Computing

Starter
Slide 1

Have this slide on the IWB as the class enters the room and allow them a few minutes to see if they can identify the connection. The photo on the right is of electricity cable which connect the village of Chinangwa in Malawi. They were provided in 2007 by Kasinthula Sugar Growers who used their Fairtrade premium to fund the project. Before this the community did not have access to electricity.

Main Project Activities and Stages
Slide 2

Learning objective

An Introduction to Fairtrade
Slide 3
The Trade Process
Ensure that students understand who/what the organisations are before asking them in pairs to put them in their correct order from start to finish

NB. A buyer/middleman (a business man/woman who buys the crop from the farmer to sell it on to the export market)

Slide 4
Summarise the trade process and either as a class or in pairs discuss the questions.

Who is most important to the trade process?
Who will suffer the most if trade stops?
Who has the most influence on trade?
Who makes the most money out of trade?
- 
Explain to students that often the people who receive least benefit from trade are the farmers themselves as they are often made dependent on buyers or middlemen who pay them low prices for their goods, or charge high interest. How do we make trade fair for the farmer? Ask students for their ideas about Fairtrade. How does it help producers in developing countries?

Slide 5
According to research by the Fairtrade Foundation in 2009 70% of adults in Britain recognise the Fairtrade Mark - a substantial increase in the last 5 years. 
- Has Fairtrade become more popular?
- How many goods do students think carry the Fairtrade Mark?

There are over 3,000 different Fairtrade products which have this mark. Ask students for examples of Fairtrade goods they have bought.

The Fairtrade movement aims to get a fairer deal for producers in developing countries through fair minimum wages and the Fairtrade premium - money which is given back to the communities to support community development. The stories of the producer groups who provide Traidcraft with the ingredients for their Geobar are examples of this.

Slide 6
The Fairtrade movement makes sure that farmers are paid at least a fair minimum price.

“Before selling to Agrocel I was selling to a middleman and there were a lot of problems. I would get less money. Now selling to Agrocel I can avoid these problems and get better money. The middleman gave the minimum price. Today I am getting a better price.”
Dalbir Singh, rice farmer, India.

Farmers in developing countries are often at the mercy of middlemen who are able to pay them a low price for their produce because there is nowhere else for them to sell it. Through co-operatives and associations like Agrocel they are able to access international markets and receive a fairer price.

Slide 7
The Fairtrade movement gives money back to the community through the Fairtrade premium.
The Fairtrade premium is the percentage amount of the money from the Fairtrade products which we buy which is sent back to the producer group by Traidcraft. They send it in one lump sum each year so the producer groups can put it to best use. A 'premium committee' made up of men and women from the group (like Kasinthula or Agrocel) are given the Fairtrade premium and they have to decide how to spend it in their community.

- What would students improve about their community if they were given the Fairtrade premium?

“As a premium committee our role is to find out from the bank statements how much premium fund we have and discuss which projects we are going to use it for. The premium committee is appointed by the general members democratically. There are 10 members, four of them women. It is quite good because nowadays gender equality is the message.

The premium has provided us with a lot like the boreholes and electricity, and we have put medicines in a clinic here. These projects could not happen without the Fairtrade premium.”

Sara Chiudsi, Vice Chair of the Kasinthula Premium Committee, Malawi.

The Fairtrade premium is an important tool for community development and an opportunity for producers to make a difference in their own communities. Fairtrade plays an important role in combating poverty and promoting sustainability in the developing world.

Slide 8
Ask students to choose a producer and use the link to read their story online. Students write a short report on the difference that Fairtrade has made to the producer’s life. Alternatively, instead of just choosing from the 4 producers students each student could read a different producer story and report back to the class.

Slide 9
How many students have heard of or eaten Traidcraft’s Geobars? What are they? Do they know any different flavours?
(Chocolate; Mixed Berries; Apricot; Fruit, Nut and Honey)

Separate the class into groups. If possible give each group a Geobar for them to look at. Alternatively use this slide. Students discuss:
• What does the packaging tell consumers about the Geobar?
• Is the design attractive/unattractive? (e.g. easy to see what it is, looks nice) 
• What are the characteristics of the design? (e.g. What colours/shapes/photos are used?)
• What essential information is on there? (e.g. logos, marks, ingredients)
• How do you know that it is Fairtrade? Are customers provided with enough information about Fairtrade?

Slide 10
Project Geobar
Explain to the class that each group is going to devise a new design for the Geobar and then present their work to a selection of 'dragons'. The best design wins. Explain the different phases of the project to the groups.

Slide 11
Project Geobar: Judging Criteria
(optional)
Teachers may choose to focus more specifically depending on the age group/ability.

Slide 12
Project Geobar: Market Research
Explain that the target audience of the student’s design is children/young people (they choose the age group) Firstly, they need to carry out market research. In their groups students make a list of information they need from their target group before they begin their design. Using this list students develop a short questionnaire and then undertake the research.

Slide 13
Students reconvene as a group and share their findings before inputting their data on a spreadsheet. They use the sum and average functions to identify trends before creating charts to represent their findings.

Slide 14
Project Geobar: Idea Generation and Development 
Have a quick feedback session with the class. What are the key findings from their market research? Has anything surprised them? Explain that the students will use this information to decide what their design will look like.

Distribute the Geobars again. Using these and the prompts students decide on their design and plan it in rough. Producer stories should also be available if students wish to use them.

Slide 15
Students assign tasks to members of the groups to pull together their presentation. 
1. Someone designs the Geobar using their plan and DTP software. 
2. Someone types up the findings of the group’s market research.
3. Someone records why the group chose the design they did and how they reached that decision.

Each group presents their idea to the class/panel, who use the judging criteria to assess their work.

Plenary
Bingo. Students draw a 3x3 grid on a piece of scrap paper. Invite suggestions of key terms they have learnt during the lesson, both to do with Fairtrade and other skills. For example: Fairtrade, market research, SUM function, Fairtrade premium, spreadsheet, design, data, producer group. Students write these in their grid in no particular order. Call out the definitions of each term. Students cross them out as they guess them. When they have 3 in a row they call out 'bingo'. First person to call wins.