The activity „crime story: chocolate and detectives“ is a riddle that has to be solved in group. The teacher divides the class into 4 investigator/detective groups and tells them the beginning of the story: „In a little village in Cote d´Ivoire Edith (11 years) and Lamin (12 years) suddenly disappear on their way to shool. What happened?“
Step by step the groups get more information by looking for different envelopes in the class room/ school building. In each envelope they find a piece of information, a statement of a witness or a small part of the story.
The groups start in a different corner, the children have to write down the pieces of information to their investigation report according to following criterias: starting situation, crime scene, statements of witnesses in investigation interviews, suspects, solution of case.
At the end the whole class meets in a circle and tries to solve the crime story together.
This activity can serve as the starting point for various other activities on the topic of cocoa, bonded child labour, labours rights etc. At the same time it can be used as an playful, exciting activity during a longer project in field of global citizenship education to activate and energize the target group.

Author: Marlene Groß, Téclaire Ngo Tam, Mandy Schiborr – Südwind Agentur

Year: 2015

Languages: German

Typology of education resource : Notes: pages 3-4 from the educational material: Der Schokolade auf der Spur – Tipps für den Unterricht, Südwind Agentur, 2015 Free download (soon): http://www.suedwind-agentur.at/start.asp?ID=255095&b=5947

GCE Issues: Social & economic justice

Author: Marlene Groß, Téclaire Ngo Tam, Mandy Schiborr – Südwind Agentur

Specific sub-thematic area(s): Child labour, cocoa, West Africa

Key word(s):

Tags: child labour child labour , cocoa plantations cocoa plantations , crime story crime story

School subject(s)/field(s) of studies in which the educational resource can be used: Biology Geography

Activity’ objectives:

to approach the serious topic of bonded child labour in cocoa plantations in an interesting and playful way
to find out more about the cocoa production in West Africa

Pupils’ learning competences (CGE) addressed: competence to cooperate with others competence to make a independent research competence to change perspectives

Methodology: Cooperative-learning, Problem-based learning, Simulation method

Age range: 11-14

Duration: 01:03:00

Link to website: http://www.suedwind-agentur.at/start.asp?ID=255095&b=5947 (soon)

Relevant notes :

This activity is part of an educational material on "Chocolate" that includes different learning units and activities for pupils between 11-14 years.