Where does Chocolate come from?

In this KS2 Geography scheme of work, your class will explore the journey of cocoa from the farm to the chocolate bar! They will learn where cocoa grows, how it’s harvested, and the work of cocoa farmers. Children will also discover the Fairtrade Foundation and how it supports farmers, as well as exploring chocolate consumption, culture and traditions around the world. By the end of the five lessons, your class will have a better understanding of cocoa’s journey and its global impact.

Each lesson comes fully prepared and ready-to-teach with a detailed lesson plan, an engaging and informative slideshow for the whole-class teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable teaching resources, such as worksheets, picture cards, information sheets and much more!

A Knowledge Organiser is available to support the learning in this scheme. It is included in the Complete Series download or can be purchased individually.

This scheme is also part of a Topic Bundle - perfect if you're looking to teach chocolate as a cross-curricular topic!

Where does Cocoa Grow?

Where does cocoa grow? How do cocoa beans grow? What does a cocoa tree and a cocoa pod look like? Your KS2 children will find out the answers to all of these questions in this first Geography lesson!

The included PDF slideshow presentation for the teaching input goes through where in the world cocoa trees grow and what kind of climate they thrive in. It also looks at the four layers of the rainforest, and teaches your class which layer cocoa trees grow in. Your Year 3/4 class will also learn about the process cocoa trees go through to grow cocoa pods.

During their independent learning time, your class can then put this knowledge to the test as they mark maps, explore diagrams and describe how a pod grows. Alternatively, they can create an information poster about cocoa trees.

View Lesson 1

The Journey of a Cocoa Bean

In this Journey of a Cocoa Bean KS2 Geography lesson, your Year 3/4 children will find out how cocoa beans are harvested, dried, packed and transported to countries where chocolate is produced. They will discover the many different processes that the cocoa beans go through in order to turn them into chocolate.

During their independent activities, children can consolidate their understanding of the journey of a cocoa bean from pod to product through differentiated activities. Alternatively, they can create a presentation or short drama piece to represent the journey of the cocoa bean from bean to bar.

This lesson comes fully planned and ready to deliver to your class. There's a detailed lesson plan, a PDF slideshow for the whole-class teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of helpful printable teaching resources.

View Lesson 2

Cocoa Farmers

In this Cocoa Farmers lesson for KS2 children, your class will first recap which countries produce cocoa beans, before finding out about the daily life of a Ghanaian cocoa farmer.

The included slideshow presentation goes through an example of a day in the life of a cocoa farmer, which children are then encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings about. They can then create a diary entry as a Ghanaian farmer, or compare and contrast a cocoa farmer’s day with a British farmer’s day.

This Cocoa Farmers lesson provides all the resources you need to deliver this lesson, including an easy-to-follow lesson plan, a PDF slideshow, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable teaching resources.

View Lesson 3

The Fairtrade Foundation

In this Fairtrade KS2 Geography lesson, your Year 3/4 children will find out about the difficulties that cocoa farmers face. They will discover how a charity called the Fairtrade Foundation was set up in order to help farmers with some of these problems.

Children will create posters, leaflets and letters to inform people about the charity, and try to persuade them to support it by buying fair trade chocolate.

This Fairtrade KS2 lesson pack contains all the resources you need to deliver this thought-provoking lesson, including a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow for the whole-class input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of printable teaching resources.

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Chocolate Culture and Traditions

Children will first look at the definitions of the words ‘production’ and ‘consumption’ and use world maps to look at the differences in location between chocolate-producing countries and chocolate-consuming countries.

They will then discuss the meaning of ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’, before pairing up to find answers to given questions, or work in a small group to conduct their own research into chocolate traditions around the world.

Included in this ready-to-teach pack is a detailed lesson plan, a PDF slideshow for the whole-class teaching input, differentiated activity ideas and a range of helpful printable teaching resources.

View Lesson 5

This Year 3/4 Geography Knowledge Organiser has been created to complement our Human Geography strand. It is designed to support your children’s understanding of key vocabulary linked to this scheme of work. Key questions and relevant geographical skills have been identified to encourage children to apply their knowledge around this topic.

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