Rainforest Alliance

Step 1 -- Connect (The Concept to Prior Knowledge)

Challenge

Students develop, disseminate and analyze a survey on the particular types of coffee preferred by their teachers, school staff, and parents.

Materials

- Paper
- Writing utensils

Procedure

1. Tell students they will be creating a survey for coffee drinkers to determine their knowledge about the drink and which types of coffee teachers, school staff and parents prefer.
    
2. Lead students in a discussion of the possible questions to investigate through the survey. Brainstorm possibilities. Some questions to pursue may include:
   • What are the most popular types of coffee?
      
   • Do coffee drinkers know where their coffee comes from?
      
   • Are coffee drinkers aware of the different types of coffee (sun coffee and shade-grown)?
      
   • Do coffee drinkers know the benefits of shade-grown coffee?
      
3. Offer students a variety of survey techniques. Some examples are listed below.

   Open Ended:

   
   - What country does your coffee come from?
   - How does growing coffee affect the environment?
   - Where does most coffee come from?

   
   
   

   Likert Scale:

   
   1=Well informed, 2=Somewhat informed, 3=Little knowledge, 4=Don't know at all
   
   - How knowledgeable are you about where your coffee comes from?
   - How knowledgeable are you about the different varieties of coffee?
   - How knowledgeable are you about shade grown coffee

   
   
   

   Fixed Answers:

   
   Check the space next to all of the words that describe the coffee you drink.
   
   

   __ Costa Rican __ Colombian __ Brazilian __ Kenyan __ Kona __ Indonesian

   __ Shade Grown __ Sun Coffee __ Flavored __ Organic __ Other (please specify ___________) __ Indian

   
   
   

   True/False:

   
   Coffee grows best in areas near the equator.
   Shade-grown coffee techniques can help migratory birds.

   
    
4. Ask students which survey they think will be most effective in finding the information they desire.
    
5. Have students develop a list of questions to include in the survey.
    
6. Assist students in designing the survey.
    
7. After students survey teachers, staff and parents, compile the data.
    
8. Ask students to generate a list of most popular coffee types.
    
9. Engage students in a follow up discussion about their survey. Ask questions:
   • How knowledgeable were the respondents about where their coffee comes from?
      
   • How might informing people about the origins of coffee and the effects on the environment change things?
      
   • Do you think it's important that people know where their coffee comes from?
      
   • Why or why not?
      

Step 2 -- Literature/Discuss (Give Expert Information Book; Ask Questions)

Challenge

Students research the history of coffee grown in one of the Latin American coffees preferred by one of their survey respondents. They will use this information during Step 4 to write and send a letter to this person regarding the implications of their coffee preference on the lives of migratory birds.

Materials

- Survey results from Step 1
- World atlas
- Rainforest Alliance supporting materials
- Computers with Internet access

Procedure

1. Challenge students to use one of their survey respondent's answers and research the natural history of this type of coffee. Have students focus on the Latin American coffee types. For example, if the respondent checked "Costa Rican" and "Sun Coffee," challenge the student to research the Costa Rican rainforest areas, the specifics of coffee beans from Costa Rica (flavor, aroma, etc.), coffee farming in Costa Rica, and the possible environmental impacts of sun coffee farming. Helpful Internet Resources:
   
   • Rainforest Alliance Certified Marketplace
   • Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign: Audubon Seattle site Q&A section about shade grown coffee.
   • British Coffee Association
2. Have students compile their data. Tell students they will be using their research later in the lesson when they will write a letter to survey respondents about their favorite coffee.

Step 3A -- Practice (Math and Learning Centers)

Challenge

Through a series of guided calculations, students develop a sense of survey respondent knowledge of coffee, how much coffee is grown in rainforests, and the impact of coffee farming techniques on migratory birds.

Materials

- Paper
- Writing utensils

Procedure

Challenge students to complete the calculations and answer the related questions.

1. One acre of rainforest land can produce about 1,000 pounds of shade-grown coffee in a year. If the United States imports 2.5 million pounds of coffee in a year, how many acres of rainforest land is needed?
2. The average American drinks 3.4 cups of coffee per day. If half of the United States population drinks this amount, how many cups does that equal? If half of the world's population drank the same amount, how many cups would that equal?
3. How many acres of rainforest would be needed to satisfy the world's coffee consumption if half of the people on earth drank 3.4 cups per day?
4. Create a graph illustrating some aspect of the class survey data. Use one of the following formats: Pie chart of the most popular coffee types chosen, bar graph of the amount of knowledge people said they had about their coffee, chart depicting which countries are most preferred for their coffee beans.

Step 3B -- Create (Performance Tasks Related to Standard Indicators)

Challenge

Students draw a map of North, Central and South America and illustrate the relationship between coffee production, coffee consumption and bird migration.

Materials

- World maps for each student, with countries outlined
- Colored pencils
- World atlas for reference
- Field guides of North American birds
- Rainforest poster (available in the Resource Index)

Procedure

1. Hand out several world atlas references.
2. Challenge students to draw a large map of North, Central and South America, including outlines of countries.
3. On their respective maps, challenge students to identify:
   
   1. Countries containing rainforest;
   2. Countries exporting coffee;
   3. Major bird migration routes of a common North American migratory bird. Have students use color to illustrate rainforest range and countries.
4. Challenge students to discuss the meaning of their maps. Ask the following questions:
   
   • How does your map illustrate a connection between coffee production and migratory birds?
      
   • Who might find this information valuable?
      
   • Why?
      

Step 4 -- Present (Edit Work/Students Present Projects)

Challenge

Each student selects one teacher, school staff member or parent to write and send a letter to highlighting the complex connection between coffee production, consumption, migratory birds and the health of temperate and tropical rainforests.

Materials

- Map from Step 3B
- Calculations from step 3A

Procedure

1. Tell students that they will be writing a letter to their survey respondent in order to inform them about their choice of coffee and how it is related to migratory bird winter range, rainforests and temperate forests.
2. Challenge students to include the research discovered in Step 2, the calculations determined in Step 3A and the map created in Step 3B to explain the key connections for the coffee drinker receiving the letter.

The Rainforest Alliance curriculum is unique in that it teaches science, math, language arts and social studies essentials while addressing the United States National Standards for Learning. These are the standards addressed in the sixth grade lessons.

Visual Arts

Standard 2
Knows how to use structures (e.g., sensory qualities, organizational principles, expressive features) and functions of art.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Knows how the qualities of structures and functions of art are used to improve communication of one's ideas.

Geography

Standard 2
Knows the location of places, geographic features and patterns of the environment.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8) Knows the relative location of, size of and distances between places (e.g., major urban centers in the United States).

Standard 3
Understands the characteristics and uses of spatial organization of Earth's surface.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Understands how places are connected and how these connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility (e.g., the role of changing transportation and communication technology, regions and countries Americans depend on for imported resources and manufactured goods).

Life Sciences

Standard 6
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Knows factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (e.g., available resources; abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures and soil composition; disease; competition from other organisms within the ecosystem; predation).

Mathematics

Standard 6
Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Reads and interprets data in charts, tables, plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter) and graphs (e.g., bar, circle, line).

Organizes and displays data using tables, graphs (e.g., line, circle, bar), frequency distributions and plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter).

Sciences

Standard 6
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Knows factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (e.g., available resources; abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition; disease; competition from other organisms within the ecosystem; predation).

Thinking and Reasoning

Standard 6
Applies decision making techniques.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Makes decisions based on the data obtained and the criteria identified.

Secures factual information needed to evaluate alternatives.

Environment and Society

Standard 14
Understands how human actions modify the physical environment.

Level III (Grades 5 - 8)
Understands the environmental consequences of people changing the physical environment (e.g., the effects of ozone depletion, climate change, deforestation, land degradation, soil salinization and acidification, ocean pollution, groundwater-quality decline, using natural wetlands for recreational and housing development).