Teacher Guide for APPLESEEDS: Chocolate issue

February 2006

Teacher Guide prepared by Betty Lou Askin, a retired elementary school principal in Ontario.

Prior Knowledge:

• What is chocolate
• How is chocolate made?
• What types of chocolate exist?
• Where does chocolate come from? (If they know that it is a bean.)
• Is chocolate good for you?

Make a list on the chalkboard using the following title: Our Favorite Chocolate Things

The Chocolate Belt (pg. 2-3)

• Make a list of the places where the cacao trees grow.
• What is the main ingredient in chocolate?
• What is carob?
• Who eats the most of the world's chocolate?
• Why is a belt a good choice for a title?Give two reasons.

A Short, Sweet History of Chocolate (pg. 4-7)

• What is a chocolate farm?
• How did the Maya use chocolate?
• In what ways did the Aztecs use chocolate?
• How did the ancient people make their chocolate drinks?
• How was froth formed?
• What does "money (cacao) grew on trees" mean?
• What lessons did the Spanish learn about chocolate?
• Who was able to buy chocolate?
• What was a chocolate house?
• In small groups, ask the students to think of new chocolate inventions.

Living (and Working) on a Cacao Farm(pg. 8-11)

Vocabulary: pods, machetes, ferment

• Which countries grow the most cacao trees?
• What is a pod?
• What is a machete?
• Why are hands not used to pick the pods?
• Describe what happens to the beans in the first step.
• Explain the second step in the process.
• Why do cacao farmers continue to be poor?
• What is the World Cocoa Foundation trying to do?

Creative Work:

• Write a letter to the World Cocoa Foundation telling them why you support their efforts.
• Make a poster to inform people and to ask for their assistance in improving life on a cacao farm.

How Many Beans in a Chocolate Bar? (pg. 12-15)

Vocabulary: winnower, nibs, granite, friction, conche, compressed, melting point, lecithin, tempering, stabilized

• What happens to the beans when they first arrive at the factory?
• What is the job of the bean cleaner?
• Why do chocolate companies mix different types of beans?
• Describe what a winnower does?
• What are nibs?
• How are the granite wheels used?
• What is friction?
• Describe how the "chocolate liquor" becomes a river.
• Explain how cocoa powder is made.
• What is tempering?

Creative Work:

Create your own cartoon showing the development of chocolate.

To Eat or Not to Eat? (pg. 16-17)

Vocabulary: canvas, mold, imprint, chocolatiers, savor

• Why do people want to eat Sid Chidiac's artwork?
• Describe how chocolate becomes a painting.
• What is a chocolatier?
• Make a list of art objects made from chocolate.
• Suggest other things that you think could be made from chocolate.

A Chip Off the Old Chocolate Block (pg. 18-19)

• Before reading this article, ask the students how they think that chocolate chips were first invented.
• Describe how Ruth Graves Wakefield solved her problem.
• What is Nestle?
• What would you do with a lifetime supply of chocolate?
• Why were tolls collected in the 18^th century?
• In the gym or schoolyard measure the size of the largest chocolate chip cookie.

Creative Writing:

Write a story telling how you invented something using chocolate.

Milton Hershey and His Chocolate School (pg. 20-23)

• Describe Milton Hershey's childhood.
• What was his first job?
• Why was Milton discouraged?
• What made the caramels better?
• Why did his business soar?

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Updated: 11/21/08 11:30 am
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