The Stock Market!

The website I've found today is called Wally's Stock Ticker!

This is a very interesting game that I think student's would like. They will get a chance to learn all about the Stock Market but in a very simple and clear way. It explains what the symbols mean, what the highs and lows are, what the prices are, the volume of shares, and times & dates of last trades. The neat feature is that students get to choose which stock they would like to learn about or keep track of (such as Apple Computers, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc.) As well, they include real time information.

Although this website can be connected to many grades and areas, I think it would suit quite well in Grade 7 Mathematics: Data Management Strand - Organizing and Displaying.

I would use this site in my classroom by getting students to sign up to keep track of a certain stock so that in the end we have a wide variety of information. Over a period of one week, for example, students would track down (using a spreadsheet perhaps) the highs, lows, or last trade value each day. They would chart it to keep track of the date and value of shares. At the end of the week, students could use this information to graph their information. The teacher could then put together a sort of graphic organizer to display the various graphs of our information.

This site would enhance student's learning because it allows them to become active participants in a real life situation. Perhaps their parents are involved with the stock market, this could give them something to talk about. They would get a chance to learn a lot about how the economy works in North America. I think it would be a very empowering and thought provoking website that could interest students into learning about the economy and certain trends.