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Provided by: START:Empowerment |Published on: June 16, 2024
Lesson Plans
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Synopsis
In this lesson, students will learn how the banana industry impacts people and the planet.
Students will learn about the history of aggressive and exploitative practices that built banana empires, how bananas go uneaten and contribute to food waste, and how U.S.-based banana businesses have used harmful pesticides in their Nicaraguan plantations.
This lesson highlights the long-lasting negative effects of colonialism.
The written information is in several short articles, which are easy to read.
Prerequisites
The video at the bottom of The History of Bananas storymap briefly references sexual intercourse when explaining pollinating bananas. Teachers who wish to avoid this reference can omit the video without impacting the rest of the lesson.
This lesson covers sensitive topics, such as cancer, infertility, miscarriage, depression, and other adverse health effects.
The link for "BANANAS UNPEELED!" in the references section is broken.
Differentiation & Implementation
Some students may benefit from slowing the video playback speed, especially for the videos they have to read subtitles on. Teachers can also read the subtitles aloud.
Art students can create pieces to illustrate the dark history of bananas, focusing on exploitation, waste, or bodily harm.
Students can create infographics to explain the truth behind bananas and the lack of justice for workers in Central America who have been exposed to Nemagon.
History teachers can use this lesson to discuss why United States history often paints themselves as the hero and how this hurts other people.
After this lesson, students can research other monocultures and discuss how climate change impacts can affect monocultures and the importance of biodiversity.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Related Teaching Resources
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.
