Five pages about investing for 5th grade, with made-up companies only. Page 1 explains a stock, a bond, a mutual fund, an ETF and risk, then students check which of the four each fact is true for and circle true or false for seven sentences. Page 2 multiplies the price of one share by the number of shares to find the cost, divides an amount of money by a share price to find how many whole shares it buys and the money left over, and finds a year of dividends. Page 3 reads a line graph of one share's price over eight months (a price, the highest and lowest, the biggest drop, a rise), then works out what four people paid, got back and gained or lost. Page 4 shows a $1,000 bond paying interest year by year, finds the total interest and the total paid back on five bonds, compares a year of interest from a savings account and a bond, and sorts sentences into savings account or bond. Page 5 reads a bar graph of a fund that puts $1,000 into ten companies, compares what the fund loses with what one company alone loses, and orders four investments from lowest to highest risk. The first problem of each kind is done as an example.
Before page 1, ask what a company is and who owns it. Run a pretend class market for a week: three made-up companies whose share prices change each morning on the board, so the gains and losses on page 3 feel real. For page 4, have one student lend another 10 play dollars for a week and pay back 11, and name the extra dollar the interest. Before page 5, talk about the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket." Remind students these are pretend companies: the pages teach how investing works, not what to buy.
Talk about the difference between a savings account and investing: a savings account is safe and pays a little, while shares can go up or down. Pick a made-up company together, choose a pretend price, and let your child "buy" shares with play money and track the price on a chart for a few weeks. Ask what would happen if all the money were in one company that had a bad month.
This pack supports the following Common Core State Standards for Mathematics:
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
A 5-page investing pack for 5th grade. Learn what a stock, a bond, a mutual fund and an ETF are, check which one each fact is true for, and circle true or false. Multiply to find the cost of shares in dollars and cents, divide to find how many whole shares an amount buys and the money left over, and find a year of dividends. Read a line graph of a made-up company's share price to find gains and losses, find the interest a bond pays and the total you get back, compare a bond with a savings account, and see how a fund of many companies lowers risk. Every page comes in color and in black and white. Answer keys included.
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