Activity 01
Mapping Activity: Banana Journey Map
Provide outline world maps. Students label Ecuador, shipping routes across the Atlantic, and UK ports. Add drawings of farms, ships, and lorries at each stage, then share with the class.
Analyze the journey of a common food item, like bananas, from farm to supermarket.
Facilitation TipDuring the Mapping Activity, give each pair a 2-metre strip of paper to show the banana’s full journey, so students see scale and can compare routes.
What to look forProvide students with a picture of a common food item (e.g., an orange). Ask them to write: 1. The most likely origin country. 2. One step in its journey to the UK. 3. One potential environmental impact of its journey.
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Activity 02
Role-Play: Supply Chain Simulation
Assign roles like farmer, truck driver, ship captain, and shopkeeper. Groups act out passing a banana prop along the chain, discussing challenges at each step. Debrief on dependencies.
Evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of global food chains.
Facilitation TipIn the Supply Chain Simulation, assign roles by drawing cards from a hat so every child experiences both simple and complex steps.
What to look forDisplay a world map. Ask students to point to the origin country of a specific food (e.g., rice from Vietnam) and then trace a hypothetical shipping route to the UK. Ask: 'What challenges might this food face on its journey?'
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Activity 03
Design Challenge: Sustainable Chain
In pairs, redesign the banana chain to reduce food miles, using local alternatives or rail transport. Draw before-and-after diagrams and present environmental benefits.
Design a more sustainable food chain for a specific product.
Facilitation TipFor the Sustainable Chain Design Challenge, limit materials to recycled items so students focus on ideas rather than appearance.
What to look forPose the question: 'If we all stopped buying imported bananas tomorrow, what would happen to the farmers in Ecuador?' Guide students to discuss economic consequences and potential alternatives.
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Activity 04
Food Miles Tally: Class Survey
Students survey classmates on weekly fruit intake, calculate approximate miles traveled using provided charts, and graph results to compare imports versus local produce.
Analyze the journey of a common food item, like bananas, from farm to supermarket.
Facilitation TipIn the Food Miles Tally, let students use real till receipts or supermarket stickers to gather data, teaching them how to read labels.
What to look forProvide students with a picture of a common food item (e.g., an orange). Ask them to write: 1. The most likely origin country. 2. One step in its journey to the UK. 3. One potential environmental impact of its journey.
RememberUnderstandAnalyzeSocial AwarenessSelf-AwarenessDecision-Making
Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Teachers approach this topic by first grounding the work in objects children recognise, like a banana or a cereal box. We avoid starting with theory; instead, we let students uncover facts through their own mapping and counting. Research shows that when children feel the weight of a real banana sticker or count aloud their ‘food miles,’ their understanding of distance and fairness sticks far longer than a textbook definition.
By the end of these activities, students will trace a food item’s journey from farm to shelf, name at least three transport stages, and suggest one way to make the chain gentler on the planet. They will also explain why some farmers earn more than others and share one fair-trade advantage.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During Mapping Activity: Banana Journey Map, watch for students who place Ecuador next to the UK on their map.
Hand them a 2-metre strip of paper and ask them to measure the distance between the two countries with their fingers, then adjust their map scale accordingly before continuing.
During Role-Play: Supply Chain Simulation, watch for students who assume planes cause no pollution.
While they act out loading crates onto a ‘plane,’ pause the game and have them count aloud how many ‘carbon dots’ they add to the route using pre-made paper counters.
During Design Challenge: Sustainable Chain, watch for students who think fair trade always means higher prices for UK shoppers.
Use the infographic cards to let them compare two banana stickers: one fair trade, one not, asking them to calculate the actual price difference on a mini whiteboard.
Methods used in this brief