Socially-based Curriculum Unit

This unit, developed for CHV2O (Civics, Grade 10), allows students to explore their spending habits with the intention of tracking where their money goes and what industries and corporate practices – good and bad – their money is supporting. The unit begins with an overview of economically-linked global issues, including: fair trade, labour rights & standards, corporate environmental stewardship, sustainable agriculture and industry, animal rights and ethical marketing practices. Students are prompted to fill out a simple chart identifying their spending habits in the categories of: fast foods/snacks, beverages, clothing & jewelry, and toiletries. Having identified preferred products, the students then conduct internet research on the corporate track record of each producer/manufacturer or service provider. Critical research skills are employed as students learn to separate fact from fiction, truth from embellishment, reality from PR.

Students will walk away from this unit with inquiry and investigative skills that will allow them to judge whether their consumerism contributes to positive or negative economic practices in a global context. More often than not, students will learn how their daily spending habits betray their sense of fairness, justice and environmental sustainability. To that end, students will learn how with a little effort – and sometimes a little more money – they can become globally-conscientious consumers, and use their money as means of leveraging positive change in the world.