Geography · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Global Trade: Kenya to UK

Active learning works for this topic because young learners build concrete understanding of global trade by touching, moving, and talking through the physical journey of everyday products. Moving from pictures to actions helps children grasp abstract connections between places, people, and products.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Geography - Place Knowledge
• KS1: Geography - Human and Physical Geography

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Four Corners
• 30 min · Small Groups

Sequencing: Tea Journey Timeline

Distribute laminated cards showing 8-10 steps from Kenyan farm to UK cup, with images and labels. Small groups arrange them on a long mat strip, then present their order to the class. Follow with a class vote on the most logical sequence.

Can you put the steps in order to show how tea travels from Kenya to your cup?

Facilitation Tip

During the Tea Journey Timeline, model the first two steps aloud to reduce confusion about where to start.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of picture cards showing different stages of the tea journey (e.g., tea bush, picking, factory, ship, lorry, shop). Ask them to arrange the cards in the correct order and explain one step to a partner.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Role Play: Trade Chain Partners

Assign roles like Kenyan farmer, ship captain, UK shopkeeper using props such as toy boats and tea bags. Pairs negotiate 'trades' step-by-step, recording agreements on clipboards. Debrief on what each role contributes.

Why is it important for people in different countries to buy and sell things to each other?

Facilitation Tip

In the Trade Chain Partners role play, give each student a simple prop or card so they physically step into their role.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you are a farmer in Kenya growing coffee. Why would you want someone in the UK to buy your coffee? What does 'fair price' mean to you?' Encourage them to share their thoughts on fairness and trade.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Concept Mapping
• 35 min · Whole Class

Concept Mapping: From Kenya to Cup

Project a large world map. Whole class adds sticky labels for Kenya, shipping routes, UK ports, and local shops, using string to connect paths. Students draw personal tea packet journeys from memory.

What do you think fair trade means for the farmers who grow our food?

Facilitation Tip

For the Mapping activity, provide pre-printed arrows and labels so students focus on placement rather than drawing.

What to look for

On a small piece of paper, ask students to draw one product that travels from Kenya to the UK and write one sentence about how it gets here. Collect these to gauge understanding of product movement.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• Four Corners
• 20 min · Small Groups

Sorting: Fair Trade Choices

Provide product cards marked fair trade or not, with farmer stories. Small groups sort into piles and justify choices based on price benefits. Share findings in a class chart.

Can you put the steps in order to show how tea travels from Kenya to your cup?

Facilitation Tip

When sorting Fair Trade choices, use real product packages to make the differences tangible and relatable.

What to look for

Provide students with a set of picture cards showing different stages of the tea journey (e.g., tea bush, picking, factory, ship, lorry, shop). Ask them to arrange the cards in the correct order and explain one step to a partner.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by letting students experience the journey before explaining it. Avoid long lectures about trade terms; instead, use concrete objects, movement, and small-group talk. Research shows that six- and seven-year-olds learn geography best when they manipulate materials and narrate their own steps. Keep vocabulary simple and tied to the physical process they are handling.

Successful learning looks like students confidently sequencing the journey of tea or coffee, describing the roles of different workers, and discussing fairness in trade with evidence from maps and role-play. They should connect each step to a real place and time.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sequencing: Tea Journey Timeline, watch for students placing tea-growing in the UK.

  Use the climate cards and Kenya/UK map included in the sequencing kit to redirect: ask students to compare weather symbols for both countries before placing the tea bush card.

• During Role Play: Trade Chain Partners, listen for students saying the product appears in shops without travel.

  Pause the role play at the shopkeeper scene and ask, ‘How did the tea get from your hands in Kenya to your hands here?’ Have students physically walk the lorry and ship steps again to correct the misconception.

• During Sorting: Fair Trade Choices, watch for students assuming all trade is fair.

  After sorting, ask each group to present one difference between fair and non-fair trade packages. Use the farmer cards from the sorting kit to read aloud why fair pay matters.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Four Corners
• Role Play
• Concept Mapping