Kentucky Council on Economic Education

What is the Stock Market Game™?
www.stockmarketgame.org        SMG PowerPoint Presentation

The Stock Market Game Program is an online educational program (and competition!) offered by the Kentucky Council on Economic Education for over 20 years, and used in classrooms to help teach math, social studies, business, economics, technology and reading/writing skills.  The program is offered each Fall and Spring semester. Over 10,000 students participate annually! The fee is $10/team (typically 3-5 students per team).

How does the program and competition work?
Students in grades 4 through 12 (and college!) are enrolled in teams and manage a simulated investment portfolio for 15 weeks. Starting with a virtual cash account of $100,000, students strive to create the best-performing portfolio using a live-Internet trading simulation.  Students research and evaluate companies and stock data and make investment decisions based on what they’ve learned. They work together in teams, developing leadership, organization, negotiation, and cooperation skills as they compete for the top spot (and prizes!)  Rankings are updated daily and prizes are awarded to the top ranked teams!

Students who participate in the Stock Market Game Program gain confidence and build self-esteem.  They have fun—and learn more effectively as they see how their classroom lessons apply to the real world.

As the teacher, you have the flexibility of choosing how much or how little class time to devote to the program. The Program can also be used as an after-school activity!  Grade and subject-specific curriculum guides, lesson plans, and newsletters are provided for classroom instruction and The Program and correlated lessons are aligned to Kentucky State Academic Standards.  (Learn about our own Kentucky version...Take Stock in Kentucky!)

 “The students think they are playing a game...however they are learning economic and financial concepts they will use for the rest of their lives.”   Kentucky teacher

But, I don’t know anything about the stock market!
Many teachers who have used the Stock Market Game successfully in the classroom tell us they didn’t know anything about the stock market or investing when they started – they learned along with the students!  And KCEE is there to help with teacher training, state coordinator assistance.  In addition, teachers with classes participating in the program, receive an ID and password to the Teacher Support Center.

 The Teacher Support Center includes: Teacher Guide, Course Outline, Rules, Lessons and Activities, Assessments, Standards Alignment, Investor Background, Publications, Portfolio Management, Understanding Portfolios, Projects, and InvestWrite.

 Teacher Guide - This is a "how to get started" guide for using the Stock Market Game in the classroom, designed to answer the typical questions of teachers who are using the SMG for the first time and "...don't know where or how to begin". This guide will help you in preparing your students, as they begin their research and building their portfolios. This guide also includes tips from teachers all across the U.S. with strategies they've found most successful in integrating the simulation into the classroom.

How do I make time for the program in a full curriculum?
It takes 3 or 4 class periods to introduce your students to The Stock Market Game Program and to teach about the stock market and once it starts students should have the opportunity to post trades and research stocks once a week or more frequently, in class or on their own.

You have the flexibility of choosing how much or how little class time to devote to the program. The flexibility of the program allows you to use it with a variety of subjects, including social studies, mathematics, business, practical living, language arts, as well as economics. It can also be integrated into school clubs, lunch or rainy day programs, after school, and gifted student activities. And KCEE has aligned the activities to the Kentucky Academic Expectations for Math,  Social Studies,  Business Economics, and  Practical Living.

InvestWrite Competition - New national essay competition for Stock Market Game students in grades 4 through 12.  Win great prizes, from a trip to New York City to laptops, and more! www.investwrite.info

How much does this cost? 
Great news!  We've reduced the fee!   - $10 per team account.
You can print a Purchase Requisition here.

You can find further information about the Kentucky competitions, as well as link to an online registration form (see above). Once you’ve registered your class (in 48 hours or less) you will receive your student team Ids and passwords as well as your teacher admin ID/password to the Teacher Resource Center.  Find out where there are upcoming workshops for teachers—approved by the Kentucky Department of Education for professional development training. For further information, you can contact the KCEE Coordinator, Susan Sandage, at 1-800-436-3266 or 502-267-3570 or info@econ.org.