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Course 301 · Money course 47

Understand Stock Orders and Read Price Charts

Use original fictional quotes, order cases and charts to learn execution mechanics, fees, OHLC and the limits of pattern predictions. No brokerage account or real trades are required.

Before you start

Use paper and a calculator or a free spreadsheet. The supplied quote book, OHLC data, SVG and ledger contain every required input.

Start Investing From Zero See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A fictional stock-literacy file with a quote card, checked order and gap cases, an accessible OHLC chart, a pattern counterexample and a reconciled paper-trade ledger.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners ages 14+ and adults practicing financial literacy; every transaction is fictional, with no brokerage signup or real-money activity.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use paper and a calculator or a free spreadsheet. The supplied quote book, OHLC data, SVG and ledger contain every required input.
  • Comfort with subtraction, multiplication, division and percentages. Recommended preparation: Start Investing From Zero, which teaches long-term goals and diversified investing.
  • Use only supplied fictional records; do not upload private financial documents, account numbers or personal trades.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A fictional stock-literacy file with a quote card, checked order and gap cases, an accessible OHLC chart, a pattern counterexample and a reconciled paper-trade ledger.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A quote card with exact symbol, historical last price, best bid, best ask, spread, visible sizes and simulation limitations.
  • An order comparison showing executed quantity, unfilled quantity, gross cost, weighted fill price, fee and total cash cost.
  • A two-column gap comparison with trigger, resulting instruction, fill status, executed price, net cash and unsold shares.
  • An annotated original candle chart, exact matching data table and period-3 range/body/wick calculation.
  • A pattern note with numerical definitions, $49 three-period average, opposing continuations and a failed observed-support band.
  • A complete fictional stock-literacy file with quote card, order/gap comparisons, accessible OHLC chart, pattern counterexample and reconciled two-order ledger.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Quote, order and ledger records use the exact supplied inputs, distinguish submitted/pending/filled states and reconcile all executed quantities.
  • Money calculations show units, fees and intermediate steps; cash and shares agree with an independent calculation.
  • The original chart has a matching table and labels; pattern notes retain contrary evidence and distinguish historical observations from forecasts.
  • All six lesson outputs and changed-input results are included, with fictional assumptions and untested real-world behavior stated accurately.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Record before inference

Keep the exact symbol, time, units, quote side, quantities and transaction state with the conclusion.

02

Reconcile every fill

An order is an instruction; executed quantities, prices and fees determine cash and shares.

03

Test the claim

A historical shape or average needs contrary cases and clear limits; it does not guarantee a future price.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Bid and ask
Buyer and seller price interest for specified quantities at a moment; bid/ask are different from a historical last trade.
Spread
Lowest ask minus highest bid, expressed here in dollars per share.
Fill
An executed quantity at a recorded price; an order can be partially filled or unfilled.
Limit order
A price instruction setting a buy maximum or sell minimum; it does not guarantee execution.
OHLC
Open, high, low and close: four historical price measurements for a specified interval.
Simple moving average
The sum of a fixed number of historical measurements divided by that number; the window moves as new observations arrive.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Read a quote and the bid–ask spread

    Distinguish an invented security, historical last price and currently supplied bid/ask interest; calculate the spread.

  2. 2
    16 min

    Compare market, limit and partial fills

    Calculate filled quantity, weighted price, cash cost and pending quantity for market and limit instructions under explicit fixed-liquidity assumptions.

  3. 3
    14 min

    Test a stop order through a price gap

    Distinguish a stop trigger from an execution price and show why an activated stop-limit can remain unfilled.

  4. 4
    16 min

    Read a price chart without losing the data

    Read open/high/low/close, candle body and wicks, intervals and volume from invented data, keeping a text/table alternative.

  5. 5
    17 min

    Describe patterns and test the conclusion

    Calculate a simple historical moving average and describe doji/body containment/observed levels while testing unsupported predictions.

  6. 6
    20 min

    Reconcile a paper trade and its limits

    Reconcile an invented two-order ledger, distinguish realized cash result from chart change, and document status/current-rule questions.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Stock orders and charts practice pack

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

SEC Investor.gov — Stock Quotes
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected distinction between current bid/offer quotes and historical OHLC/volume records.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

SEC Investor.gov — Bid Price/Ask Price
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected bid, ask and spread definitions; all quote sizes and prices in this course are invented.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

SEC Investor.gov — Understanding Order Types
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected market/limit, partial execution, stop triggers and stop-limit nonexecution; specific policies vary by broker.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

CME Group — Chart Types: candlestick, line, bar
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected OHLC/body/wick and chart-interval representations. Only general chart concepts apply here; this course uses original stock fixtures, not copied futures charts.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

CME Group — Understanding Moving Averages
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected arithmetic of a simple moving average. No accuracy claims or source examples reproduced.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

FINRA — What Is Market Timing?
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected historical-pattern analysis, trading costs, missed-opportunity risks and distinction from long-term investing.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

FINRA — Day-Trading Risk Disclosure, Rule 2270
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected risks of loss and possible difficulty liquidating positions; no copied disclosure block or claim of FINRA approval.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

SEC Investor.gov — New T+1 Settlement Cycle
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected current one-business-day cycle for applicable transactions and exceptions; the paper ledger does not simulate settlement availability.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

FINRA — Understanding the New Intraday Margin Requirements
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Inspected current transition guidance on 2026-10-01. No fixed historical PDT minimum or operational margin-eligibility rule is taught.

Access: Public official page inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01; no broker tools or real transactions operated.

Reuse: Concept references only. All prices, records, charts, worked examples, exercises and questions are original fictional LifeStarter material; no source diagram or exercise copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one