Does a stock’s price tell you how well it performed?

Before the session

• Use one phone or computer per student or pair, with internet access. No account is required. Have paper ready, or print the worksheet below.
• Open Multimeter and check that Price versus return loads before participants arrive. The starter tries Apple, then Microsoft, then NVIDIA, and requires at least 253 closing prices. Use the company and actual dates displayed; values can change as data updates.
• For new learners, choose Explore → Start experiment. For returning learners, choose Explore → Lessons and open Price versus return to resume. Use saved observations for steps already finished, or deliberately choose Restart lesson for a fresh run: it clears that lesson’s saved work. If the lesson is complete, discuss the saved observations and do the worksheet questions, or restart to repeat the on-screen activity. Opening the library does not reset progress.
• Tell participants: “We are investigating historical prices, not choosing investments.” Keep the answer notes out of view until the discussion.

Lead the session

0–2 minutes · PredictStart with a question

“If one company’s share costs more than another’s, does that mean it performed better?” Give everyone time to write or tell a partner why. Collect a few explanations without revealing the answer.

2–7 minutes · ExploreCompare the same company over two periods

1. Start or resume Price versus return. In step 1, record the company, latest closing price, and its date. Choose Continue.
2. In step 2, choose View 1 month. Record the dates and percentage price return in the worksheet. Choose Explore → Explore charts to see the history, then Back to task to return.
3. Choose View 1 year and record that range’s dates and return. Keep the same company for both readings. Returns may be positive, negative, or zero.
4. If the meaning is unclear, choose Explore → Explain this for the current measurement, then Back to task. This differs from PROBE, which answers questions about available figures. Leave the final lesson question for the understanding check.

If you choose Change company, wait until its history is validated, then repeat both readings. A successful company change resets this lesson’s company-dependent observations.

7–11 minutes · DiscussAsk participants to explain their evidence

• What does the closing price tell you? What extra information does the percentage return give you?
• Why can the same company have different returns over a month and a year? Refer to your actual dates, even if the returns happen to be equal.
• What can these readings tell you about the past? What can they not tell you about tomorrow or the path between the two dates?

11–14 minutes · Check understandingTry an independent explanation

Choose Continue and complete the lesson’s final question. Before discussing answers together, ask each participant to answer worksheet questions 1 and 2 in their own words. A correct multiple-choice answer alone is not proof of understanding.

14–15 minutes · ReflectFind the next improvement

Ask: “What became clearer?” and “Which instruction or control was confusing?” Note where help was needed. Invite participants to use FEEDBACK if they wish.

If the data will not load

Use Retry, Choose another company, or Use an available example. Valid existing observations stay in place until replacement data passes validation. Do not call an incomplete history a full year.

If no valid example loads, move to the explicitly hypothetical $50-to-$55 question below. Leave the live-data fields blank and mark “Live activity could not be completed.” Do not present the hypothetical example as a real company’s history.