Introduction to Economics
The Stock Market Game
Project Design: Using the content from the previous unit on the Stock Market and personal finance, we will be testing the waters in a simulation of the real stock market. Using the website http://studentstocktrader.com/ and the corresponding mobile app, we will participate and compete to see who will make the smartest investment decisions. All sections of economics will participate together, with the students placing first, second, and third (in terms of final net worth) receiving the following prizes:
Aside from the friendly competition, there is a corresponding project is designed to test the application of skills and knowledge obtained from the last unit. Therefore, each student will be graded based on the following criteria:
1. Daily Activity (25 pts, 5 pts per day)I will be able to monitor your activity on the site (logins and trading activity). You will be required to login at least three times a day during the week-long project. This time should be spent monitoring your investments, checking the leaderboards to see which investments are gaining and dropping, and checking the main page for high change stocks. As you monitor this activity, you will also be required to make at least one trade a day. This can be either a buy/sell of new or existing investments.
2. Daily Reflection Journal (25 pts, 5 pts per day)At the beginning of the project, you will each create and share a Google Doc with me ([email protected]) titled “Student Name SMG Reflection Journal”. As each day of the project concludes, you will be required to write a summary and reflection the days trading activity. What trades did you make/not make? What factors led to these decisions? What possible trades are you keeping your eyes on? Each entry should be a minimum of 200 words, with five entries required. Note: Docs allows me to see when you make your entries, so be sure that you are updating your journal each day.
3. Final Investment Portfolio (50 pts)At the conclusion of the project, you will be required to write up a recommended line of investing as if you are a financial planner aiding a client. Your recommendations should be based off of your experiences, insights, and observations from the past week of market activity. Your recommendation sheet should contain the following sections:
- $25 Visa GiftCard
- $10 Visa GiftCard
- $5 Visa GiftCard
Aside from the friendly competition, there is a corresponding project is designed to test the application of skills and knowledge obtained from the last unit. Therefore, each student will be graded based on the following criteria:
1. Daily Activity (25 pts, 5 pts per day)I will be able to monitor your activity on the site (logins and trading activity). You will be required to login at least three times a day during the week-long project. This time should be spent monitoring your investments, checking the leaderboards to see which investments are gaining and dropping, and checking the main page for high change stocks. As you monitor this activity, you will also be required to make at least one trade a day. This can be either a buy/sell of new or existing investments.
2. Daily Reflection Journal (25 pts, 5 pts per day)At the beginning of the project, you will each create and share a Google Doc with me ([email protected]) titled “Student Name SMG Reflection Journal”. As each day of the project concludes, you will be required to write a summary and reflection the days trading activity. What trades did you make/not make? What factors led to these decisions? What possible trades are you keeping your eyes on? Each entry should be a minimum of 200 words, with five entries required. Note: Docs allows me to see when you make your entries, so be sure that you are updating your journal each day.
3. Final Investment Portfolio (50 pts)At the conclusion of the project, you will be required to write up a recommended line of investing as if you are a financial planner aiding a client. Your recommendations should be based off of your experiences, insights, and observations from the past week of market activity. Your recommendation sheet should contain the following sections:
- Analysis of Recent Market Trends (which stocks have been climbing/falling, mutual funds, penny stocks, etc)
- At least three recommendations of specific stocks or mutual funds to invest in. Be sure to provide a rationale for why you are recommending these options.
- Finally, a plan for future invest decisions. Which pathways should you follow for investing? Should you choose stocks, bonds, mutual funds, penny stocks, Fortune 500 stocks? Why?