The Stock Market

The Stock Market

​What percentage of 18 to 29 year olds are investing in the stock market?

44%^*
Is that higher or lower than you expected?

^*Gallup, May 2025

As you watch the following video match the terms and definitions on your worksheet.

Match

Match the following

• A person who gives money to a business hoping to earn more later.

• A small piece of ownership in a company.

• When a company sells shares to the public for the first time.

• A place where investors buy and sell shares.

• Money a business uses to grow or expand.

Investor

Share / Stock

Going Public (IPO)

Stock Market

Capital

• Investor

• Share / Stock

• Going Public (IPO)

• Stock Market

• Capital

Answer the following on your worksheet

1. When a company lists its stock on an exchange, it means investors can buy its stock. How does this benefit the company?

2. What are the two ways that investors can make money from stocks?

3. As an investor, what are the risks involved with buying one company’s stock?

Multiple Choice

Jamie asks, “What are the latest trends in the stock market?” In other words, Jamie is asking…

• Which companies used to be listed on a particular stock market index?

• How has the stock market performed over the past 10 years?

• How many companies are listed on the stock exchange?

• What are the upward and downward patterns of the stock market over a recent period of time?

Multiple Choice

What is the difference between a BULL and a BEAR market?

• A BULL market is when the stock market is rising and the economy is booming, while a BEAR market describes a declining market and a receding economy

• A BULL market is when there is a decline in the stock market and the economy is receding, while a BEAR market describes a rising market and a booming economy.

Multiple Choice

Which adjective would best describe a BEARish investor attitude?

• Optimistic/Positive

• Pessimistic/Negative

Multiple Choice

Why is it challenging to match your investing decisions with how the stock market is performing?

• It is hard to predict trends, and trends can only be identified once they’ve already happened

• The stock market is typically in a BEAR market for a specific period of time

• You have to invest large amounts of money to have your decisions match the performance of the stock market

• The stock market is typically in a BULL market for a specific period of time

A series of decisions

​

Timing the Market

Get out your "Timing the Market Worksheet"

Part I: The Scenario

You have $1800 to invest, after working all summer

A Ravioli Den just opened in your city’s downtown and they’ve had a line out the door since. It’s a fast food chain restaurant specializing in ravioli that everyone has been raving about.

You decide to invest in Ravioli Den. Let’s see what you decide next and how your investment performs!

Part II: Track Your Investment

Follow your teacher’s directions to complete the tables on the worksheet. Remember, you start with $1800 in cash and you use it to purchase shares at today’s price.

Example #1

Example #2

Example #3

ROUND 1

You have $1800.

Shares of Ravioli Den are currently trading at $60.

Because you worked all summer to save money specifically for investing, you must buy some shares in the first round. Choose how many shares you’ll buy.

ROUND 2

You look at the closing prices for Ravioli Den in the last week, and here’s what you see:

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold next Monday morning?

$45

Round 2 Price

​Round 3

One of your friends missed school yesterday. When you ask why, he says he ate at Ravioli Den the previous night and got food poisoning. Two girls from your calculus class say the same thing, and your grandma also got sick after eating there last week.

You check online to see if it’s a reported problem, but you don’t find anything to support that.

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$50

Round 3 Price

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

​

Round 4

$55

Round 4 Price

ROUND 5

From a national newspaper...

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$65

Round 5 Price

ROUND 6

Ravioli Den’s most popular menu item is also its most expensive -- the lobster ravioli. The dish is $12.45, while most of the other ravioli sells for $8.50 to $10.25. Rumor has it their lobster supplier has had a bad fishing season, and the Den is going to raise prices on the lobster ravioli to $14.45. Analysts are suspecting the Ravioli Den share price is about to plummet.

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$55

Round 6 Price

ROUND 7

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$60

Round 7 Price

ROUND 8

Pasta Palace - selling ravioli, tortellini, and lasagna - opens in your neighborhood. There are huge crowds, and the lines at Ravioli Den decrease except on Discount Tuesdays. On Yelp, reviewers say Pasta Palace’s ravioli aren’t as good, but they offer much more variety. Pasta Palace has 150 locations nationwide.

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$65

Round 8 Price

Ravioli Den signs an endorsement deal with NBA star Zion Williamson, who will appear in their print ads and in TV and online commercials.

​

ROUND 9

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$70

Round 9 Price

ROUND 10

The founding CEO of Ravioli Den announces she is stepping down at the end of the week, without explaining why. The current VP of Operations will hold the interim CEO position until Ravioli Den can find a permanent replacement.

Will you sell shares, buy shares, or hold?

$55

Round 10 Price

Part III: Reflect

• Complete the reflection questions on your worksheet.

• When you are done, start looking at the stock market project. We will be going over it in detail in a moment.