Week 1: Demystifying the Stock Market

Aims and Preparation

Synopsis: Engage with the students and create a picture in their minds that the stock market is but a big shop!

Drawing on a shopping habit common to all students, you will remove the shroud of mystery around the stock market … this changed mindset will have far reaching consequences for future financial habits of Ireland!

TY Objectives:Engage the students in an interactive discussion

Introduce basic economic ideas about the market place and market participants

Develop a foundation of understanding which will be built on in the future weeks of the program.

Props:A selection of bars of chocolate (this can be a bag of Funsize Timeouts and Yorkies for example)

Videos on

Provided Slides and Notes

Homework:Class 1 – Find the names of ten companies that trade on the stock exchange (Find them on Google, TeleText page 140 or the newspaper)

Class 2 - Has the FTSE 100 moved up or down?

Has the S&P500 moved up or down?

Has the ISEQ moved up or down?

Teacher Guidance

Class 1“What is the stock market?”

Suggested Timing / Activity / Comments
15 minutes / Discussion: “Which chocolate bar would you buy?” / Initiate a conversation with the students about what type of chocolate bar and why. If it is difficult to get the class to participate, offer the chocolate as a prize for the main contributors!
10 minutes / Formal Teaching: Imagine a shop where… / Talk about a shop like the one where one buys chocolate and talk about some differences that could exist in their shopping experience
10 minutes / Formal Teaching: Explain the analogies / Tie the two together by highlighting these very features of the stock market, thereby achieving the aim of the explanation of the markets.

Class 2“What is the stock market’s function and purpose?”

Suggested Timing / Activity / Comments
15 minutes / Discussion & Formal Teaching;
“Why is the stock market in existence?” / Take examples of products from daily life and illustrate their connection to the stock market. Explain how the stock market’s function is analogous to a bank.
10 minutes / Formal Teaching:
How can one make money from the stock market? / Using the example of Ronaldo’s rise in value, explain how the stock market itself rises. Show the video of Ronaldo and the Coca-Cola ad during this portion of the lesson
10 minutes / Formal Teaching:
How do we measure if the market is up or down? / Introduce the idea of indexes here which will prepare the class for the Exchange Traded Funds lesson