Stocks

45-minute agenda

1. 0–5 min

   Warm-up

   Post: “If you owned one share of a company you use every day, what would you actually own?”

   Teacher note: A tiny slice of the whole company — its profits, assets, and future — not a product or a store.

2. 5–17 min

   Direct instruction

   Present the lesson slides. Make sure students leave with these points:

   • Stock = ownership in a company.
   • Returns come from price changes and (sometimes) dividends.
   • Prices move on expectations, not just results.
   • Market cap = share price × shares outstanding.
   • One company is a concentrated risk.

   Use the “See it” slide (How a stock works) to make the idea visual.

3. 17–22 min

   Worked example

   Walk through “Why a stock dropped on good news” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.

4. 22–32 min

   Headline Reactions

   Format: small groups · 10 minutes

   1. Read five made-up headlines: (1) “Company's profit rises 10%, but it expected 25%”; (2) “Company loses money, but losses were half what analysts expected”; (3) “New CEO announces bold expansion”; (4) “Company's biggest product recalled”; (5) “Company raises its dividend.”
   2. Groups predict whether each stock would likely rise or fall, and explain why using the word “expectations.”
   3. Compare predictions with the lesson's example of a stock dropping on good news.

   What to look for: (1) likely falls — good, but worse than expected. (2) could rise — bad, but better than expected. (3) uncertain. (4) likely falls. (5) often rises. Prices move on results compared with expectations.

5. 32–37 min

   Check for understanding

   Use the question slides — or run them as a Four Corners game. Answers:

   1. What do you own when you buy a share of stock? — B. A small piece of ownership in the company
   2. What's the most likely explanation? — A. Investors expected even better results, so the price adjusts to the disappointment.
   3. All companies pay dividends to their shareholders. — False
6. 37–42 min

   Discussion

   • Why might someone want to own a small part of a company they use every day?
   • Should stock prices be driven by investor mood? What problems does that create?
7. 42–45 min

   Exit ticket

   Prompt: Why can a stock fall even when the company reports good news?

   Answer: Prices reflect expectations. If results are good but not as good as investors expected, the price can drop.