Stock Market Math | Activity | Education.com (2024)

Activity

Say the words “Pepsi”, “Nike” or “Google” around any fifth grader and the brand’s logo automatically pops into theirhead. Kids are bombarded by advertising everywhere, but many are unaware of the companies behind the brand names. So get them invested in their favorite company, and teach some statistics skills along the way!

Your fifth grader is probably quite familiar with the Internet and enjoys being on-line. Have themcapitalize on thesenet-savvy skills by tracking a stock on an easy-to-navigate website, like msn.com. Your child will get an understanding of how the stock works by reading line graphs. This will further theirability to interpret graphs andapply math skills in a real-world situation. Theywill also learn more about theirfavorite brand – maybe now they’ll want to own a piece of it someday!

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Grade

Fifth Grade

Subject

MathDecimalsMultiplying Decimals

What You Need:

Stock graphs from msn.com (or a newspaper)
Paper and pencil

What You Do:

Day:	Stock Price:	Total Value of Shares:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Give your child a selection of popular brands from which to choose her stock. For example, Pepsico (PEP), Google (GOOG), Nike (NKE) or Apple (AAPL) are all well-known companies that are publicly traded.
Explain that when a person buys a share of stock in a company, they buy a piece of the company and become a “shareholder.” Each share, or piece, of the company costs money and when the company makes money, so do the shareholders. Next, direct your child to msn.com. Enter the symbol for the stock (or enter the company’s name to get the symbol). Show themthe cost (value) of one share of stock. Next, click on the “intraday” graph which shows the daily activity of the stock and how the value can quickly change. Click on the 5 day, 10 day, monthly, and yearly charts and read the graphs with your child. Note the changes in the stock’s price over the different time periods.
Next, ask your child to become a “mock shareholder”. Ask themhow much stock they would like to buy. For example, if theybuy1,000 shares of Pepsico for $68.00 per share, theywould calculate the value of the shares by multiplying:
$68.00 x 1000 = $68,800.00
Have your child make a chart like the one below and follow the stock for a week.
At the end of each day, theyshould check thestock, fill in the stock price and multiply the price by 1,000 to find the total value of shares each day.
On Friday, have your child do a final assessment of thestock’s value. Discusswhat theylearned from the activity. Also, askwhat they thinktheyshould do with thestock – sell, buy or become a “shareholder” in another company!

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