Sources of Educational Materials

Since I have not checked many of these out, feedback would be appreciated.
Additional suggestions would be appreciated.  ebender@ucsd.edu
This page will grow as I gather info.

If you have questions, I'll do my best to answer: ebender@ucsd.edu

In addition to this page, check out my action page for ideas that can lead to class projects such as Adopt-A-Supermarket.

In some parts of Europe Fair Trade and the Forest Stewardship Council are well-known because of media spots and classroom instruction.  The U.S. should catch up.  You can learn some of what was done in Europe from the Buyer Be Fair film (see below) or reading a some extracts I made from it with comments.

Links here may change or disappear.  If that happens, please let me know .  If you found the new link, please send it to me; if not, I'll see if I can track it down.  ebender@ucsd.edu

I think a good and easy lesson plan (may need to be 6^th grade or more) would be with three classes based as follows.

• Fair Trade: first half of "Buyer Be Fair" film;

• Forests: second half of "Buyer Be Fair" film;

• Seafood: Seafood Watch cards (order them free to pass out) and information on their site about fishing and farming methods.

Each half of the film lasts about 1/2 hour, so there is some discussion time.  Since the seafood part does not involve a film, it can be as long or short as desired and include as much discussion as desired.

Meaning of link font after bullet:

• Bold face    indicates what seems to me to be most useful.

• Italics    indicates material on which I currently have no opinion.

• Ordinary roman font    indicates material that seems less useful.

C=crafts, including coloring    G=game    L=lesson plan    P=print material   V=video material

V Buyer Be Fair is a one hour documentary film that

"looks at two major trade goods  timber and coffee  to understand how certification works and whether it works. We take viewers to isolated Indian villages in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, where some of the answers emerge. In Santa Catarina Ixtepeji, a community's timber is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as produced in a just and sustainable manner. In the villages that are members of Cooperativa La Trinidad, Fair Trade, Shade-Grown, Organic coffee is produced and finds a growing market in the US. We see how these communities are benefiting from certification and what the obstacles are to broadening its scope."

Endorsement from the web page:

"BUYER BE FAIR is an excellent introduction to how fair trade can be a win-win innovation in the marketplace. Students will enjoy the clear exposition, and teachers will find that the documentary opens many doors to classroom discussion. The documentary has two parts    one on coffee and one on lumber    that can be seen and discussed in two separate class sessions." [emphasis added]

It's and engaging film that  shows how buying certified products helps people and the environment, provides historical background, mentions some companies and alludes to possible actions.  It's good for high school, college and beyond.  I don't know how it would work in grade school.  Everyone can learn something from it and many will be moved to do more than they are at present.  The film is available on VHS and DVD-R.  Price depends on planned usage.  For home use, it was about $30 plus shipping in 6/2006.  Go to www.buyerbefair.org/about_film.html for information.  (Click on "film summary" to get to partial transcript.)  The film is sold through Bullfrog Films, which sells many other films "that point the way to a new paradigm for living happily, healthily and sustainably."

V Ants That Moved Mountains is a free, downloadable, 15 minute video about the start of a Nicaraguan sewing cooperative.

CLP Global Exchange has classroom and school money raising materials on fair-traded chocolate.

CLPV Rainforest Alliance has a lot of free resources for grades K to 8 on its web page.  The orientation is primarily rainforest knowledge and conservation.

G The Union of Concerned Scientists has a one-person web game on environmental issues at go.ucsusa.org/game.  The vocabulary level and use of percentages makes in unsuitable for lower grades.  It is based on their book The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices.

CLP The Marine Stewardship Council has classroom activities and lesson suggestions for UK lower grades (Click on Fish & Kids, then on STAFFROOM). The material is in four semi-independent parts: food chain, fishing, impact of fishing, and eco-labels. Most applies in the US as well. 

The Seafood Watch program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium has various resources and links on their web page related to fisheries and the ocean.
 

• V A good brief introduction to fishery issues.  Students could click through these 14 pages.  There is a more in-depth CD-ROM that I haven't seen.
• An education resources fact sheet dated 2004. Click on the "Education Resources Fact Sheet" link toward the lower right of the page.  Some links and some lack the resource mentioned.  Here are comments on many of their links that should be read in connection with Seafood Watch's page.  The group headings are from that page. I've omitted materials that do not deal with fisheries.

  Curricula, Workshops and Activities

   

• G+ http://www.seacentr.org/programs/curric.html Flounderin Island not fully checked; for younger grades; teacher password.

• V http://lhs.berkeley.edu/GEMS/GEMSooocean.html can be purchased for $21.  From the Berkeley web site:

  "Only One Ocean: Marine Science Activities for Grades 5-8 is a great interdisciplinary introduction to the interconnectedness of Earth's greatest resource. These activities give a balanced look at our ocean resources, showing the biologists', environmentalists', consumers', and fishers' points of view. In the teacher-friendly tradition of all the LHS GEMS, the format of each activity is very easy to follow … these activities are interesting, exciting, and very worthwhile for developing students' understanding of the importance of our ocean."

  —National Science Teachers Association Recommends

• http://www.calacademy.org/education/teacher_services.cfm is the new address.  I've only skimmed it.

Teachers' Guides
 

• http://csf.rsmas.miami.edu/projects.html Fish Trouble--A Teacher's Guide for Grades 5-12. BROKEN LINK.
• http://www.fisheries.org/html/Professional_Development/afsyouthedguide.pdf is a 53-page guide to resources (usually for money & available by mail).  Since it is copyright 1998, some of the resources are probably not available.

Films and Games
 

• LVG http://www.habitatmedia.org  (You may want to go directly to http://www.habitatmedia.org/teachingpack.html.) They have two films that are available for purchase and some free handouts to go with the films or use with separate lesson plans. The lesson plans look good. I haven't looked at the films. The material is for grades 6 to 12. Here's a quote from that page.

  "Habitat Media is delighted to offer an online Activity Guide to help you dive deeper into the topics covered in the Marine Fisheries Series. The guide includes six activities and represents the best materials available, selected by an exhaustive search through hundreds of possibilities. Each activity has been peer reviewed by our Advisory Board and correlated to national science and social studies education standards.

  We have edited a special, low-cost, 30-minute version of the Marine Fisheries Series to accompany the activity guide. The guide also links with each of the hour-long documentaries, Empty Oceans, Empty Nets and Farming the Seas. Please check your local listings for PBS broadcast times or click here to purchase either the Educational Version or the full-length films.

  The Marine Fisheries Series Activity Guide is designed for students in the middle to high school range (12 to 18 years old), though activities may be adapted to suit other audiences at your discretion. These activities work well in classrooms as well as non-traditional educational settings such as nature or science centers, aquariums and zoos."
   

• http://neaq2.securesites.net/scilearn/conservation/wwf.html is the NEW LINK.  The two films mentioned are "Not available for home video sale."  Contact information is provided, so perhaps they're available for schools.
• http://www.biodiversity911.org/biodiversity_basics/biodiversity_main.html is a World Wildlife Fund site with a variety of introductory materials at different levels.  I've only glanced at a couple.
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/seas/ When I clicked on the Seafood Watch's link, it was not what was typed there.  It deals with the Sustainable Seas expeditions.  There are lesson plans for K-12 and extensive Teacher Resource books, all for free download.

In-Classroom Resources

• I did not examine the NOAA resources.

The Ocean Resource Center has a lot of educational resource links, which I haven't looked at.  They call them "some of the most useful educational websites and literature focusing on marine and environmental issues." Although the emphasis is on the ocean, some links are broader.

The British Fairtrade Foundation (click at site to download PDF) has ideas and resources; however, online material does not appear to fit well with US schools and I've not ordered any material.

The Fair Trade Resource Network lists a variety of resources; however, most do not seem appropriate for the classroom.  There is a "Tools for Teaching" link where they sell a coloring on Mayan crafts and provide some free lessons to go with the book.  This might be useful for home schooling.