The Journey of a Coffee Bean: Teaching About Fair Trade

AlgonquinCollege

1385 Woodroffe Ave

Ottawa, Ontario

K2G-1V8

(613)727-4723 ext.5138

The Journey of a Coffee Bean: Teaching About Fair Trade

Grade One

Provided by OttawaCarletonCatholicSchool Board

Last updated: July 4, 2007

All pictures, maps and graphics associated with lesson plans are the property of Algonquin College, unless otherwise noted or linked. Statistical data and background information has been collected from the CIA World Factbook, public domain reference materials, and (where identified) external resources.

Curriculum and Lesson Plans have been created by partner School Boards [as identified]. These lesson plans and associated resources (photo, video, audio, etc.) are free for use to all teachers within the partner Boards in the delivery of the Ontario K-12 Curriculum. While every effort has been made to maintain the accuracy of the information provided, Algonquin College is not responsible for unintentional data entry errors or omissions.

If you would like to report any errors or corrections for lesson plans, or use copyrighted materials for purposes other than the Ontario Curriculum please contact:

Expedition Africa at (613)727-4723 ext. 5138 or email

Table of Contents

Summary of Lesson Plan

Relation to Ministry Guidelines & Expected Outcomes

OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Main Objective

Learning Outcomes

ACTIVITIES

Assessment

Resources

Acknowledgements

Feedback Page

Summary of Lesson Plan

By learning about the step-by-step journey of a coffee bean from farmer to North American coffee cup, grade 1 children will also learn about fair trade and start to become more aware of the responsibilities of consumers (with a focus on themselves and their families).

This lesson plan may identify specific resources to support certain activities. While the expedition team will attempt to gather all the required resources, we cannot guarantee that all photo, audio, video will be captured as listed.

Small World Big Picture, Expedition Africa 2006

Relation to Ministry Guidelines & Expected Outcomes

Grade 1 Social Studies:

(overall) use a variety of resources and tools to gather, process, and communicate information about the rules people follow in daily life and the responsibilities of family members and other people in their school and community;
(overall) explain how and why relationships, rules, and responsibilities may change over time, and in different places;
(specific) use illustrations, key words, and simple sentences (e.g., chart, picture book, cartoon) to sort, classify, and record information about relationships, rules, and responsibilities.

OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Main Objective

Learning Outcomes

To learn about how coffee is made from harvesting all the way to being sold as a beverage in North America;
To become aware of the different people involved in the production of coffee;
To become aware of how coffee farmers and harvesters are affected by the coffee market;
To hear of how we can make trade more fair for coffee farmers and harvesters;
To begin to think about and discuss how products can be sold fairly.

ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY /

TEACHER ACTIVITIES

/ STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Introduction
Stages of Processing and Roles of those involved /

Teacher shows the class a cup of coffee and asks where they think the coffee comes from, with further inquiry about what natural product is used to make the liquid beverage.
After a “robust” discussion, teacher then shows students a handful of green coffee beans and roasted coffee beans. Students should be able to smell and touch the beans and describe their observations.
Using a world map teacher can then go on to show students where in the world coffee is grown and its far journey from field to cup. Students should be encouraged to tell others what they know about the various producing countries.
Using the student worksheets as posted on display and explain the stages of coffee production. Students will need assistance with key terms such as harvesting and production. The worksheet challenges pupils to consider who gets what from the price of a cup of coffee. NOTE: Prices on this worksheet are in old UK currency; teachers may opt to white-out and change to comparable Canadian currency). Teacher can print out and cut worksheet in half and photocopy either the KS1 or the KS2 activity for class.
KS1 worksheet: talk through the story of coffee from field to mug. Ask children to cut out and match the pictures to the captions and place them in order. Colour in.
KS2 worksheet: follow the instructions on the worksheet. Stress that this is not fairly traded coffee. The answers are: Farmer 3p, shipper 10p, exporter 17p, roaster and processor 45p, seller 25p.
Once students have finished the worksheets, bring the class together for a discussion on what they have learned. Discuss the allocation of price/profit and whether this is fair. Giving and acting out examples using children in the class may be helpful, e.g., one child buys an apple for 2 cents, then sells the apple to another for 10 cents. Use examples that draw on your class’s understanding of fairness.

/ class discussion
In pairs or groups, children work on worksheets that outline stages and roles. Students will need close supervision and should be encouraged to talk about why they are choosing their pictures.
Class discussion and review of concepts

ASSESSMENT

Use worksheets as described and posted from web site to assess understanding and ability to sort, sequence and explain.

RESOURCES

Chart paper and display space

Scissors and glue
This lesson is based on materials provided by the web site of Catholic Agencies for Overseas Development (CAFOD) as posted at
Worksheets are available at:

and

This lesson can use the printed Canadian Geographic–CIDA map A DevelopingWorld which can be ordered at (the on-line version can be found at

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Feedback Page

Please provide us with your feedback on this lesson and/or its available resources. We welcome suggestions for improvements, additional methodologies, and/or new resources you may have found to support the lesson(s).

If you would like to submit your own lesson plan(s) or curriculum idea(s) please contact your school board representative listed at

Last Name
First Name / M.I.
School Board
Address / Apt./Unit
City / Province / Postal Code
Phone / ( ) / E-Mail

Lesson Plan Title:

The Journey of a Coffee Bean: Teaching About Fair TradePage 1 of 6