LESSONPLANTEMPLATE

YourName:MichaelPaulCotter
TitleofLesson:Thelongroadcoffeetravels.
Grade:4th/5th
STANDARDS

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units

within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min,
sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a
larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a
two-column table.
4-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels
are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
LESSONSUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Wearegoingtoinvestigatehowfarcoffeehastotravelfromfarmitisgrownontotheconsumerscup.We
willstartbychoosingspecificfarmlocationsinGuatemalaandKenya.ForexampletheGuatemalalocation
willlookatCarlosOliverosfarminthecityofCiudadVieja,Guatemala.Togetherwewillcalculatethe
distancethecoffeehastobedrivenfromthefarmtothenearestharbororairportforshipping.Wewillalso
recordthemethodusedineachstepofthetransport,ie.truck,boat,plane,car.Whenitisshippedusinga
boat,theclasswillmeasurethedistancefromtheshippingdocktotheportintheU.S.usingamapandthe
mapkey.Wewillalsodiscussthatsinceweareusingaruleranddonotknowtheexactroutetakenthatwe
arecalculatingtheestimateddistanceforshipping.Wewillalsolookuponlinetheflightdistancebetween
theairportinthecountryoforiginandSFOairport.FromtheairportwewillGooglemapthedistancefrom
theairporttoSightGlassCoffeeRoasters.Forthefinalstepoftravelwewillmeasurethedistanceittravels
toastoreormailboxoftheconsumer.
Afterwehavecompliedallofthedistancesinmiles,eachindividualstudentwillcreateaTChartshowingthe
distancesinmilesontheleftandconvertingthemtokilometersontherightside.Thestudentswillalsomake
anotherchartconvertingthetotalpoundsofcoffeeexportedintokgandconvertindividualbagsofcoffee
fromoztograms.
Afterwehavecompliedallofthedistancesinmiles&kilometers,eachindividualstudentwilluseaformula
tocalculatehowmanygallonsofgaswereusedwhileitwasdriveinatruck.Studentswillthencalculatehow
muchgaswasusedforeachindividualbagwhilebeingtransportedviatruck.Thisisdonebydividingthe
totalpoundsofcoffeepershipmentby2/3tofigureouthowmanyindividualbagsareprocessedfromeach
import.Theywillthentakethetotal#ofmilesdrivenupuntilthecoffeereachedthefinalpostofficeand
dividethatbythetotalbythe#ofbags.Theywillthenaddthemilestraveledfromthepostofficetotheir
houseforthetotalnumberofmilesdrivenperbag.Studentswilluseanaverageof5MPGforaSemitruck
and25MPGfortheindividualpostalvehicletocalculatethenumberofgallonsofgasusedjustfromtheland
vehicles.
*Differentiationforadvancedlearnerstheywillcalculatethetotalmilesperbagincludingboatandplane
shipments.Theywillalsoresearchhowmanypoundscanbeshippedusingaboatcomparedtoaplane.

Thereasonthislessonisrelatedtosustainabilityisbecausethestudentswillbemeasuringtheexactdistance
coffeehastotravelbeforeitisconsumed.Theywillalsobeestimatingtheaveragecarbonfootprintimpact

foreachpersonwhopurchasescoffee.Itwillbeachievedbyestimatingthenonrenewableresourcesthat
wereusedtotransportthecoffeefromitsorigincountrytoitsfinaldestination.Studentswillinvestigateand
compareifshippingcoffeebyseaorbyairusesdifferentamountoffossilfuelsanddetermineifoneismore
efficientthantheother.
OBJECTIVES
Describewhatyouwantstudentstoknow/beabletodoasaresultofthelesson.
Forexample,Studentswillbeableto
Studentswillbeabletocalculatethetotalmilescoffeetravelsfromthefarmtotheconsumer.
Studentswillbeabletoexplain thateachimportshipmentofcoffeeisenough fortheexactnumberof
consumers.
Studentswillanalyzethedatetheycollecttoconcludeifoneshippingmethodismoreefficientorsustainable
thananother.
Studentswillbeabletoconvertmilestokilometers.
Studentswillbeabletoconvertoztograms.
Studentswillbeabletoconvertlbstokgs.
Studentswillbeabletocovertmilesdriventogallonsofgasused.

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Whatmeasureswillyouusetoknowifyoustudentsmettheobjectives?
TheywillturnintheirTchartswithcompletedconversions.
Theywillturnintheirworksheetwiththecalculationsoftotaldistancecompleted.
Theywillturnintheirworksheetwiththecalculationsoftotaldistancedrivenintogallonsofgasused.

PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGE
Whatwillstudentsneedtoknowpriortocompletingthislessonandhowwillyouaccesstheirprior
knowledge?
Studentswillneedtoknowhowtocovertunitsofmeasureintootherunitsofmeasure.
Studentswillneedtoknowhowtousearulertocalculatethedistanceonamap.
Iwillactivatetheirpriorknowledgeaboutconvertingunitsofmeasurebydoingacoupleofdimensional
analysisproblems.*WehavedontthispriorinourSciencelessontocovertunitsofmeasureincludingmm
tokmandgtokg.
IwillactivatepriorknowledgeaboutsustainabilitybytalkingaboutthelessononwaterandArizonasusage
wepreviouslycompleted.Iwillalsohavestudentssharetheirpersonaldefinitionofsustainability.

Listofrequiredmaterials.
WorldMap
Ruler/flexiblemeasuringtape
Computer/Ipad
Calculator
Paper&Pencil

MATERIALS

Miles
Kilometer
Gram
Kilogram
Ounce
MPG
Consumer
FossilFuel
Sustainable
DimensionalAnalysis

VOCABULARY/KEYWORDS

TEACHINGPROCEDURES
ProceduralSteps(Stepbystepinstructionsforteachingthelesson):
1)StudentswillbreakintogroupsoffourandbeassignedeitherGuatemalaorKenya
2)Identifythelocationoffarm
InGuatemalawewilllocateCarlosOliverosfarminCiudadVieja,Guatemalaonaworldmap.
ForKenyawewilllocateNyeriCountyonaworldmap.
3)Locatewhereitisshipped.
Studentswilllookupthedistancethecoffeehastobedriventothenearestharbororairportforshippingby
searchingtheinternetfortheclosestinternationalairportandshippingport.
4)RecordDatacontinuallythroughoutthelesson.
Theclasswillrecordthemilestransportedinacolumnpereachmethodforeachstepoftransport,truck,boat,plane,
car.
5.)Measureandcalculatedistances.
Fromtheshippingdockstudentswillmeasureonthemapusingthekeytogetanestimateddistanceforshippingvia
theoceanandaboat.Studentswilldothisingroupsandcalculateitfortheirowngroup.
WewillalsolookuponlinetheflightdistancebetweentheairportinthecountryoforiginandSFOairport.From
theairportwewillGooglemapthedistancefromtheairporttoSightGlassCoffeeRoasters.Fromtherewewill
measurethedistanceittravelstoonepersonhouseinthegrouportheycanusetheschoolsaddress.Duringthe
entireprocessstudentsarecontinuingtorecordsthemilestraveledinthecorrespondingcolumn.
6)Conversions
Afteralldistancesarecalculatedandcompliedinmiles,eachindividualstudentwillcreateaTChartshowingthe
distancesinmilesontheleftandcalculatingitintokilometersontheright.Studentswillmakeanotherchart
convertingtheamountofpoundsofcoffeeexportedintokgandconvertindividualbagsofcoffeefromoztograms.
7)CalculateandCompare
Comparemilesshippedbyboatandplaneandexplainwhichonewasashorterdistance.
*Differentiationforadvancedlearners:

UsingthedistancetraveledandthefollowingratesofFlightcargoplanesgets0.31MPGCargoShippingBoatgets
0.0053MPG.Studentswillcalculatewhichmethodusedtheleastandmostamountofgas.Studentswillstatewhich
methodtheythinkisbestandexplainwhy.
8)Calculatelandmilesdrivenandgasusedperbagofcoffee
Afterallofthedistancesinmiles,eachindividualstudentuseformulasforcalculatinghowmanygallonsofgas
wereusedduringallthetimesitwasdrivenbyasemitruckandpostaltruck.Theywillcalculateouthowmuchgas
wasusedintrucksforeachindividualbag.Thisisdonebydividingthetotalpoundsofcoffeepershipmentby2/3
tofigureouthowmanyindividualbagsareprocessedfromeachimport.Theywillthentakethetotal#ofmiles
drivenupuntilthepostofficeanddividethatbythetotal#ofbags.Thiswillgivethemthepercentageofmiles
drivetotransportthatamountofbeans.Theythenaddthemilesfromthepostofficetotheirhouseforthetotal
numberofmilesdrivenperbag.Studentswilluseanaverage25MPGfortheindividualpostalvehicletocalculate
thenumberofgallonsofgasusedjustformthelandvehicles.
Assignment)Studentswillwriteareflectiononwhatstoodoutthemosttothethemformtheactivityandanswerthe
followingquestions:
1.)Doyouthinkitissustainabletoimportcoffeefromthosedistances?
2)Canyouthinkofanotherwaytoshipthecoffee?
3.)DoyouthinktheU.S.shouldkeepimportingcoffee?Explainwhyorwhynot?
4.)Whatkindofresourcesareusedtoimportcoffee?
http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/tab
le_04_08.html

RESOURCES
CertificatedAirCarrierFuelConsumptionandTravel.(n.d.).RetrievedOctober26,2015.
TrueCostAnalyzingoureconomy,governmentpolicy,andsocietythroughthelensofcostbenefit.(n.d.).
RetrievedOctober26,2015.

WAYSOFTHINKINGCONNECTION

ThisLessonincorporatesSystemsThinkingandFuturesThinking.Systemthinkingis
representedbecausethestudentsdiscoverallthedifferentmethodsbywhichcoffeeis
shippedandhowfarithastotravel.Theyalsorecorddataforeachmethodof
transportationused,whichishelpingthemtolearnaboutalltheindividualpiecesofthe
shippingsystem.Bycalculatinghowmuchgasisusedbyeachmethodandthestudents
learnabouttherolegasplaysintheshippingsystem.Itincorporatesfuturesthinking
becausethestudentsanalyzethedatatheyrecordedinordertofullycomprehendwhich
methodismoreefficient.Theythendevelopandformulatenewmethodsorroutesof
shippingtheybelievewouldbebettertouseinthefuture.