Investing

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze the performance of the S&P 500, a popular index fund
• Compare stock prices across and within industries
• Correlate trends in the industry with trends in the market

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Assess the advantages and disadvantages of using robo-advising to invest
• Determine whether the portfolio chosen for them fits their needs
• Discuss whether they would use robo-investing in their own life.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Test different trading strategies
• Learn how difficult it is to time the market
• Reflect on what mix of index funds and bonds fits their risk tolerance

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Take on the role of an investor to try to pick successful stocks based on different criteria
• Observe and analyze the result of their choices over 10 years
• Compare their stock choices to an index fund, the S&P 500

In this whole-class activity, each student receives a card representing a company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Through a series of 5 rounds, students will:

• Combine with other companies
• Assess risk and return along the way
• Eventually create an index fund comprised of the Dow.

In this activity, students will:

• Complete a mock 401(k) enrollment form
• Decide how much of their pay to invest
• What funds to choose for their portfolio.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Use an inflation calculator to think about the relationship between interest and inflation.
• Learn why long term saving might not be enough for large purchases in the distant future.
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Read an article about what it means to own stock.
• Do minor calculations to accompany their work.
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Review the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Investor Shares report, interpret the data, and answer questions to help them understand how a bond fund works.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Learn about pensions, IRAs, Roth IRAs, and 401(k) plans
• And will be able to determine distinguishing features of each.
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Read an article of 25 things to know about investing and categorize the items based on their prior knowledge.
• Exchange knowledge with a partner to further the learning.

In this activity, students will be able to: 

• Use an online interactive to investigate what stocks and industries comprise an index fund
• Analyze the returns of the S&P 500
• Grasp the idea of diversification

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Read and analyze data charts about the reinvestment of dividends.
• Learn how this can be a valuable investment strategy.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Use online calculators to investigate the investor fees associated with actively managed mutual funds and passively managed index funds and the impact these fees have on profit.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Use IPO price and current price to assess the current value of three different late ’90s IPO stocks to try to determine whether buying during an IPO is a good investment strategy.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Use Yahoo! Finance to look up stock prices for two popular companies.
• Practice calculating and thinking critically about rate of return.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Use an online retirement calculator to explore the relationship between time horizon, income, and savings rate on an individual’s retirement savings goals.
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will:

• Use Yahoo! Finance and a predesigned Google Spreadsheet to explore asset allocation using index funds.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Walk step-by-step through an example of how dollar cost averaging works
• Conduct online research of historical stock prices
• And use a spreadsheet to examine effects of dollar cost averaging.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Complete a introductory article about bonds.
• Synthesize the information into 10 easy-to-understand core facts.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Complete online research to decide whether Initial Public Offerings are a sound investment approach.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Use an online compound interest calculator to explore the value of time when investing.
• Available in English & Spanish

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Conduct research on the internet to answer basic questions about retirement age, Social Security, and pension programs.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Study the “facts” presented by a self-proclaimed self-made millionaire and then do their own analysis to determine that the story can’t possibly be true.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Analyze a news story about a high school millionaire and identify the “facts” of the case.
• Use their financial knowledge to analyze the “facts” and suggest potential inaccuracies to the author, using evidence to explain their beliefs.

In this activity, students will be able to:

• Make assumptions and do some calculations to determine how much Boeing employees are leaving on the table by not taking full advantage of their 401(k) plan.

In this Common Core aligned project students look up historical stock prices on Yahoo! Finance and create charts and graphs using spreadsheets to compare the yearly values and return on investment (ROI). They write a final report on which stock would be the best option.

• Available in English & Spanish

In this Common Core aligned project students work in teams and design an investment portfolio appropriate for a 23-year-old. They conduct online research and present their portfolio either as a written report or a slideshow presentation. They use investment strategies learned in this lesson/unit.

In this Common Core aligned project students utilize online retirement calculators to determine their monthly income and then do a complete budget to see what retirement looks like for them. They compare with peers who planned better/worse than they did to reflect on retirement savings.

In this Common Core aligned project students decide whether to buy, sell, or hold stocks from Ravioli Den. They experience how current events shape the market and calculate their portfolio value after each round. There are opportunities for discussion and reflection.

• Available in English & Spanish

In this Common Core Standards-aligned project, students will conduct research on both sides of the topic and write a persuasive response to the question: Should municipal bonds be used to fund sports stadiums? They use their research to conduct a classroom debate with their peers.

In this Common Core aligned project, students read articles about Americans not investing in the market, develop interview questions to ask their acquaintances, and then write their own article about their findings.

In this Number Chug, students will:

• Use percentages to analyze the risk of investing in stocks
• Apply linear models to potential stock growth

Common Core Alignment:

CC.9-12.F.LE.1b Recognize situations in which one quantity changes at a constant rate per unit interval relative to another.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA.CED.A.2 Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities;
CC.9-12.A.SSE.1: Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context.

In this Number Chug, students will:

• Analyze the apparent volatility of cryptocurrencies
• Determine the energy expenditure associated with bitcoin mining

Common Core Alignment:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSF.IF.B.6 Calculate and interpret the average rate of change of a function (presented symbolically or as a table) over a specified interval. Estimate the rate of change from a graph.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSF.IF.B.4 For a function that models a relationship between two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables in terms of the quantities, and sketch graphs showing key features given a verbal description of the relationship.

In this Case Study, students will take on the role of a new employee having to select investments for a 401(k) plan. The students will methodically make decisions about how much to invest, how to allocate assets and also how to select funds to execute their investment strategy.

In this Case Study, students take on the role of developers building an investing app to get young people to invest. Their challenge is to simplify the process while also steering novice investors toward making “good” investment decisions.