The Stock Market Simulation for All Grade Levels:
Lessons Learned
By Arnold Pulda
I have been running this
project for several years with my high school and middle school students. This
is the first year that I have tried it out with younger students. The products
this year were created by 5th graders. I like this project for
several reasons:
- It is flexible. The teacher can start it anytime during the school year and stop it anytime, as well. She can also press the Pause button, if the need arises due to other pressing items that might interfere with students’ computer access or some other reason, and come back to it later. Depending on learning objectives and availability of resources, students can work on this project every day for a while, or once a week, or anything in between.
- It is adaptable. As I mentioned above, my own students from 5th grade through 12th have had good success in working on this stock-market simulation. I teach Social Studies, but teachers in other disciplines – mathematics and technology come to mind – have used it, too.
- The stock-market simulation has many teachable opportunities and moments across grades and disciplines. In history class we have used to help us learn about capitalism, bankruptcy, prominent individuals in business history, economic cycles, and other subjects. Teachers will find and explore many related themes as they use this project to teach their own subjects.
- Students learn software, but the teacher doesn’t teach the software. Students concentrate on the product, which is a tool for tracking investments. In doing so they learn by using the tool, which happens to be the spreadsheet. Students become comfortable using the software, but they keep their focus on the information.
I urge teachers in any grade and any discipline to try out this stock-market simulation. Students will enjoy investing their $100,000, and teachers will find many opportunities to help them understand why their individual portfolios make or lose value.
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