The very first thing to do, when you first start thinking about using the theme, is to write off to chocolate companies explaining that you plan to do this in your classroom. They will send you things, but it can take some time, so don't delay.
Use these items to make a table or a bulletin board for your chocolate theme. You could also cover your bulletin board in chocolate brown paper and plaster it with chocolate wrappers.
How you acquire those chocolate wrappers is up to you, but we think you could get helpers if you ask around the common room.
Bring out your chocolate books. Here are some of our favorites:
- Candy Freak, by Steve Almond, has some fine economics lessons, and is a fun read. Choose some paragraphs to read aloud for younger classrooms, and let secondary-level students enjoy it for extended reading.
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,by Roald Dahl, is a classic. If your class has already read it, consider the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
- The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, brings up some serious discussion points. The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling, is a chocolaty take on the Midas story.
- Chocolate Fever, by Robert Kimmel Smith, is one of the most popular elementary read-aloud chapter books.
- The True History of Chocolate, by Sophie and Michael Cole is a wonderful resource and will answer all your questions about chocolate's exciting past.
Here are some handy general links
- The Chocolate Manufacturer's Association has lots of useful stuff, including a discussion of social responsibility in cocoa production, instructions for doing a chocolate taste test, and health information.
- Classroom teacher Beck Settlemoir has compiled a list of chocolate activity ideas.
- An Ecuadoran site on chocolate has lots of information, from a somewhat different perspective.
- The Chocolate Museum in Cologne is fun to explore.
Math
- You can count and work out math procolate candies . Here is a page of ideas.
- Here is a lesson using Jerry Pallotta's Hershey's Fraction Book.
- Recipes give good opportunities to practice fractions, and there are so many chocolate recipes available that you will have no difficulty in finding numerous examples.
Science
- The Exploratorium's Chocolate site includes science and social studies connections.
- Work with candy bar nutrition labels. Of course you could go buy lots of candy bars and eat them in order to gather wrappers, but you can also go to Brad Kent's site and find 600 examples.
- Chemistry and botany tables on chocolate will give good practice in reading tables, and a rare resource for classification of a plant rather than an animal.
- "The Physical Chemistry of Making Fudge" is an excellent article and will have even more meaning if you follow it up by making some fudge the old-fashioned way. This is practical physical science.
Social Studies
- Learn about the History of Chocolate. This is a topic that lends itself to so many studies, including continents, culture contact, explorers, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, technology, inventions, New World civilizations, economics... in short, something for everyone. This link has lots of background information, and lots of reproducible PDF files, too.
- Add items from this Timeline of Chocolate to your classroom timeline. There are a few slightly racy entries.
- If you have written to manufacturers for information, you may find that you have multiple versions of chocolate history. Sharpen research skills by checking and synthesizing them all and compiling the most accurate history of chocolate possible.
- A set of lesson plan ideas designed to "internationalize" your curriculum.
