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Activities and Resources

Activities

Wall Street Blues

 

When people refer to the stock market going up or down, they typically mean the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The DJIA, or simply the Dow, is an index based on the stock prices of 30 major companies in the United States. It is considered a strong indicator of investors’ confidence in stocks overall.

Activity: Have students create a line graph showing the movement of the Dow each weekday since Sept. 1. For each day’s number, use the Dow’s final point total, or “close”. Then have students use their graph as a timeline. Have them mark each of these major economic events on the graph on the date that it happened:

  • Sept. 7: U.S. government takes over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
  • Sept. 14: Investment bank Merrill Lynch, about to fail, is sold to Bank of America
  • Sept. 15: Investment bank Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy
  • Sept. 16: U.S. government rescues insurance giant AIG with $85 billion loan, partial federal takeover
  • Sept. 20: President Bush proposes $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street
  • Sept. 23: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson goes before Congress asking it to approve $700 billion bailout plan with no oversight
  • Sept. 24: President Bush gives nationally televised speech saying economy is in serious trouble
  • Sept. 25: Congressional leaders almost agree on bailout plan but deal falls apart
  • Sept. 25: U.S. government arranges sale of failing mortgage lender Washington Mutual bank to JP Morgan Chase bank
  • Sept. 26: Presidential candidates’ hold first debate and discuss economy
  • Sept. 29: U.S. House rejects bailout plan; U.S. government arranges sale of failing Wachovia bank to Citigroup
  • Sept. 30: President Bush gives short televised address to reassure U.S. and world investors that government is working on new rescue plan
  • Oct. 1: U.S. Senate approves new version of $700 billion bailout plan
  • Oct. 3:  U.S. House approves bailout plan; President Bush signs it into law

 

Looking for Smart Stuff? Click here to download Issue 5's edition (PDF).

Answers to the Issue 5 SmartStuff are listed on Page 2 of the Issue 5 Teacher's Guide that accompanies Current Events magazine.

 

Resources

 

WALL STREET BLUES:

• The White House posts speeches, documents and other information about the current economic crisis at www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/economy. The site includes some steps that President Bush has proposed to help home owners struggling to pay their mortgages.

• History for Kids suggests having students study ancient economies to understand elements of the economy today: www.historyforkids.org. Social Studies for Kids has more background on economic concepts such as making a budget, using graphs, the importance of trade, and how the Internet has changed economics globally: www.socialstudiesforkids.com. Find more links to activities at Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page: www.hoagiesgifted.org/economics.htm

• National Public Radio often does a good job explaining complex economic concepts in simple ways. This four-minute clip explains leverage, the practice of investing with borrowed money, and what happened when leveraged investments in mortgages went south. For that and more economic stories from NPR, go to: www.npr.org/blogs/money.

UP IN ARMS:

• A former law enforcement officer trained in disarming suspects talks about stress reactions and other reasons that many people would have trouble responding to an immediate threat with force at Keep Schools Safe: www.keepschoolssafe.org.

• Watch ABC News video of Harrold, Texas, and the superintendent’s explanation of why teachers would make better defenders of a school and security guards at abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=5587421&page=1

• For a review of laws related to weapons on school property in the United States go to: www.dpi.state.nd.us/speced/guide/policy/guns.pdf.

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