Next Thursday 7 July is World Chocolate Day. If you ever needed an excuse to indulge in a little chocolate, this could be it. If you follow the link, you will find out some fun facts about the history of chocolate that begins more than 2 000 years ago.
If only we were allowed a little chocolate in the classroom, there are so many wonderful learning opportunities it could provide, for example:
Counting — how many chocolates all together?
Subtraction — how many left if I eat x?
Sharing (children can make equal shares, teachers can have the remainders 😉)
Multiplication — blocks of chocolate are great for arrays (columns and rows of)
Data — surveys who likes/does not like chocolate, what is the class’s favourite chocolate?
Measurement — how many chocolate bars tall are you? how many blocks balance one chocolate bar?
Chemical science — mixing, adding and removing heat, how chocolate is made, following recipes to make chocolate cake and chocolate crackles (just for starters).
Biological science — the cacao plant, where it grows, how it grows, and what it needs.
Of course, while all of these are possible, my suggestions are a bit tongue-in-cheek. However, we do have some absolutely acceptable ideas for incorporating chocolate into your program on World Chocolate Day.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Michael Rosen. Going on a Bear Hunt is probably one of his better known books, but he is a fabulous poet and storyteller, and his website is rich with material for teachers and children. If you’ve never checked it out, I suggest you do.
On of my favourite stories, that children really love too, is Chocolate Cake. I wrote about it in the post Storytelling with author Michael Rosen.
It’s really fun, so I’ll share it again here.
Source: Chocolate Anyone? – readilearn
Norah Colvin 