Workshop Leader's Guide

Learning, Earning and Investing
One-Day Workshop
6 Hours

1. Introduction (10 minutes)
   • Introduce the workshop leaders.
   • Provide an overview of the workshop. Describe the schedule of the day's activities.
   • Ask the workshop participants to introduce themselves.
2. Why Is Saving and Investing Education Important? (30 minutes)
   • Explain that Americans today are more responsible than ever before for their financial futures.
   • Show the PowerPoint slides: Why Is Saving and Investing Education Important? This presentation features information on the increasing financial responsibilities of consumers, the financial fitness of families, problems facing some families and youth, and the importance of financial education. Many of the statistics are taken from the results of the Survey of Consumer Finances published in the Federal Reserve Bulletin, January 20
3. Overview of LEI Middle School and High School Books and Demonstration of Lesson 4, What Is a Stock? (45 minutes)
   • Show the PowerPoint slides: Features of LEI. This presentation provides an overview of the LEI materials including a Table of Contents for both the middle school and high school books.
   • Demonstrate an abbreviated version of Lesson 4, What Is a Stock? Follow the instructions in lesson procedures 1-8. Then display the PowerPoint slides for Lesson 4. These slides are the true or false mathematics and economics questions from Lesson 4, Visual 1.
   • Distribute Activity 2. Ask for three volunteers and assign them to the roles of Maria, Michael and Mom. Ask the volunteers to read the script in Activity 2 while the others follow along.
   • Finally, as a review, ask the questions posed in Activity 3.
4. Break (15 minutes)
5. Demonstration of Lesson 12, Building Wealth for the Long Term (45 minutes)
   • Explain that some people are concerned that stock market games and simulations may appear to stress short-term gains. A proper economic and financial education stresses investing for the long term.
   • Show the PowerPoint slides of Visuals 1 through 9 from Lesson 12. These slides illustrate three rules of long-term saving and investing--start early, buy and hold, and diversify.
   • Place the Floor Markers from the lesson on the floor at the edges of the room as explained in procedure 8.
   • Display the PowerPoint slides of Visuals 10 and 11, and ask the participants to stand by the Floor Marker of their choice for each situation in Visual 11.
   • Display the PowerPoint slides of Visuals 12 and 13 to stress the idea of risk and reward and the importance of diversification.
   • Display the last PowerPoint slide, which is based on Activity 3, the Callan Periodic Table of Investment Returns, which shows how returns from different types of investments vary from year to year. Use this table to illustrate how difficult it is to predict which types of companies are likely to be successful from year to year. The Callan Table stresses one more time the importance of diversification.
6. Demonstration of Lesson 15, Why Don't People Save? (45 minutes)
   • Americans are well-known for not saving enough. Yet the importance of saving for the long term is a well-known way that many families achieve financial independence. Why don't people save enough when they know they should?
   • Demonstrate an abbreviated version of Lesson 15, Why Don't People Save? Show the PowerPoint slides, which present the highlights of Lesson 15. These slides allow you to lead a discussion focused on the points made in lesson procedures 2 through 13.
   • If time permits, you may wish to conclude the lesson by doing the Closure activity. This involves the participants in playing a game on saving, savings goals, opportunity cost, and costs and benefits.
7. Lunch (45 minutes)
8. LEI Web Site (30 minutes)
   • Explain that another great source of teaching ideas is the LEI Web site.
   • If possible, you might wish to visit http://lei.ncee.net and illustrate the features of the Web site "live." Demonstrate some of the interactives such as the "Compound Interest Calculator," "Word Search," "Reading the Financial Pages," "The Chessboard of Financial Life" and "NCEE's Historical Stock Market Simulation."
   • You may also wish to show the PowerPoint slides: LEI Web Site. These slides present several key features including the online lessons, sample lessons and interactives.
9. Demonstration of Lesson 7, What Are Mutual Funds? (45 minutes)
   • Explain that diversification is a basic principle of long-term saving and investing. One way that people of modest means are able to diversify is to place their savings in a mutual fund.
   • Demonstrate Lesson 7, What Are Mutual Funds? Tell the participants that they will form class investment clubs that will work much in the way mutual funds do. They invest $3,000 (300 shares at $10 a share) in up to six stocks. One year later, they revalue their shares to determine gains or losses. They then complete additional activities to learn more about investing in mutual funds.
   • PowerPoint Slides of Visuals 1 and 2 are provided for you.
10. Demonstration of Lesson 21, Lessons from History: Stock Market Crashes (40 minutes)
    • Explain that the stock market crash of 1929 is regarded by many as the leading cause of the Great Depression. Some people are surprised to learn that the stock market crash of 1987 was more severe than the crash of 1929 and yet it was not followed by a depression. Why?
    • Demonstrate Lesson 21, Lessons from History: Stock Market Crashes. Follow the procedures outlined for the lesson. Essentially, the participants work in groups to compare the stock market crash of 1929 to the stock market crash of 1987. The lesson stresses how the Fed acted differently in 1987 than it did in 1929.
11. Wrap-Up (10 minutes)
    • Review the key features of the workshop.
    • Distribute the evaluation form and allow time for the participants to complete it.
    • Discuss any follow-up programs you may have planned.