

Ø Have students list about ten products they use daily.

Ø Have students find the parent companies of one of their products. They can accomplish this by looking at the label of the product, asking an adult, or checking the newspaper or Internet.

Ø Using an overhead show them how to locate the stock name and stock symbol in the newspaper.

Ø Give them $1000 in simulation money to buy a maximum of three different shares of stock.

Ø Give them an example filling in the blanks of I bought ________ shares at ________ closing price a share at a total of $ ______.

Ø Show them how to calculate the brokers’ fee using percentages.

Ø Have them record the first day of their stock into the spreadsheet.

Ø Have them plot the first point in the graph.

Ø Repeat the process the following class and then instruct them to continue to do the same for the next 18 days.

Ø At the end of the 20 days go over selling the stock and calculating profit.

Ø Have them complete the worksheets and check their computations using the spreadsheet.

Ø Instruct them on making a portfolio including things like: a creative cover indicating the company bought, rational on why they choose that company, what happened during the 20 days, would they buy this stock in real life, buy/sell stock worksheets, graphs and spreadsheets, what they learned from this activity, and any extra information on the company.

Evaluation Procedure:

The objective will be met if their portfolio demonstrates correct math computation, correct fill-ins for the spreadsheet and graph, and comprehension in the essay on their stock.

Technology:

The use of the spreadsheet and graphing is built into the math formulas and data entry that is necessary to the project. It could be done by hand but this shows how the computer can make things such as data entry so much more efficient. The students have the opportunity to check their computations using the spreadsheet. By graphing the data, the students will also be visually stimulated and it may provide extra insight into the patterns their stocks have taken over the 20-day period it was observed. By using and researching their stock on the Internet, they will become more proficient with the Internet. Technology is sometimes best learned by practice. When they practice using the Internet, they will get better at it.

Motivating:

The students are given the opportunity to choose the maximum of three different stocks that appeal to their interests. Since the students are interested in what they have invested in, their level of motivation is increased. The teacher could create a competitive environment by providing an incentive, such as a candy, for the student who has the highest net gain.