Teacher's Guide for ODYSSEY^TM Sciene and the Stock Market

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"The Stock Market Goes Techno," pg. 6

• Computers and Internet trading have changed the way stock investors do business. Will virtual trading floors, 24-hour-a-day access, and computer butlers revolutionize the stock market in the 21st century? A sidebar (pg. 9) invites readers to track and graph changes in stock prices.
• Vocabulary, Mathematical Analysis, Cause/Effect

• From an agreement signed under a buttonwood tree in 1792, the NYSE has grown to become the "center of the financial universe." A sidebar (pg. 15) details the history of the stock ticker. Another (pg. 16) tells how to acquire a seat on the exchange.
• Vocabulary, Impact of Technology on Society

• Detective Ernest Money needs help! Use stock market lingo to solve a mystery set in New York's financial district.
• Vocabulary, Drawing Inferences

• Methods for forecasting trends in the stock market range from the logical to the bizarre. Should investors evaluate companies on an individual basis or use a "Black Box" formula to predict future performance? Sidebars (pgs. 22 and 23) reveal what the shouting's about on the floor of the NYSE and how some investors look to the stars in hopes of making millions.
• Chance and Prediction, Cause/Effect

• A team from a Wisconsin high school won the CNBC Student Stock Tournament sponsored by Lincoln Financial Group. The "Gunsmokers" doubled their $100,000 play money investment, earning 200 shares of stock for their school. A companion activity (pg. 27) challenges readers to "purchase," track, and "sell" stocks, and then send their results to ODYSSEY^TM. Savvy strategists will be featured in a future issue.
• Motivation, Mathematical Analysis

• Why does the market sometimes fall suddenly and sharply? Severe stock market crashes in 1929 and 1987 prompted government regulations to forestall future financial disasters. Two sidebars (pgs. 32 and 33) probe the psychological processes and profiles of stock market investors. Another (pg. 34) explains how fortunes can vanish in minutes when stock prices plunge.
• Deductive Reasoning, Behavioral Analysis

• Junior Achievement, a non-profit economic education organization, helps students understand the business world by sponsoring entrepreneurial programs in schools. Check the Web for more information.
• Enterprise, Motivation, Goal Setting

• A Full Sap Moon appears on March 19. Early risers can see conjunctions of Venus with Uranus on the 3^rd and Venus with Mercury on the 15^th. Evening observers can witness a dramatic alignment of the crescent moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn on the 11^th. "Backyard Observations" (pg. 41) features the constellation Cancer.
• Following Directions, Observation

• How can you carry a pearl in an upside-down glass using only one hand?
• Creative Problem-solving

• An ODYSSEY^TM reporter interviews Paul Zaloom, star of TV's Beakman's World.
• Vocations and Avocations

1. Ask students what they know or have heard about Wall Street, the stock market, stockbrokers, on-line trading, day trading, and the New York Stock Exchange. Make lists of terms, ideas, and questions on the chalkboard.
2. Ask students what companies they would invest in if they had the opportunity. What, in their opinion, makes those companies attractive to investors? Compile a list of the criteria students consider most predictive of a company's success. Keep the list and add to it as reading and discussion continue.

Pg. 12 - "Beneath the Buttonwood Tree: A History of the New York Stock Exchange"

• Talk It Over:
  1. Its wooden wall fell over three centuries ago, but Wall Street's name lives on. Search the article for other names or terms that originated in something that no longer exists. (See also "Of Bulls . . . and Bears," pg. 49.)
  2. What is the purpose of a stock exchange? How does the trading of shares contribute to the economic health of a nation?
• Connections:
  1. Creative Writing: Imagine you are one of the signers of the Buttonwood Agreement in 1792. Write a letter to a friend describing the "hows" and "whys" of the agreement you and your colleagues reached.
  2. Mathematics: For two weeks or more, track the Dow Jones and NASDAQ daily averages. Make line graphs of trading volumes and average share prices. Do the same for closing values on the London and Tokyo exchanges. Look for changes common to all three markets.
  3. Science/Technology: On a poster, plot a time line of the history of the NYSE. Indicate the years when new devices or technologies became part of how stocks were traded. (Refer also to "The Stock Market Goes Techno," pg. 6.)
• Student Assessment:
  1. If you were starting a new corporation, would you rather trade on the NYSE or NASDAQ? Write a two-paragraph essay explaining the reasons for your choice.
  2. How might our nation's history be different if we had never developed a stock exchange? Present your opinions and support them clearly in a speech or essay.

pg. 35 - "Forecasting the Market: In the Research or In the Stars?"

• Talk It Over:
  1. What factors might affect the value of a specific stock - either for the better or for the worse? What factors influence the market as a whole? Give reasons for each predicted effect.
  2. What is the difference between "investigators" and "Black Box" investors? Which approach do you think is better? Why?
• Connections:
  1. Design/Art: Re-read the sidebar "Stocks in the Stars" (pg. 23). Make a drawing or watercolor painting that combines images from astronomy (or astrology) and economics. Possible source materials include newspaper and on-line graphs of stock market trends, and NASA's depictions of black holes, galaxies, or constellations. Horoscope columns may help, too. Perhaps your final product can imply that astrology is no better than random chance in predicting stock trends.
  2. Mathematics: Create a simple "Black Box" investment plan. Select four statistics you think best predict the future success of a company. Make a bar graph for each indicator, showing the possible range of values. Divide each bar into three segments and assign points as follows: UNACCEPTABLE, 1 to 3 points; AVERAGE, 4 to 7 points; and EXCEPTIONAL, 8 to 10 points. Decide how many total points a company must score to merit your investment dollar. Using data from real companies, select stocks and monitor their scores over several months.
  3. History: Use the library and the Web to see which items from the past are valuable today. On-line auctions such as www.ebay.com or www.amazon.com are good places to research what people will pay for such fashionable collectibles as Barbie® dolls and Matchbox® cars. (CAUTION: Just look, don't bid, or you may receive a bill you can't pay!) Interview adults about the toys they played with as children. Ask whether they find some of today's values surprising.
• Student Assessment:
  1. In a persuasive essay, advise a friend about how to invest in the stock market. Base your advice on either the Black Box approach or the investigator approach. Support your opinion logically and clearly.
  2. In a well-organized paragraph, describe the economic cycle. Explain why ups and downs are more inevitable than predictable.

"Happy Days Are Here Again."

Large-Group Activity: Organize the class into three teams. Team One watches and reports on the PBS program Wall Street Week. Team Two does the same for selected offerings on MSNBC, while Team Three reads and analyzes an issue of The Wall Street Journal. Team reports should include terms, facts, ideas, and questions for further research.

"We're in the Money."

Community Connection: Invite a financial advisor, financial analyst, mutual fund manager, or stockbroker to speak to the class. Use questions derived from the previous activity as a starting point for further discussions.

"Who Could Ask For Anything More?"

Whole-Class Collaborative Project: Write, illustrate, publish, and disseminate a booklet for students in grades one through four. In your "Tale of the Bears and the Bulls," explain investment strategies, the economic cycle, and the basics of stock trading. Distribute your publication to elementary schools and visit classes to answer questions.

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"

Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Activity: Break the class into three groups to act as TV network news teams. Ask students to research the market crashes of 1929 and/or 1987 and present the findings as a news broadcast. Videotape the programs. Compare and contrast approaches.

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Updated: 7/23/08 06:24 pm
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