Leaping Leopards

A WebQuest
Designed by
Mrs. Gibson
gibson@louisville.sparcc.org

Introduction
The Leaping Leopards Investment Club has invited you to become a member. You have wanted this job for a long time because of its excitement, handsome salary, and excellent benefits. In order to be hired you must first demonstrate your ability to develop a successful stock portfolio for a client.

You will be working as a team member in a group. Your first assignment is to investigate and choose three stocks for your team to consider. Of course you want to make as much money as possible, but you also do not want to risk losing money. You will collaborate with your team members and your team will decide on what 3 stocks to keep track of in a portfolio. After successfully answering questions, setting up a good portfolio, creating a presentation with your group members you will receive a "spot" on the Leaping Leopard Investment Club Logo.

The Task
Understanding the Stock Market
In order for you to communicate with your members and to be able to make a knowledgeable presentation you need to be able to talk the talk of a financial advisor. Before you purchase any stock you should know a little bit about the stock market and understand how it works, determine why you should or should not invest in the stock market, and discover what makes a certain stock a good or bad investment.

Developing a Portfolio
You will develop a portfolio for a client, which will hopefully earn money in the long run. In your portfolio you will explain why you chose the stocks, a record of your stocks' activities and graphs representing your stocks' performance for a five-week period.

Making a Presentation
You and the members of your group will make a presentation to the board of directors (your class and teacher) about your portfolio.

Click on the Steps you are working on from the selections below or scroll down to see the entire unit. The steps should be completed in order.

Step 1:

Discussion and explanation of webquest and stock market.
Your teacher will assign you to a group. Your group can decide what you want to name your team.

Step 2:
Each student needs to complete the Stock Market Basics Worksheet #1.

The answers to the Stock Market Basics Worksheet can be found by completing the tutorials located at Investopedia:

Click on

 

Step 3:

• 1. Choose stocks that you know the company. Ask yourself, "If I had $500.00 what would I spend it on.?"
• 2. Research a stock - check out the 52- week high & the 52 - week low. Remember you want to buy low.
• 3. Diversify your companies - choose different stocks - don't choose all clothing stores or all tech stores.
  

Step 4:
Begin to investigate 3 different companies for possible investment. Be sure to fill in the Stock Evaluation worksheet as you proceed.

Stock Evaluation Worksheet for Possible Investment

Worksheet #2

You may use the following resources to aid in your research:

This site should get you going.

Investigate your companies by entering a ticker symbol in the white box in the top left corner of the page. Then, get quotes, look at trend graphs, read about current company news and information, and read analysts' reports. CLICK ON SNAPSHOT TO GIVE YOU A ONE YEAR GRAPH OR CLICK ON CHART TO SPECIFY THE DATE RANGE. Evaluate a stock's past history so you can make an EDUCATED choice when choosing a stock.

Here you can find the ticker symbol for any public company you want to research. It is important to know the symbols, so make sure you do! You can get today's quote as well as historical quotes.

Motley Fool
Once you know the companies and the stock ticket symbols, Motley Fool can give you charts of past growth and current news about the firms

Step 5:

Collaborate as a group by evaluating and deciding on 3 companies to invest in. Your group will create a portfolio on these 3 companies. Fill out Work Sheet #2 again as a team specifying what 3 companies your team chooses.

Step 6:

Now that your team has decided what 3 stocks to invest in, you will need to decide how much of each stock you are going to purchase.

Company Profile Worksheets

Worksheet #3

Below is a sample of worksheet #3 for you to refer to. You will need to type in the names and Ticker Symbols of your companies, and the price per share for the first week. Then you will have to decide how many shares of each company you will buy with $10,000. You will need to get as close to $10,000 as you possibly can without going over the $10,000 limit.

Step 7:

Track your stocks' performances by continuing to enter their current prices each week. This will be done on a weekly basis.

Step 8:

Collaborate with the members of your group to create a presentation with the intention of persuading the Board of Directors to hire your group. Include information about all of your companies, stock trends, graphs, and anything else that will be impressive enough for you to get the job. Don't forget to talk about your profits and losses!

Evaluation:

Group Work:

3	All students in the group actively participated
2	All students participated, but 1 or two students did most of the work
1	Not all students participated
0	One student did all of the work.

Worksheet #1 - Stock Market Basics

3	All questions are answered correctly in complete sentences using additional information from the website. Personal opinion is included.
2	All questions are answered correctly in complete sentences.
1	All questions are answered correctly but not in complete sentences.
0	Questions are not all answered correctly.

Worksheet #2 - Stock Evaluation Worksheets for Possible Investment

3	All information is included for 3 companies. The question is answered thoughtfully, using specific information about the company.
2	All information is included for 3 companies. The question is answered briefly.
1	All information is included for 3 companies. The question is not answered thoughtfully.
0	Information is missing for one or more company.

Worksheet #3 - Company Profile Worksheet

3	The stock is checked daily or weekly with indication of gain or loss. Each price is properly plotted on the graph. Insightful thoughts about the progress of the company are included.
2	The stock is checked daily or weekly with indication of gain or loss. Each price is properly plotted on the graph. Simple thoughts about the progress of the company are included.
1	The stock is checked daily or weekly with indication of gain or loss. Each price is properly plotted on the graph. No thoughts about the progress of the company are included.
0	The stock is not checked daily or weekly with indication of gain or loss.

Journal Entry

3	The question is answered completely using at least 50 words and includes references to 52 week highs and lows and other terms learned.
2	The question is answered completely using at least 50 words.
1	The question is answered completely using fewer than 50 words.
0	The question is not answered completely.

Presentation

Technical Quality

3	Presentation uses more than one graph or chart to illustrate ideas.
2	Presentation makes use of at least one graph or chart to illustrate ideas.
1	Entire presentation used only words.
0	Presentation is incomplete.

Aesthetics

3	Presentation makes use of color, several graphics and text is very readable and attractive.
2	Presentation makes use of color and a few graphics. Text is readable.
1	Presentation makes no use of color or Type Styles.
0	Presentation makes no use of color or Type Styles. Some text is difficult to read.

Data Gathering & Analysis

3	Presentation includes attractive and correct math analysis.
2	Presentation includes correct math analysis.
1	Presentation does include math analysis - but is sloppy, or incorrect.
0	Presentation does not include math analysis of stock log.

Justification of Stocks Purchased

3	Students' position was arrived at through a logical presentation, showing a good grasp of the issues making the choice truly defensible.
2	The logical presentation by student makes it easy to see why the position was chosen.
1	The presentation by student makes it difficult to understand why the position was chosen.
0	Presentation of reasons why stock was purchased is unclear.

Participation

3	All group members share in speaking and presentation is well planned. Additional comments are made without simply reading from the screen.
2	All group members share in speaking and presentation is well planned.
1	More than one member involved, but not all members.
0	One group member does all the speaking.

Grading Scale:

A (28-30 Points)	ADMIRABLE - You have earned the TOP spot on the Leaping Leopards Investment Logo.
B (25-27 Points)	BRAVO - You have earned an INTERMEDIATE spot on the Leaping Leopards Investment Logo.
C (22-24 Points)	CONGRATULATIONS- You have earned a LOW spot on the Leaping Leopards Investment Logo.
D (19-21 Points)	RESUBMIT PROJECT
F ( 0-18 Points)	RESUBMIT PROJECT

Conclusion:

By compiling a stock portfolio, you have learned a lot about the stock market: what it is, how it works, and what makes a bad or good investment. You have brought it all together in a presentation in hopes of getting a great job! Did you enjoy watching your money grow? Do you think you will invest in the stock market for real someday?