Lesson Plan 2

Here are the aims for Lesson Plan 2, look at the aims and think of some activities you could do in
your lesson to achieve these aims.

 By the end of the lesson students will have practised reading for general idea
 By the end of the lesson students will have reviewed vocabulary
 By the end of the lesson students will have discussed their ideas
 By the end of the lesson students will have practised locating specific information in an
academic text

Make a note of your ideas.

Now look at the lesson plan and worksheets and compare your ideas with our suggestions on the
next page.
Lesson Plan 2: Teachers Notes

1. Warmer
First to five game: Put students in small groups, tell them they’re going to have a competition. You
are going to give them a topic and they have to write 5 words related to the topic as quickly as
possible. When the have five, they should shout stop. The first team to get five (acceptable) words
win points.
Suggested topics:
Food
Drink
Cooking
Chocolate
Nb. If you students are not keen on games or competitions in their IELTS class, you could either drop
this stage or highlight the importance of expanding their vocabulary.

2. Pre-Reading
Speaking: Fair Trade
Write Fair Trade on the board and ask students what they know about it.
If your students haven’t heard of it before, give them a brief explanation.
Put students into small groups and hand out discussion questions

What is Fairtrade?
What kinds of products are Fairtrade?
How does Fairtrade help people?
Why should we buy Fairtrade products?

3. While Reading
a. Give students the reading text (without questions 1 – 5). Give them a time limit to skim read the
text, about 5 minutes. When they have finished reading, elicit the main ideas of the text.
b. Hand out Worksheet 1 with Questions 1 – 11 and ask students to complete. Give a time limit of
about 10 – 15 minutes.
c. Students compare their answers in pairs.
d. Check answers and feedback to whole class.

4. Post Reading

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in many countries. This is placing too much pressure on
healthcare systems and costing tax payers. Some people believe Governments should take
responsibility for tackling this problem, while others blame fast food companies.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

You should write at least 250 words.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
Worksheet 2
Worksheet 1

Questions 1 – 5

The Reading passage has five sections, A - E

Choose the correct headings for sections A – E from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number i –viii, in boxes 1 – 5 on your answer sheet.

i) What is Fair trade chocolate and why do people need it?

ii) How cacao beans are used

iii) How and when did chocolate come to Europe?

iv) What are the optimum conditions for growing cacao plants?

v) Where is the best place to grow cacao plants?

vi) How cacao beans were used

vii) History of Chocolate Production

viii) Who produces Fair Trade chocolate?

1. Section A
2. Section B
3. Section C
4. Section D
5. Section E

A. Chocolate, which is originally made from cacao beans, has been used in many different ways
throughout history. It has been used to make hot drinks, cold drinks, porridge, in religious
ceremonies and even as a form of currency. The first time cacao beans were processed was in
2000BC, when people believe cacao was first planted. The Mayan Empire began to get stronger in
600AD, they expanded from Central America to South America, taking the cacao bean with them. At
a later date, the Aztecs became more powerful in Mexico (as it is now), they continued to cultivate
and produce cacao. The Aztecs believed that their god Quetzacotl created the cacao plant and this
may explain why it was so appreciated and valued in Aztec culture. As the Aztecs conquered more
land, indigenous groups were required to pay tax in cacao beans, this was also known as a ‘tribute’.
The weather in Mexico was too dry to grow cacao plants, so this is how the Aztecs collected them.
B. The Aztecs and Mayans both made a cold drink from cacao beans – xocoatl – the process is
thought to have consisted of grinding the cacao beans into a powder, which was then mixed with
cold water and other spices. In order to get air into the mixture, it was stirred and a foam would rise,
this signified that the mixture was ready to drink.

C. Cocoa plants naturally grow in the low part of the rainforest. High temperatures (between 18°C -
32 °C) and a high level of rainfall (between 1500 – 2000mm) are needed for the plants to flourish.
They also thrive in areas of high humidity and a shade, as this is similar to the natural habitat of a
shadowy rainforest.

D. These days, chocolate is often synonymous with Switzerland as the Swiss chocolate industry has
been enormously successful. However, it was a Spaniard – Hernan Cortes – who initially made a
chocolate drink popular. In 1519 he undertook an expedition to the Aztec Empire and returned with
a recipe for xocoatl. But the Spanish population were no impressed by the drink until he added
sugar. Then it was an overnight success. After the Spanish discovered this drink, cocoa plantations
began to appear in Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Africa in the late 19th Century. IN this
period, chocolate was an expensive luxury and only the upper classes were able to afford it. In the
late 1600s chocolate was available to more sections of society and the general public. Dr Sloane, an
English doctor, travelled to Jamaica, while there he tried a traditional chocolate drink and added
milk. When he tasted it, he decided it was so delicious that he brought it back to England, where it
was sold as a health elixir. Over 20 years later, the Cadburys brothers used the same recipe in their
hot chocolate drink.

E. Nowadays we can see Fair Trade logos on most chocolate wrappers. The chocolates industry is a
good place to promote Fair Trade for a number of reasons. In 2003, the chocolate market was
dominated by European and American companies. The majority of cocoa is grown in developing
countries, so the low cost of labour and production are attractive to large, multi-national
corporations. Some of the problems farmers face in the chocolate industry include a lack of
investment in sustainable production methods, unstable market prices for cocoa and child labour.
Another issue which has been raised recently is one of climate change, which can affect the annual
cocoa crop. The aim of the Fair Trade movement is to obtain a fair price for cocoa farmers. To
become Fair Trade certified, cocoa farmers need to apply for certification to produce fair trade
cocoa. The requirements for this process include: a democratic decision making process, a sufficient
administration and transport system. Once they are certified as Fair Trade, farmers can expect to
earn enough money to pay for their production costs. There are also financial incentives to
becoming a Fair Trade producer - $2000 per tonne of cocoa beans, if the beans are organic then
farmers can earn an extra $300 per tonne.

Questions 6 – 10

Complete the summary below. Choose no more than THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the
passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet.

Cacao beans have been used for different things throughout history, from hot drinks to religious
ceremonies, cacao beans were even used as a form of (6) ____________ by the Aztecs. The cacao
beans were processed and used to make a (7) ____________ by the Aztecs and Mayans.

Cocoa plants usually grow in the rainforest and thrive on warm temperatures, shade and a high level
of (8) ____________ . When cocoa was exported to Europe, initially it wasn’t very popular, but
after a trip to Jamaica and the addition of (9) ____________, Dr Sloane was able to sell the drink in
the UK.

Today, the chocolate industry has become part of the (10) ____________ movement, offering cocoa
farmers a good price for their products and investing in the infrastructure of the industry.

Question 11

Which sentence is the best title for the text?

A. Reasons why chocolate is popular

B. The History of chocolate
C. Who first transported cacao beans to Europe?

Answer Key
1. vii
2. vi
3. iv
4. iii
5i
6. currency
7. cold drink
8. humidity
9. milk
10. Fair Trade
11. B