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What’s in Your Investment Toolbox?

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Lesson Plan

Investing Toolbox Roadmap

Students will explore and identify basic investment tools—stocks, bonds, and mutual funds—through everyday analogies, then apply their understanding to construct and justify a sample $1,000 portfolio.

Introducing investing concepts with familiar tools builds confidence, critical thinking, and foundational financial literacy, empowering students to make informed money decisions now and in the future.

Audience

6th Grade

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Analogies and hands-on portfolio workshop

Materials

Prep

Teacher Preparation

10 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Show Us Your Tools

5 minutes

  • Distribute the Show Us Your Tools Warm-Up sheet
  • Ask students to list everyday “tools” they use (e.g., backpack, smartphone)
  • Connect each everyday tool to an investing tool (backpack→portfolio, smartphone→monitoring investments)
  • Discuss connections aloud to build relevance
  • Differentiation: pair ELLs with fluent peers and provide tool-example cards

Step 2

Introduction: Tools of the Trade Slides

10 minutes

  • Project the Tools of the Trade Slides
  • Define stocks, bonds, and mutual funds with simple analogies (store ownership, loaning money, group savings)
  • Highlight risk versus reward using slide visuals
  • Invite student questions and clarify misunderstandings
  • Differentiation: use color-coded visuals and think-pair-share to support varied learners

Step 3

Activity: Build-a-Portfolio Workshop

25 minutes

  • Hand out the Build-a-Portfolio Workshop Packet
  • In pairs, allocate a hypothetical $1,000 across at least three mock investments (stock, bond, fund)
  • Complete the allocation chart and describe each choice’s risk/reward balance
  • Circulate to guide discussions and prompt deeper thinking
  • Differentiation: offer simplified worksheets for support and extension scenarios (e.g., adding tax considerations) for advanced students

Step 4

Exit Ticket: Your First Pick

5 minutes

  • Distribute the Your First Pick Exit Ticket
  • Ask each student to name one investment tool they’d choose first and explain why
  • Collect responses to assess understanding and confidence
  • Differentiation: allow oral responses or sentence frames for students needing language support
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Slide Deck

Tools of the Trade: Your Investment Toolbox

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Mutual Funds

Welcome students! Today we’re exploring three basic investment tools—stocks, bonds, and mutual funds—and how to choose the right ones for your goals. Use this slide deck to define each tool with a fun analogy and discuss risk versus reward.

Learning Objectives

  1. Define stocks, bonds, and mutual funds using everyday comparisons.
  2. Understand the concept of risk and reward.
  3. Apply these tools to a $1,000 practice portfolio.

Explain that by the end of today they’ll be able to explain each tool and build a mini‐portfolio. Emphasize real‐life analogies to make the ideas stick.

What Are Stocks?

Analogy: Buying a slice of ownership in a pizza shop
Definition: A stock represents one share of ownership in a company.
Risk/Reward: Potential for high gains if the company grows, but value can drop.

Introduce stocks by comparing them to owning a slice of your favorite pizza shop. Highlight that stockholders share in profits (or losses) when the business does well (or poorly).

What Are Bonds?

Analogy: Loaning money to a friend for their lemonade stand
Definition: A bond is an IOU issued by governments or companies.
Risk/Reward: Lower risk than stocks and fixed interest payments, but smaller returns.

Describe bonds like lending money to a friend. They promise to pay you back with interest. Emphasize steady, predictable payments.

What Are Mutual Funds?

Analogy: A group savings jar where everyone contributes
Definition: A fund that pools investors’ money to buy a mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets.
Risk/Reward: Balanced risk through diversification; returns vary by fund choices.

Explain that mutual funds are like group savings jars. Everyone pools money, and a manager picks investments. Discuss diversification benefits.

Risk vs. Reward

• Stocks = High risk, high reward potential
• Bonds = Low risk, lower reward
• Mutual Funds = Medium risk, medium reward

Draw a risk spectrum on the board. Guide students to place stocks on the high end, bonds on the low end, and funds in the middle.

Choosing Your Tools

• Investment Goal (growth, income, safety)
• Timeframe (short vs. long term)
• Risk Tolerance (low, medium, high)
• Diversification (mix of tools)

Discuss factors students should consider: how long they want to invest, how much risk they’re comfortable with, and their goal (growth vs. safety).

Sample $1,000 Portfolio

• 50% Stocks ($500) for growth
• 30% Bonds ($300) for stability
• 20% Mutual Funds ($200) for balanced risk

Show an example allocation: $1,000 split across tools. Explain why you might choose each percentage based on goals and risk.

Your First Pick

Think: Which investing tool would you choose first and why?
Write down your answer on the exit ticket.

Prompt students to think about their own choices. This slide leads directly into the exit ticket where they’ll name their first pick and explain why.

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Warm Up

Show Us Your Tools Warm-Up

Instructions: Think of three everyday “tools” you use (like a backpack, smartphone, pencil). For each entry, fill in the investing tool it reminds you of and explain why.

1. Everyday Tool:




Investing Tool It Reminds You Of:




Why?



2. Everyday Tool:




Investing Tool It Reminds You Of:




Why?



3. Everyday Tool:




Investing Tool It Reminds You Of:




Why?



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Activity

Build-a-Portfolio Workshop

Instructions (25 minutes):

  1. In pairs, imagine you have $1,000 to invest across at least three different tools: stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
  2. Discuss your goals (growth vs. safety) and risk tolerance before you begin.
  3. Use the table below to allocate your money, calculate percentages, and explain your choices.
Investment ToolAmount ($)% of TotalRisk Level (Low/Medium/High)Why?
1.
2.
3.
4. (Optional)

Reflection Questions:

  1. Which investment tool did you allocate the most money to, and why?


  2. Which tool carries the highest risk, and how did that affect your decision?


  3. If your goal changed to prioritize safety over growth, how would you adjust your portfolio?


  4. What did you learn about balancing risk and reward by building this practice portfolio?


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Cool Down

Your First Pick Exit Ticket

Instructions: Write your answers in the space below to show what you’ve learned today.

  1. Which investing tool would you choose first and why?





  2. How does this tool match your personal goal (growth, income, or safety)?





  3. What is one question you still have about these investment tools?





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