Practice Lesson Pack
All 17 lessons of Stage 1 in one place: learning objective, class time, discussion question, and quiz answer key for prep — ready to use, no assembly required.
Why this pack
Stage 1 (Practice) builds directly on Stage 0: opening an account, understanding your first order — still no real money involved. This pack bundles all 17 lessons with what you'd otherwise have to assemble yourself. Recommended age: 14+ (details on the For teachers page).
Matching worksheet: Broker checklist (fillable PDF) — fits directly with the opening lessons of this stage (finding and comparing brokers).
Two ways to use this pack: as 2-3 connected 45-minute blocks (e.g. broker/account, then order mechanics, then paper trading), or as 17 separate 10-15 minute openers spread across several class periods.
The 17 lessons
1. Finding a reputable broker
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can identify a reputable broker by its regulatory licensing.
Class time: about 5 min. (1 min. reading + discussion)
Discussion question: What do you check first with a broker?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: A provider advertises especially low fees but does not name any regulator on its website.
Correct answer: The missing license from a regulator is the bigger warning sign. Why: Being licensed by a regulator in your own jurisdiction is the most important check, everything else comes after.
2. Comparing brokers
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can compare two brokers by the costs that actually matter, not just the advertised order fee.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: Why isn't a zero order fee automatically cheap?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: Two brokers both advertise 0 in order fees. One of them has a noticeably wider spread and expensive currency conversion fees.
Correct answer: Spread and currency conversion fees can easily outweigh the zero-fee marketing. Why: What matters is the spread, execution venues, currency fees, and whether savings plans are free.
3. If your broker goes bankrupt
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain what happens to your securities and your cash if a broker becomes insolvent.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: What happens to your stocks if your broker becomes insolvent?
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Situation: Your broker files for bankruptcy. You hold €50,000 in ETFs plus €20,000 in cash on the settlement account.
Correct answer: The ETFs remain your property, the cash is protected up to €100,000 by deposit insurance. Why: Securities belong to you directly, cash on a settlement account is a deposit and only protected up to that limit.
4. Opening a brokerage account
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can open a brokerage account on your own and know what matters along the way.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: Why should you answer the experience questions honestly?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You open a brokerage account and are surprised by questions about your investing experience.
Correct answer: It is the legally required assessment of your experience, alongside identity verification and the settlement account. Why: These three pieces are part of opening an account, which usually takes under half an hour in total.
5. Crypto exchange vs. broker
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain the difference between a crypto exchange and a broker in terms of custody and legal status.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: What do you own with a crypto-backed note?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You buy a security tracking bitcoin through a broker, instead of buying actual bitcoin on a crypto exchange.
Correct answer: Custody and legal standing differ significantly between the two routes. Why: With a broker you usually buy a security tracking crypto, on an exchange you buy the coins themselves — with different rights and risks.
6. Wallet, private key, and seed phrase
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain what a seed phrase is and why losing it means losing the coins for good.
Class time: about 6 min.
Discussion question: What does a wallet actually hold?
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Situation: You lose your seed phrase, but still have access to your old phone with the wallet app installed.
Correct answer: Without the seed phrase, access is permanently lost the moment you need a new device. Why: A wallet does not hold coins, only the keys to them — losing the seed phrase means losing access for good.
7. Not your keys, not your coins
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain why holding crypto on a platform carries a different risk than holding it in your own wallet.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: What do you own when your coins sit on an exchange?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You hold crypto on a trading platform without holding the private keys yourself.
Correct answer: In this case you hold a promise from the platform, not the coins themselves. Why: Anyone who does not hold the keys holds a promise — several major platform collapses have proven exactly that.
8. Understanding the trading interface
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can navigate a typical trading interface without risking input mistakes.
Class time: about 6 min.
Discussion question: What does market depth in the order book show?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You open a trading interface for the first time and see a chart, order book, position overview, and order form all at once.
Correct answer: The core elements are laid out similarly across most providers, knowing them means fewer input mistakes. Why: Chart, order book, position overview, and order form follow a similar logic everywhere.
9. Order types
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can distinguish a market order from a limit order and choose the right one for a situation.
Class time: about 6 min.
Discussion question: What does a limit order guarantee, and what doesn't it?
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Situation: You place a market order because you absolutely want to be filled right away.
Correct answer: A market order guarantees execution, but not the price. Why: A limit order is the exact opposite: it guarantees the price, but not execution.
10. Setting a stop-loss correctly
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can place a stop-loss at a level justified by your reasoning, not at your wished-for price.
Class time: about 6 min.
Discussion question: What happens with an overnight price gap?
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Situation: You set your stop-loss exactly at the amount you are still willing to lose, without looking at the chart at all.
Correct answer: The stop-loss belongs at the point that disproves your thesis, not at your preferred loss amount. Why: A stop-loss limits the loss but does not guarantee a price, and it should sit where your original assumption is proven wrong.
11. Spread, slippage, and liquidity
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can recognize and name spread and slippage as hidden trading costs.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: What do you lose by buying and immediately selling?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You buy at a displayed price of 100, but your order actually fills at 100.30.
Correct answer: That is slippage — the gap between the expected and the actual execution price. Why: The spread is the gap between the buy and sell price, slippage is the gap in the actual fill — together they act like a hidden fee.
12. Every fee that eats into your return
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can estimate an investment's real costs, not just its visible order fee.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: Which type of cost matters more in the long run?
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Situation: You compare two ETFs using only the one-time order fee at purchase.
Correct answer: Ongoing fund costs often matter more over the holding period than the one-time order fee. Why: Ongoing fund costs, account fees, currency markups, and the spread often weigh more because they apply continuously.
13. Currency risk
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain which currency risk actually matters for a foreign investment.
Class time: about 6 min.
Discussion question: Does currency risk disappear if an ETF is listed in euros?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You buy a euro-traded ETF that holds US stocks.
Correct answer: Currency risk depends on the currency of the underlying holdings, not the ETF trading currency. Why: Since the underlying stocks are priced in US dollars, the euro-dollar exchange rate moves alongside the price.
14. Trading hours
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain why trading hours affect the quality of your order execution.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: Why is the opening phase unfavorable for an order?
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Situation: You place an order right before market close, outside core trading hours.
Correct answer: Outside core trading hours, spreads are usually wider and pricing is worse. Why: Fewer participants mean lower liquidity and therefore less favorable prices.
15. The savings plan
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can explain why a savings plan's real value lies in removing the decision from your hands.
Class time: about 6 min.
Discussion question: Does a savings plan generate a higher return than a lump-sum investment?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You wonder whether a savings plan automatically produces higher returns than a lump-sum investment.
Correct answer: Its value is not a return advantage, but that the decision gets removed each time. Why: A savings plan buys automatically at fixed intervals for a fixed amount, with no fresh decision required.
16. Paper trading
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can assess what paper trading actually trains and what it cannot replace.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: What don't you learn in a demo account?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You practice for months on a paper-trading account and feel ready for real money.
Correct answer: Paper trading is useful for process and rules, but worthless for judging your own resilience under real pressure. Why: Practicing without real money helps with mechanics and discipline, but says nothing about how you react under real financial pressure.
17. Your first order
Learning objective: After this lesson, you can place a first order in a demo account in a controlled way, with the necessary checks.
Class time: about 5 min.
Discussion question: Why a limit order slightly above the current price?
Show quiz answer key (for prep)
Situation: You place your first order on a demo account without checking the details before submitting.
Correct answer: Checking still pays off on a demo account, to practice the same routine you will use with real money. Why: The pre-submission checks should become routine from the start, so they stick once real money is involved.
After this pack
Direct continuation into Stage 2 (Risk and Psychology) — there's a dedicated lesson pack for that. For a hands-on exercise with no real money, the paper-trading simulator still fits well.