Financial literacy activity
Supply Chain Adventure
Where does your food come from? Trace a food item from the farm to your plate! Draw pictures of each step: growing, picking, trucking, store, home.
Materials and setup
- paper
- markers
- globe or world map
- product labels to examine
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Where does your food come from? Trace a food item from the farm to your plate! Draw pictures of each step: growing, picking, trucking, store, home.
Steps
- Pick a food from the kitchen: an apple, a carton of milk, or a loaf of bread.
- Ask: 'Where did this come from? Did it grow on a tree? Come from a cow?'
- Draw 4 pictures showing the journey: farm, truck, store, your kitchen.
- Talk about each step: 'A farmer grew the apple. A truck brought it to the store. We bought it!'
- Look at other foods: 'Where do you think bananas come from? What about milk?'
Learning objectives
- Understand that products come from somewhere before reaching the store
- Identify basic steps in a food supply chain
- Connect everyday items to their origins
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Follow a product from raw materials to your home! Pick an item (a t-shirt, a toy, a snack) and draw or map each step in its journey. Discuss who is involved at each step.
Steps
- Choose a product: a t-shirt, a wooden toy, or a chocolate bar.
- Research together: Where does the raw material come from? (Cotton from a farm, wood from a forest, cocoa from a tropical country.)
- Draw the supply chain as a path: raw material, factory/maker, packaging, shipping, store, home.
- At each step, draw the worker involved: farmer, factory worker, truck driver, store clerk.
- Discuss: 'Lots of people help make the things we use! What would happen if one step was missing?'
Learning objectives
- Trace a product through its complete supply chain
- Identify the people and roles at each stage of production
- Understand that many people contribute to the products we use
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Map a complete supply chain for a product of your choice. Research where materials come from, how they are transported, and the cost added at each step. Explore what happens when the supply chain breaks.
Steps
- Choose a product and research its full supply chain (at least 6 steps from raw material to consumer).
- Draw a supply chain map with each step, the location (country or region), and the transportation method between steps.
- At each step, estimate or research how much value is added: raw cotton costs X, fabric costs more, a finished shirt costs even more.
- Discuss: 'What happens if there is a drought and the cotton crop fails? How does that affect the whole chain?'
- Find the country of origin for 5 items in your home by reading labels. Plot them on a world map.
- Write a paragraph: What surprised you most about supply chains?
Learning objectives
- Research and map complex multi-step supply chains
- Understand how value is added at each stage of production
- Analyze how disruptions in one part affect the whole chain
- Connect global geography to everyday consumer products
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Analyze a real-world supply chain in depth. Research global trade, calculate transportation costs, explore ethical supply chain issues (fair trade, environmental impact), and design an improved supply chain for a product.
Steps
- Choose a product and research its complete global supply chain with specific countries, companies, and transportation routes.
- Calculate approximate costs at each stage: raw materials, manufacturing, shipping, distribution, retail markup. What percentage of the final price goes to each stage?
- Research one ethical issue in supply chains: fair trade, child labor, environmental impact, or carbon footprint of shipping. Write a 1-paragraph summary.
- Compare two supply chain approaches: a global chain (cheap but long) vs. a local chain (shorter but possibly more expensive). What are the trade-offs?
- Design an 'Improved Supply Chain' for your product that is more ethical, efficient, or sustainable. Draw the new chain and explain your changes.
- Present your analysis to your family: original chain, ethical issues, and your improved design.
Learning objectives
- Analyze cost distribution across a global supply chain
- Research and evaluate ethical issues in production and trade
- Compare trade-offs between global and local supply chains
- Design and justify improvements to a supply chain system
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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