Pair of Northside students win stock market game

A pair of local students just might have an opportunity as financial wizards once they finish their education after taking part in a stock trading game and winning a first place prize at Northside Elementary.

The Georgia Council for Economic Education hosts a Fall and Spring Georgia Stock Market Game each year across the state for student’s in elementary, middle,and high school.

Students are given a pretend $100,000 and have to use that money to buy and sell stocks on the NYSE. This game teaches students how to build a budget, manage money, buy and sell and about the sectors of the US economy.

“I use this game to help teach my economic standards given to me to teach 5th grade students. I put students into groups of two or three and we play this game for approximately 8 weeks to see who can have the overall highest portfolio value,” Northside Elementary teacher Joshua Bearden said. “My winners for the fall game were Addy Smith and Jakhiya Johnson.”

Bearden said the pair invested their money into numerous stocks on the New York Stock Exchange and ended up with a portfolio value of $100,517.90.

They girls received a copy of the winning certificate and a lunch paid for from Zorba’s for their achievement.

“This is my fourth year taking part and using the Georgia Stock Market Game in my classroom as a teaching tool to help teach my economic standards,” Bearden said. “My students get really involved in this project based assignment and don’t even realize that they are learning about economics at all.”