“For some reason or other, a Hershey bar would save my soul right now.”
—The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac
The Aztecs used it as currency. Robert Falcon Scott took it to the Antarctic. The Nazis made it into a bomb designed to kill Churchill. The 3,700-year-long history of chocolate is full of twists and turns, making it a rich and rewarding research topic. In this unit, students explore primary documents and conduct independent research to better understand the strange and wonderful range of roles that chocolate has played in cultures around the world throughout its long history. In the lessons on information literacy that begin the unit, students learn how to determine if a source is reliable and understand the ethical uses of information. Having practiced these skills, students are ready to develop and sharpen their sourcing abilities in the next lessons, where they construct their own research questions and explore the Internet for answers. In later lessons, students learn how to construct an evidence-based argument. They write a short piece aimed at convincing readers that their favorite kind of chocolate is the best, and then debate whether or not chocolate should be included in school lunches. Throughout these activities, students learn to develop their positions by carefully analyzing source documents, and building their arguments on solid, relevant evidence. As students reach the end of the unit, they synthesize all of the skills they’ve developed to tackle a culminating research project—part essay, part interactive timeline.
The Chocolate Collection
EXTRA: Excerpt from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
EXTRA: Excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain
EXTRA: Excerpt from A History of US 10: All the People: Since 1945 by Joy Hakim
Topic & Theme: Facts and stories about chocolate through the ages
Reading: Identify various sources’ perspectives on a topic
Writing: Synthesize information from several sources to develop an argument
Activity Highlights: Scavenger hunts, debate, internet research, and media project
Text Features: Primary and secondary source materials, varied topics and perspectives
Some lessons in this unit include articles that discuss child labor and slave labor in relation to cocoa farms and the production of chocolate in Africa.