Alternative lesson plans for high school classrooms

The financial world, in your classroom.

We pair high school teachers with financial professionals who come in and run an interactive lesson on what they actually do all day. Students make real decisions, see the results, and leave with skills that apply to the financial world. Teachers get a ready-made class period.

The Opening Bell Project
What we do

Three people in one room

Teachers

You get an alternative lesson plan that's already built: the intro, the activity, the materials, and a guest who runs it. Pick a date and provide the room.

How a visit works →

Financial professionals

You get a prepared lesson and a class of students who want to know what your job is really like. No lesson planning, no slides to make; just show up and teach.

Volunteer →

Students

They get an hour that feels like a game and works like a job: build a portfolio, defend a decision, watch the market answer back, and find out what separates a good call from a lucky one.

See the lessons →

A visit

One class period, start to finish

The introTen minutes from the professional on what their corner of finance does and why it matters.
Groups decideThe class breaks into teams. Each team gets a few minutes and a real decision to make, then has to defend it out loud.
The market answersThe results play out on the board, live, with every team competing against each other and the market.
Open the booksTeam by team: what worked, what didn't, and why. The best results win the business.
Why it works

Skills, not just facts

Most students never get a hands-on look at how money is managed until they have their own on the line. Our lessons put them in the seat early.

Every lesson is built around a decision a professional actually makes, with real market data behind it. Students practice weighing a thesis against a benchmark, sizing a bet, explaining a call to a room, and reading results without fooling themselves. Those skills carry into any career, and into their own financial lives.

And because the person at the front of the room does this for a living, the questions get real answers.

Get in touch. Teachers, schools, and financial professionals: email us and we'll reply within a few days.

Bring a financial professional to your classroom.

Free for schools. One class period. We handle the lesson.

Request a visit →