The Topic: Chocolate Easier - Chocolate is a food made from cacao beans. Many candies and desserts contain chocolate. People often give chocolate as a gift on holidays such as Valentine's Day and Halloween.   Harder - Cacao beans come from a large pod that grows on a tropical tree. These beans are roasted, shelled, and ground into a paste. The cacao paste is mixed with sugar and cooked at a high temperature to make chocolate.   People love chocolate. Each American eats almost 12 pounds of chocolate per year. There are many different types of chocolate such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate.   The Mayan people were some of the first to grow large plantations of cacao as early as 600AD. Both the Maya and Aztec people used cacao as a form of money. Early explorers brought chocolate to Europe. It was later brought to North America. During World War II, soldiers got chocolate candy bars as part of their rations.   Chocolate at About.com http://home.about.com/food/hubsearch.htm?SUName=food&terms=chocolate+resources This is a links-site that connects you to lots of chocolate resources.   Hershey Foods Corporation http://www.hersheys.com/index.shtml Hershey chocolate is very popular. The town where it is made is called Hershey, Pennsylvania. In your visit, don't miss taking the chocolate tour and finding out how chocolate is made. Other Hershey's Sites: 2) Hershey's Kidztown http://www.kidztown.com/ 3) Hershey Kitchen http://hersheyskit.live.l9.com/ 3) Milton Hershey (Biography) http://www.hersheys.com/about/milton/ 4) Milton S. Hershey and the Town Built on Chocolate http://www.800hershey.com/history/milton_history.html 5) Plant Tour http://www.hersheys.com/tour/index.html   History of Chocolate http://www.mce.k12tn.net/chocolate/history/name.htm Dr. Nibbles is your tour guide. He walks you through this timeline history of chocolate.   Story of Chocolate from the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, National Confectioners Association http://www.candyusa.org/chocstry.html Until 1492, the Old World knew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor that was to become the favorite of millions. Read this article along with many others at CandyUSA. Other Articles at Same Site: 2) Candy Trivia http://www.candyusa.org/trivia.html 3) Chocolate Contains Antioxidants http://www.candyusa.org/antioxidant.html 4) Chocolate Does Not Raise Cholesterol http://www.candyusa.org/newsnutr.html 5) Chocolate Facts and Fallacies http://www.candyusa.org/fact_fal.html 6) Cany Myths http://www.candyusa.org/fatfactr.html 7) The Good News about Chocolate http://www.candyusa.org/goodnews.html 8) How America Craves Chocolate http://www.candyusa.org/lovechoc.html    Using the websites, complete the following activities:   Build a Chocolate Timeline. Chocolate has been around for a long time. Explore the History of Chocolate website to learn about the history of chocolate, then create a timeline showing the important dates in Chocolate history. How does chocolate related to important world events?   Create a Candy Game. Try a chocolate game at Hershey's Candy Bar Factory. Read the Candy Trivia page and create a candy game.   Find Chocolate Facts. Read Chocolate Facts and Fallacies. Besides those in this article, there are many other myths and misconceptions about chocolate. Choose one of the following issues and create a poster about the facts. Find out about chocolate and acne, antioxidants, caffeine, cravings, tooth decay, nutrients, weight control, or cocoa butter.   Create a Quote. Read the Virtual Chocolate Quotes. Choose a quote and write a short story about it. Or, create your own quote about chocolate.   Do Some Chocolate Geography. Read Story of Chocolate and Cacao to learn about how beans become chocolate. Draw a world map showing the locations where chocolate is grown. Where is most chocolate processed and consumed? Write a story about a piece of chocolate. Track the bean from the cacao tree to the dinner table.   Create a Cross Section. Play the Name that Candybar game. Explore the candy bar Cross Section page. Can you identify the parts of the candy bar? Draw your own cross section. Submit it to the cross section website.   Become a Chocolate Tester. Create an experiment to determine the "best" chocolate. Are more expensive chocolates better? What about particular brands? Hold a chocolate tasting event. Create charts and graphs to show your results.   Diagram a Chocolate Factory. Visit several of the commercial chocolate sites like Hershey, Mars, and Ghirardelli. See if their website has a factory tour. Go to the Virtual Tour of Chocolate Land page for more ideas. Then, draw a diagram that shows the processing needed to make chocolate products. As an alternate activity, you might want to create a whimsical factory for chocolate - - you might get some ideas from the Wild World of Wonka.   Read a Chocolate Themed Book. Read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chocolate War, The Chocolate Touch, or Chocolate Fever. What's the role of chocolate in the book? Write your own chocolate book.   Learn about Chocolate in Math. Try Cadbury Maths in the Factory website to find out how math is used in making chocolate. Try or invent an M&M project.   Invent a Chocolate Statue. Check out the chocolate car. If you could make something out of chocolate, what would you choose? Why?   Create a Bulletin Board Chocolate Tree. Create a chocolate tree using candy wrappers. Compare the nutritional information on the wrappers. Which have the most and least calories? Why? Organize the wrappers to reflect their nutritional qualities.   Share a Chocolate Recipe. Explore chocolate recipes online. Ask your family about favorite chocolate recipes. Share your favorite recipe with a pen pal at another school. If you were going to make chocolate for your entire school, how much would you need? How would you make it? Do the math and write a plan.   Read and Write a Candy Story. Read The Three Musketeers. Can you find all the candy bars in the story? Write your own candy story. Read about the Chocolate Shortage. Write about what it would be like if chocolate disappeared from the stores.   Complete a Chocolate WebQuest. Explore one of the webquests below: 1) Chocolate, Chocolate http://www.ips.k12.in.us/webquest/35/la/green/WebQuest.htm 2) Mrs. Rubisch's Chocolate Site http://www.wcboe.k12.md.us/mainfold/technolog/techsat/rubisch/CHOCO.HTM   Websites By Kids For Kids Chocolate-ty Cool School of Learning Adventures (1998 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4317/ This website focuses on the thematic topic of chocolate to bring information, activities, ideas, and fun learning that spans several subject areas.   MI + Chocolate = Fun (1998 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4376/ The site presents multiple intelligences to teachers/students in a fun way using the topic of chocolate. Learn interesting facts about chocolate and take the candy bar survey.   Mrs. Tamburello's Chocolate Unit http://www.comsewogue.k12.ny.us/showcase/tamburello.htm This website was created as part of a chocolate unit and contains information for children and teachers. It also has children's chocolate projects.   Swiss Chocolate (2000 ThinkQuest Internet Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/C003866/ This page about Swiss chocolate and chocolate in general includes something about the history and a recipe collection.   Town Sweet Town (1999 ThinkQuest Internet Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/26751/ This project tells the story of the town and the farm 'Perugia' -- one of the most important factories in the region. Learn about the tradition of Perugia chocolate, traditional Perugian recipes, analyses of the chocolate and the origins, preparation, and production places.   More Chocolate Sites All About Chocolate http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school/csingred/chocolate.html Here you find a brief description of the tempering process and information on proper storage of chocolate.   Baking With Chocolate from M & M's Bakery http://www.m-ms.com/bakery/ Here are recipes and baking tips from the Mars Corporation. Related Site: 2) History (M & Ms) http://www.m-ms.com/factory/history/hist.html 3) M & M's Interaction Timeline http://www.m-ms.com/factory/   Cadbury Learning Zone http://www.cadburylearningzone.co.uk/ This site contains three sections for students and teachers on the topic of math, history, and the environment.   Chocolate Corner at the Shopping Place http://www.shoppingplace.com/chocolates/index.html This site also tells about the history of chocolate, has lots of chocolate facts, and explains about the types of chocolate.   Flyer Chocolate Letter http://www.criollo.com/histchocnf.htm Explore this history of chocolate.   Ten Things You Didn't Know About Hershey, Mars and Chocolate http://www.joelglennbrenner.com/trivia.html This site has interesting facts about chocolate and the companies that make it.   Tootsie Roll Industries http://www.tootsie-roll.com/ Learn about the history of this chocolate candy or check out their kids' area for fun things to do!   Very Best Baking from Nestle http://www.verybestbaking.com/ The site has recipes, baking tips, news articles, photos, and more. Other Chocolate Cooking Websites: 2) The Chocolate Room http://www.riversport.com/madcow/cooldown.htm   Secrets of Really Good Chocolate Chip Cookies http://www.well.com/user/vard/cookies.html Here you find the recipe for Nestle's Toll House cookies along with a few recommended a few minor modifications and refinements. Another Recipe Sites: 2) Recipes at Godiva http://www.godiva.com/godiva/recipes/default.asp 3) Chocoholics Paradise http://homepages.skylink.net/~skaarup/fudge.html   Sweet Science of Chocolate from Exploratorium http://www.exploratorium.edu/chocolate/index.html This site examines the fascinating -- and often misreported -- history of chocolate, follows the chocolate-making process, and take visitors on a visit to a chocolate factory. It also looks at the science of chocolate and the latest research into the possible health effects of its consumption.   Wild World of Wonka http://www.wonka.com/ This site that is full of fun and games with Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas!   Websites For Teachers Charlie and the Chocolate Factory http://connectingstudents.com/literacy/charlie.htm#Lesson%20Plans Explore this list of lessons, links, and activities for this popular book. Related Website: 2) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Teacher Resources http://www.roalddahlfans.com/teachers.php   35 Chocolate Activities from Becky Settlemoir and Friend http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_candi_chocolate.shtml This is a collection of activity ideas for chocolate.   Lesson Plans for Chocolate http://www.lycos.alfy.com/Teachers/Teach/thematic_units/Chocolate/Chocolate_3.asp This link-site connects to several lesson plans on chocolate   Chocolate and Ice Cream Across the Curriculum http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1999/4/99.04.05.x.html This web project includes a discussion of the theme and ideas for children and teachers.   Chocolate Touch Unit http://teacherfeatures.com/units/chocolate_touch_unit.htm This plan contains lots of activities centered around the book, The Chocolate Touch. Related Website: 2) Chocolate Touch http://vpsd6.vrml.k12.la.us:8000/~monah/ChocTo.htm   Chocolate War Lesson http://www.wol.pace.edu/schools/wp/dcronk/ChocWar.html This lesson focuses on the controversial book, the Chocolate War by Robert Cormier.   For Chocolate Lovers Only by A. Muñoz (Grades 4-5) http://www.sisd.net/schools/vds/chocolatequest.html This unit on chocolate will introduce, inform, and involve you in all there is to know about chocolate. Related Websites: 2) Chocolate Unit (middle school ) http://www.greatbasin.net/~BDB/chocolate.html 3) The Teacher's Corner http://www.theteacherscorner.net/thematicunits/chocolate.htm   Mighty M & M Math http://mighty-mm-math.caffeinated.org/main.htm This lesson teaches fractions and percentages in a motivating and mouth-watering way using bags of M&M's. Related Website: 2) M&M's Line Plots and Graphing by D. Lehar (Grades 3-4) http://www.kings.k12.ca.us/math/lessons/mms.htm   chocolate cocoa sweet cacao tree Theobromo cacao bean Dutch chocolate Swiss chocolate milk chocolate dark chocolate sugar cocoa butter fruit nougat taste xocoatl Baker's chocolate praline John Cadbury bitter Chocolate caliente tempering melt chocolatl Aztecs Criollo Forastero Trinitario conching semi-sweet chocolate white chocolate bittersweet cocoa powder fudge chocolate bloom hot chocolate        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 1/01. Updated 6/04 by King family.