Playing a stock market simulation game is one of the popular ways to teach the basic concepts of stock markets. I played one when I was in fifth grade and decades later teachers still use the same concept. In fact, I did a stock market simulation game with my own high school students. Before jumping into the game I always spent a day or two introducing some of the big concepts of what stocks are and how stock markets work. A couple of weeks ago TED-Ed released a video that I’ll add to my list of resources for introducing stocks and the stock market to students.
How Does the Stock Market Work? is a TED-Ed lesson that provides a four minute overview of the origin of stock markets, why companies offer stock, and the basic factors that influence the prices of publicly-traded stocks.
Here are a couple of related items to explore: