From Bean to Bar: Understanding Fair Trade Chocolate (Year 3 Geography)

Begin by asking pupils what their favourite type of chocolate is. Show a picture of a chocolate bar. Ask: 'Where do you think this chocolate comes from?' and 'What ingredients do you think are in it?' Guide the discussion towards cocoa beans. Show a picture of a cocoa pod and cocoa beans. Explain that cocoa beans grow on trees in hot countries, far away from the UK. Briefly introduce the idea that many people are involved in getting chocolate from the tree to the shop shelf.

1. Introduction to Cocoa Farmers: Show images or a short, age-appropriate video clip (e.g., from the Fairtrade Foundation website) of cocoa farmers working in countries like Ghana or Côte d'Ivoire. Discuss their work: planting, harvesting, drying beans. Explain that this work is very hard.
2. The Problem: Explain that sometimes, farmers don't get paid enough for their cocoa beans. This means they might not have enough money for food, clean water, school for their children, or medicine if they get ill. Use simple language and relatable examples.
3. Introducing Fair Trade: Explain that 'Fair Trade' is a special way of buying and selling things. When chocolate has the Fair Trade symbol (show a picture of the logo), it means the farmers who grew the cocoa beans were paid a fair price for their hard work. It also often means they get extra money to invest in their community, like building a new school or digging a well for clean water.
4. Activity: Fair Trade Sorting: Provide pupils with pictures of different products (e.g., a banana, a t-shirt, a coffee cup, a chocolate bar, a toy car). Ask them to identify which ones could be Fair Trade products. Then, show them pictures of the Fair Trade logo and non-Fair Trade logos (e.g., a generic supermarket brand logo). Have them sort chocolate bars (or pictures of them) into 'Fair Trade' and 'Not Fair Trade' piles based on whether they can spot the logo. Discuss why choosing Fair Trade is a good thing.

Gather the class and revisit the concept of Fair Trade. Ask pupils to share one reason why they think buying Fair Trade chocolate is a good idea. Encourage them to use vocabulary learned, such as 'fair price', 'farmers', 'community', 'school', 'water'. Summarise that choosing Fair Trade helps farmers and their families live better lives.

Observe pupils' participation in discussions and their ability to identify Fair Trade products. Check their understanding of why Fair Trade is important during the plenary session.

• Picture of a chocolate bar
• Pictures of cocoa pods and cocoa beans
• World map to show cocoa-growing regions (e.g., West Africa, South America)
• Images/short video clip of cocoa farmers (e.g., from Fairtrade Foundation)
• Pictures of the Fair Trade logo
• Pictures of various products (some that can be Fair Trade, some that cannot)
• Pictures of different chocolate bar wrappers (some with Fair Trade logo, some without)
• Whiteboard or flipchart for key vocabulary

• PSHE: Understanding global citizenship, empathy, making ethical choices, helping others.
• English: Discussing, explaining, understanding new vocabulary, persuasive writing (e.g., writing a short message about why Fair Trade is good).
• Art: Designing a Fair Trade logo or a poster to promote Fair Trade chocolate.