Wall Street: Where Money Works
Wall Street: Where Money Works
Have you ever heard someone talk about Wall Street? It sounds mysterious, but itâs actually a place where people buy and sell pieces of companies! Imagine it like a giant marketplace, but instead of fruits and vegetables, people are trading tiny parts of big businesses.
What is Wall Street?
Wall Street is a street in New York City. But when people say "Wall Street," they usually mean the financial center of the United States. Many big companies have their headquarters there. It's where people work with money to help companies grow and where others invest to hopefully make their own money grow, too.
How Does It Work?
Companies sometimes need money to expand, create new products, or hire more people. To get this money, they can sell parts of their company to the public. These parts are called stocks. When you buy a stock, you own a tiny piece of that company! This is all done at places like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which is located on Wall Street.
Think of it like this: A bakery needs money to buy a new oven. Instead of borrowing from a bank, it sells "slices" of the bakery. If the bakery does well, your "slice" becomes more valuable!
Investing
- Stocks:
- Small parts of a company you can buy.
- Investors:
- People who buy stocks.
- Wall Street:
- A place where people buy and sell stocks. Often refers to the US financial system.
- financial:
- Having to do with money and how it is managed.
- headquarters:
- The main office or central building where the leaders of a business work.
- economy:
- The system of how money, goods, and services are made, sold, and used in a country or community.
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts â all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
Practice editing sentences drawn from this passage with a printable worksheet.
Ready to use this passage in class?
Start free with the Mixed worksheet and 3 PDF downloads each week. Focused skill sets depend on plan.
Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is Wall Street?
- 2Where is Wall Street located?
Where this passage belongs
About this informational passage for Upper Elementary
âWall Street: Where Money Worksâ is a informational reading passage about Wall Street, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (373 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.