AARON HALE

Steve Cormier feels the shame of being in last place to the fifth-graders in the stock market challenge during his visit on Friday. Cormier, who is a member of the High Five Club adult team, had the least valuable stock portfolio in the educational challenge.

AARON HALE

Guest speaker Steve Cormier passes a dollar to Ashley Schneller. Cormier, a small business owner, teaches Mrs. Pena's class how profit margins work in a class discussion on Friday.

AARON HALE

John Paoletti and Mariel Sanchez mark the progress of their stocks. The stock market challenge, led by Howard Jordan, gives students real world experience in using math skills.

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The students of Mabel Pena’s fifth grade class are getting some real world math experience at Tommie Barfield Elementary School.

Pena’s students are involved in a stock market challenge with a group of Marco Island adults known as the High Five Club. Four student teams are competing with the adult team to create the most valuable stock portfolio.

So far in the challenge, the adults are in last place behind four student teams.

Pena sees this exercise as a way to integrate schoolwork with the real world.

“They’re not just learning the math skills with division and percentages,” said Pena. “They’re learning life skills.”

The stock market challenge was the idea of Howard Jordan, the Vice President of Investment at Raymond James & Associates. Jordan comes to Pena’s class every Friday with a representative from the adult team and a special guest speaker.

To track the results of the stock market challenge go to Pena’s blog, mrspena.blogspot.com.