Level 1 of 5 in the Capital Valley game

From saving to investing: return, risk, and diversification

A level is a run of 12 turns, about 30 minutes of play, that represents one year in an investor's life. This lesson plan covers level 1, which stands on its own and ends with a recap. It is the single session of the Discovery course, and the first session of every other course.

Where it fits in the curriculum

Curriculum fit: how economic agents finance themselves (Grade 11 (US) / Year 12 (UK), ages 16-17), as an opening session. It also works a year earlier, alongside how prices form on a market (Grade 10 (US) / Year 11 (UK), ages 15-16).

Concepts covered: saving and investment, the risk-return trade-off, opportunity cost, diversification, how information shapes a price, and how to judge the reliability of a source.

Cross-curricular links: budgeting and personal finance, critical thinking about economic news.

Learning objectives

By the end of the session, students can:

1. Distinguish a risk-free investment that pays interest (the savings account) from a risky investment with a higher expected return (a sector fund).
2. Explain why a news item changes the value of an investment, and why a rumor, an expert opinion, and an official announcement do not carry the same weight.
3. Justify an investment decision, including the decision to do nothing, and explain why you never put everything in one place.
4. Compare their own result with the "everything in the savings account" benchmark and interpret the gap.

How the game works

Each student manages a virtual portfolio of €1,000. Every turn brings one or two news items (official announcements, rumors, and so on) and an investment decision. The consequences arrive on the next turn, explained by a "Here's why" card. A virtual advisor, a character in the game, introduces each new element and comments on the results. Nothing in the game is left to chance. The world is the same for every student in a game, and only their decisions differ, which is what makes a rigorous debrief possible. There are no quizzes and no way to be eliminated. Students learn by deciding.

What students experience in level 1

These moments happen in every game, but this lesson plan does not say which turn they land on or how they end. A teacher can build the debrief on them, while a student who reads it gains nothing. The topic of each news item depends on the game.

• The savings account comes first: €1,000 to invest, a little interest every turn, no risk. Then sector funds open, in waves, and the news begins.
• One announcement comes true. Another, put forward by an "expert," does not. The virtual advisor then gives it a name, diversification, and from that point on the game stops students from putting all their wealth into a single investment.
• A bonus is paid partway through the level, which means another investment decision to make.
• A rumor circulates for several turns, comes back around, and is then either confirmed or turns out to be unfounded.
• The level recap: the result, the best decision, the missed opportunity, and a comparison with the savings account and with a balanced portfolio.

Minute-by-minute plan (computer lab)

1. Getting started (5 min). The teacher opens the game on the projector and writes the web address on the board. Students open the page and choose their game piece. In a class game, they enter the game code written on the board, then a first name or a nickname.

2. Guided turns, the first three turns (8 min). Play these as a class: read the virtual advisor's briefing, read the news, hold a quick discussion ("What would you do?"), then let each student confirm their own decision. Have the first news item signed by an expert read aloud, and say nothing about it. The debrief will turn on it.

3. Independent play through the recap (22 min). Students move at their own pace while the teacher circulates. Two moments are worth a one-sentence pause, without interrupting the game: when the virtual advisor brings up diversification ("Look at what he says. We'll come back to it.") and when the rumor appears ("Who is acting, and who is waiting?").

4. Class debrief (12 min). Work from the recaps on the students' screens (and from the teacher's dashboard in a class game), guiding the discussion with the questions below. Ask for a show of hands: who followed the expert, who acted on the rumor, who stayed in the savings account.

5. Wrap-up (8 min). Four lines for students to write down: return and risk go together; news sets the price; you judge a source before you decide; you never put everything in one place. Students note their student code so they can keep playing at home.

Flipped classroom

For schools with limited equipment. In the last ten minutes of the previous session, the teacher shows the first two turns on the projector, gives the assignment ("Play level 1 by Thursday, about 30 minutes. Write down your result at the recap and your best decision."), and hands out the web address. Students play at home during the week, on a phone or a computer. The next session opens with a 20-minute debrief using the questions below, then the wrap-up.

Debrief questions

• An expert announced a wave of enthusiasm for a sector. Who followed? What, in the way that news item was worded, could have put you on your guard?
• Some students left everything in the savings account. Did they lose out? Who beat the "everything in the savings account" benchmark, and who fell short of it, with exactly the same information?
• The rumor circulated for several turns before anyone knew how it would end. Were those who acted before knowing right if it was true, and wrong if it was false? Are a good decision and a good result the same thing?
• The game stopped you from putting everything in one place. Did that limit bother you? Is it a constraint or a protection, and who would impose it on you in real life?
• Doing nothing for a turn: is that the absence of a choice, or a choice in itself?

Going further

• Continuing the game at home (with the student resume code), with a progress check at the next session.
• Next session: level 2, the financial markets (funds, stocks, and interest rates). One lesson plan per level, all the way through the complete course.
• Writing activity: write the economic headline that would explain the next move in one of the game's funds.
• Taking part in Global Money Week (March) with a tournament between classes.

Practical details

• Access: https://capitalvalley.app/education
• The student version needs no account, no email address, and no personal data. Suitable for use at school, in the computer lab or on a smartphone.
• Teacher contact: [email protected]