For teachers

New collection of free online teaching resources

Trade Aid is excited to present a new collection of free online innovative and inspiring teaching resources. The resource supports teachers and students to explore the economic world, and trade in particular. It takes a concept and issues-based approach, using critical thinking and actions to consider people’s participation in trade relationships, and the challenges of economic disparity. View these resources here>

We hope you find these resources inspiring, innovative and easy to use in your classrooms. We welcome your feedback so that we can adapt these resources as needed and make them an even more valuable tool for your teaching on the issues surrounding trade justice. Please send feedback to: education@tradeaid.org.nz

 

What teachers say:
“I like the concept focus and the focus on critical thinking.  In particular I like the inclusion of Socratic frameworks for learning and discussion. I also like the categories – critical thinking, concepts, actions and issues – this is clear and easy to follow. The contemporary nature of some of the topics is awesome too; the linkages are very straightforward and the website links were easy and logical to follow.” – Sally Beccard, Wellington Girls College

 

“Useful and interesting and a good reminder to include more student focused activities and promote critical thinking of issues. The students enjoyed the ethical fashion report and conversations around this and are much more aware and interested in products they purchase and use now. There were many comments on the disadvantages of globalisation and good things about fair trade.” – Joy Butler and Elizabeth Wright, St Orans’ College

 

“Navigation was very easy, intuitive. I was excited about the activity I trialled.” – Ricky Prebble, Wellington East Girls’ College

 

“Overall a high quality resource pack with the ability to pick and choose a selection of resources to suit a learning programme. The Weebly is easy to navigate and download resources from. It’s good that they are available on-line and able to be used for students with BYOD as well as print resources. I like the focus on key concepts and the teacher support materials that support essential skills e.g. critical literacy and thinking.” – Tonya Calverley, Kings High School

Here at Trade Aid, we’re passionate about achieving trade justice through our work and teaching other people about this.

In fact, it’s so important to us that educating about trade justice is one of the three objectives we have in the Charter which guides all our work.

We aim to equip teachers with relevant topical tools and resources to bring the teaching of trade justice issues to life in your classroom, and to inspire your students as global citizens. Our approach is to encourage critical thinking through raising students’ awareness of current disparities in world trade and leave them empowered, wanting to learn more and informed to make their own personal choices from what they have learned. Explore our resources and tools below.

We have a range of curriculum resources available for use in your classroom, along with a variety of other activities designed to bring trade justice to life in your classroom.  Learn more about how Trade Aid can help you bring your classroom to life

Bring your classroom to life

New collection of free online teaching resources

Trade Aid is excited to present a new collection of free online innovative and inspiring teaching resources. The resource supports teachers and students to explore the economic world, and trade in particular. It takes a concept and issues-based approach, using critical thinking and actions to consider people’s participation in trade relationships, and the challenges of economic disparity. View these resources here>

Request an educator

Our curriculum resources are the main tool for teaching about Trade Justice. Once you and your students have gained foundational knowledge through our resources, we’d love to tell your students more about Trade Aid in person.

Having a Trade Aid educator come to your school, can be a great complement to teaching fair trade in the classroom. Our educators can answer students’ questions about fair trade and also bring Trade Aid products to illustrate the work of our producers.

Fill out a request form to see if a educator is available for a presentation at your school.

Trade Aid shop visits

A visit to your local Trade Aid shop is an exciting way to open students’ eyes to the world of fair trade. Because our shops vary in size, not all shops can accommodate large groups. Shop visits are available at the manager’s discretion and visits during school hours will need to work in with our busy retail environment. If this is something you’re interested in, please contact your local shop directly to make arrangements

Publications

Trade Aid has topical publications which highlight how we work as a social enterprise and key issues in global justice. Read or download these publications here.

YouTube

Trade Aid’s own YouTube channel is regularly updated with interviews about trade justice issues as well as great footage of the talented producers we work with. These clips can be valuable inclusions in classroom teaching or for students to explore independently.  

Current resources

New collection of free online teaching resources

Trade Aid is excited to present a new collection of free online innovative and inspiring teaching resources. The resource supports teachers and students to explore the economic world, and trade in particular. It takes a concept and issues-based approach, using critical thinking and actions to consider people’s participation in trade relationships, and the challenges of economic disparity. View these resources here>

Social Sciences Units

1. Evaluating trade through a ‘fair’ lens

A Social Sciences Unit adaptable for levels 3 – 8

This unit attempts to take students through a process where they evaluate basic aspects of global trade based on their individual values, and how they interpret the word ‘fair’.

Linked to key competencies and achievement objectives, these lessons can be modified for students of all ages.

Downloads:

2. Toys and the Environment

A Social Sciences Unit adaptable for levels 1 – 5

Do your toys have a good or bad effect on the people who make them and on their environment and what can you do?

Ideal for all ages as the activities use toys to guide thinking about where things come from and explore the larger story behind the toy. Extension activities aim at extending the scope of the topic and encouraging deeper thinking for older or advanced students. Why not use a product such as a mobile phone throughout the unit for older students?

This unit aims at developing the following understandings:

  • toys we buy in NZ are made all over the world
  • toy production can have a positive or negative (polluting) impact on people and the environment
  • the poor have less opportunity to make decisions about the environment they live in than we do
  • the poor are more vulnerable than the rich to environmental changes
  • our behaviour in NZ impacts our global community
  • how we act can positively impact the global community.

Downloads:

3. Environmental Justice

A Social Sciences Unit adaptable for levels 2 – 5

This unit aims at developing the following understandings:

  • the poor are more vulnerable than the rich to environmental changes
  • what we choose to buy affects our carbon footprint
  • how we choose to act can positively impact the global community
  • why does being rich or poor alter how you may be impacted by environmental degradation?

Downloads:

Upper Primary and Secondary

Teacher activity booklets on trade and poverty

Use these resources to stimulate ideas for creating units or individual lessons encouraging students to think critically about issues of trade and poverty. Adaptable for students of all ages. Colourful and packed full of information.

Downloads:

Upper Primary

Children of the World

Resource designed for teachers of Year 7 to 8 students and easily adapted for older and younger students.

Children of the World contains chapters on children’s rights, poverty, global trade, a case study on India and a book of stories from child labourers. It uses activities, stories, facts, poems and recipes to introduce useful and interesting ways to teach global education issues to students. It aims to make a connection between NZ students and similar aged children in developing countries using information directly from Trade Aid producer partners.

Downloads:

Also see our list of publications