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Project Information |
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School: | Charlestown High School |
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Pathway: | ProTech |
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Course: | Finance & Economics |
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Grade: | Grade 12 |
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Authenticity
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Key Questions:
| How do we make money by investing in the stock market? |
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Overview: |
This 10-week project involves the creation of a class fund, which is handled much like a mutual fund. Students raise $1,500 by selling stock in the class fund. They draft a letter to the public, produce flyers and promotional materials advertising their business, and decide upon a share price. Students then design and sell stock certificates to peers, teachers, parents, coworkers and neighbors based on a share price of $15. The number of shares each student is required to sell varies inversely with their own financial investment; however, each student has to sell a minimum of 3 shares. Once the money is collected and all shares are sold, they divide into industry teams, and begin researching companies. Students read the Wall Street Journal, use surveys to learn about high-demand products, consult online resources such as http://www.Quicken.com, and use investment tips from services such as ValueLine. They then write and present investment proposals to the class, and fight to win a 2/3 vote of approval before the class decides to invest. They then monitor their portfolio and report progress to investors.
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Academic Rigor
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What Learning Standards and School to Career Competencies are used in this project? |
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Math |
- Collect, organize, and describe data
- Apply knowledge of graphs and charts
- Apply knowledge of fractions and percents
- Apply knowledge of interest rates and rates of return
- Analyze account books and earnings reports
- Develop and defend conclusions with data
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English Language Arts |
- Read newspapers and journals
- Read and analyze online texts
- Use various formats and technology to complete and enhance work
- Make effective presentations
- Understand and use the writing process effectively
- Collaborate on a project that applies learning to educate others
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Social Studies |
- Demonstrate understanding of current events
- Read and analyze data from newspapers
- Complete a research report
- Understand the significance of social trends on business activity and economic activity
- Make effective presentations
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School to Career Competencies |
 Communicate and understand ideas and information
Collect, analyze and organize information
Identify and solve problems
Use technology
Initiate and complete entire activities
Act professionally
Interact with others
Understand all aspects of an industry
Career and life choices
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Applied Learning |
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How do students apply what they have learned and researched to a complex problem (e.g.: designing a product, improving a system, creating an exhibit, organizing an event)? |
Students apply what they have learned by listening to lectures, reading The Wall Street Journal Guide to Money and Investing and the daily Wall Street Journal, and by writing investment proposals which involve researching and analyzing a company and its stock prospects. Students make class presentations to convince classmates of the lucrativeness of their investment, and they also make presentations and share reports with adults and peers who have invested in the fund.
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Active Exploration |
Classroom Activities |
- Create a class fund from scratch by inventing a name, opening a business bank account, writing a letter to the public, and creating promotional materials.
- Determine a share price and sell certificates of ownership in the class fund.
- Create a contract to go along with certificates, explaining terms of the investment.
- Research investments by using multiple resources: Wall Street Journal, Quicken.com, surveys, ValueLine investment survey, etc.
- Understand and analyze earnings reports, P/E ratios, financial stability, dividend payments, etc for all companies researched.
- Monitor progress of portfolio on daily basis. Chart results.
- Write a report on the status of the fund and present it to investors. This midterm report is followed by a final report that investors receive upon the close of the fund.
- Present ideas in written investment proposals and in presentations to class.
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Community Activities |
- Inform community about the class fund.
- Invite community to invest by holding an informational session with a short presentation and Q&A session.
- Students sell shares of stock in class fund to the public - members of the school faculty and staff, as well as students at Charlestown. Outside of school, they tap their friends, parents, relatives, neighbors, and employers. In each case they have to explain the fund and "sell" the idea by explaining our investing strategy. In one case students make an oral presentation to faculty at a small breakfast seminar before school. Each student is required to sell at least 3 shares.
- Create share certificates and contracts and answer questions about these documents to investors.
- Provide community with investment reports on the growing portfolio.
- Ultimately share this product in the School to Career Showcase.
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Career Activities |
- Guest speakers provide perspective on entrepreneurship and investing: students hear from investment bankers and individuals who started investment clubs with friends.
- Research analysts who worked for Salomon Brothers and now work for Bain & Co, a Charlestown High business partner lend support.
- Potential for guest speakers also exists through Private Industry Council.
- Students travel to NY to see the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange live.
- Students demonstrate their professionalism and their learning by handling real money invested by adults in the community.
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Adult Connections |
Who from the community, workplace or postsecondary or industry partnership do students work with on the project? | Research analysts who worked for Salomon Brothers and now work for Bain & Co, a Charlestown High business partner, along with speakers from PIC, Boston Partners, and small investment clubs lend support. The students also interact regularly with adults in the community who have invested in their fund.
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Assessment |
How do you and the students know the project is a success?
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Students are evaluated for group work as well as individual investment proposals and presentations. There are incentives for performing additional tasks, such as volunteering to speak at an information session for teachers interested in investing, or selling the most shares in the class fund. Students ultimately write a letter and submit a report to investors, informing them of the choice of stocks purchased, the portfolio's overall return on investment, and the most likely explanation for this result. They also present a graph depicting the daily fluctuations in the stock prices.
Students' work is critiqued based on the basic STC competencies. Individual work must meet standards for content and presentation. The grading system and rubrics used by teacher are derived directly from assignment sheets. Groups are also judged based on their effectiveness at dividing tasks and sharing the work. Each group, at the beginning of the project, writes a statement that describes their group dynamics and their plan for cohesiveness. In this document they indicate strengths and weaknesses of members and describe expected roles. These documents become the rubrics for group assessment by the teacher.
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Recommended Resources / Sample Products - EXAMPLES |
Software or Materials Needed |
Microsoft Office, including Excel
Stock certificates
Business Bank Account (DBA)
Online trading account (Ameritrade)
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Websites Used |
Quicken.com
Sharebuilder.com
Valueline.com
WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal)
YahooFinance.com
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Teacher
Developed |
Tasklist for creating class fund
Guidelines for researching investments
Packet for understanding ValueLine
Stock certificates
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Student
Developed |
Introductory letter to public
Stock contract
Spreadsheet of investors
Information session script (notes from presentation)
Written investment proposals (which by the way become more sophisticated as the term progresses)
Midterm and final report to investors
Throughout the project the group maintains a graph of fluctuating stock prices on the classroom chalkboard and monitors newspapers.
Students take weekly quizzes on mini-lectures in the classroom.
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