Activity Overview
Using the TImeSpan(tm) Application with primary sources from the 1929 New York Times, students will make decisions about buying and selling stock in the second half of 1929.
Before the Activity
See the attached Activity PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity.
Print the appropriate pages from the Activity for your class.
Install the TimeSpan(tm) App on the students' graphing calculators following the attached instructions.
Remind students of the impact of the stock market on the general economy by conducting a class discussion on the following questions: Who owns the Microsoft Corporation? (The students need to understand the idea of stockholders as owners as opposed to a single owner or ownership by a company president.) Why do people buy stock?. How does selling stock help companies?. How does it help the country?
During the Activity
Distribute the appropriate pages from the Activity to your class
Distribute the TimeSpan(tm) file(s) to your class using TI Connect(tm) and the appropriate TI Connectivity cable
Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity
Students will:
Use Internet resources to gather information on the causes of the Great Depression.
Explain the causes of the Great Depression by creating and applying categories to the causes uncovered in the students' research.
Participate in a simulation to understand the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
Explain the economic effects of the Stock Market Crash.
After the Activity
After the students have completed six months of trading, instruct them to graph their net worth using the List Editor.
Ask the students to consider the following questions:
What happened to your net worth?
Where did the money go?
How did the New York Times influence your decisions?
Is the New York Times a biased source?
How would the crash impact the country?
Since banks could invest their reserves in the stock market, how would the crash affect banks and their customers?
Explain the concept of buying on margin. How would buying on margin affect the country after the crash?