The Cookie Problem

Imagine you baked 10 cookies with three friends. But here's the thing: each person did a different amount of work.

👧

Mia

Mixed the dough, shaped the cookies, and cleaned up

Did MOST of the work

👦

Sam

Helped mix the dough and put cookies on the tray

Did SOME of the work

👦

Leo

Watched and chatted but didn't help at all

Did NONE of the work

Think About It

• Should each person get the same number of cookies? Why or why not?
• What if Leo is really hungry because he didn't eat lunch?
• Does it matter WHY Leo didn't help? (Maybe he has a sore arm?)

Equal vs Fair (Equitable)

Sometimes equal and fair are different things. Let's look at an example.

EQUAL Treatment

Tall

Medium

Short

Everyone gets one box. The tall person can see, the medium person can just see, but the short person still can't see over the fence.

FAIR (Equitable) Treatment

No box

1 box

2 boxes

Each person gets what they NEED. Everyone can see over the fence now, even though they got different amounts of help.

Equal means everyone gets the same thing. Equitable (fair) means everyone gets what they need. Sometimes these are the same, but sometimes they are very different!

Fairness in Different Places

🏠 Fairness at Home

Your older sister gets to stay up until 9pm, but you have to go to bed at 8pm.

Is this unfair? Or is it fair because she's older and needs less sleep?

🏫 Fairness at School

A student with dyslexia gets extra time on a spelling test. Other students don't get extra time.

Is this fair? Does giving some people extra help make things more equal?

⚽ Fairness in Games

A Year 6 team plays football against a Year 3 team. Should the rules be the same for both teams?

Would it be fair to give the younger team a head start?

Think About It

• Can you think of a time something felt unfair to you? What happened?
• Was it actually unfair, or was it just not what you wanted?
• How can you tell the difference between "unfair" and "I don't like it"?

Key Vocabulary

Fairness

Treating people in a way that is right and just.

Equal

Everyone gets exactly the same thing.

Equitable

Everyone gets what they need to have the same opportunity.

Perspective

The way someone sees a situation, based on their own experiences.

Justify

To explain WHY you think something, giving reasons.

Reasoning

Thinking carefully about something and using logic to reach a conclusion.

Knowledge Check

Think about each scenario carefully. There are no trick questions -- just think about what fairness means.

Question 1

Two children do a class project together. One child does all the research and writing, while the other child only draws a picture on the cover. They both get the same mark. Is this fair?

Yes, because they both worked on the project It depends on why the other child only drew a picture Yes, because equal marks means it's equal No, because one person did much more work than the other

Question 2

What does "equitable" mean?

Everyone gets what they need to have the same opportunity Everyone gets exactly the same thing The person who works hardest gets the most Nobody gets anything

Question 3

In the fence example, the short person gets MORE boxes than the tall person. Why is this considered fair?

Because short people are better than tall people Because the short person needs more help to see over the fence, so everyone ends up with the same view Because it's not fair -- everyone should get the same Because the tall person doesn't deserve boxes

Question 4

A teacher gives a prize only to the student who got the highest mark on a test. Some students say this is unfair because they tried really hard but still didn't win. What is the BEST response?

It's completely fair -- the highest mark should always win It's completely unfair -- everyone should get a prize It depends -- rewarding the highest mark is fair in one way, but recognising effort could also be fair Nobody should get a prize

Question 5

You have 6 lollies and 2 friends. One friend shared their lunch with you yesterday when you forgot yours. The other friend didn't. How should you share the lollies fairly?

Give all 6 to the friend who shared their lunch 2 each -- equal sharing is always fairest Keep them all yourself since they're your lollies There's no single right answer -- you could argue for equal sharing OR giving extra to the friend who helped you

What is Fairness?

Is it always fair to treat everyone the same?