10 - The History of Fairtrade

Preparation
Cut out sets of sorting cards for pairs/groups. Create a set of dates for the starter activity (below)

Starter
Create a set of different dates, one for each member of the class. Elicit the meaning of “chronological”, using examples (e.g. of birthdates or historical times periods studied previously. Distribute dates to pupils and ask the class to put themselves into chronological order. (This could also be done using pupils birth dates.)

Main Activity
Ensure that the class knows what Fairtrade is and why so many people support it. Ask pupils if they have any idea when the movement began and why it began. Elicit ideas and explanations.

Provide each pair/group of pupils with a set of sorting cards and ask them to put them into chronological order.

Discuss each event, and ensure that all pupils know what Traidcraft, the Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade Labeling Organisation are.

Fairtrade Foundation: Independent, not for profit organisation in the UK which licenses the use of the Fairtrade Mark in this country.

Fairtrade Labelling Organisation: Coordinates Fairtrade labelling at an international level. It sets international Fairtrade standards, organises support for producers, develops global Fairtrade strategy, and promotes trade justice internationally.

Why are these organisations so important to the Fairtrade movement in the UK and internationally?

Pupils copy the timeline, decorating the timeline with pictures to represent each event.

Plenary
Undertake the starter activity again but use the History of Fairtrade Events as stimuli, asking the class to put them into chronological order without seeing the dates. 
Ask pupils to identify what they consider to be the 3 most important dates and explain why.