Chocolate Fever

What happens when a boy loves chocolate so much that he eats it with every meal?  He will become diagnosed with "chocolate fever" of course.  In this humorous story, Henry Green loves chocolate so much that he makes himself sick.  When he wakes up one morning with large brown chocolate-smelling spots, the school nurse takes him to the hospital where he is diagnosed with "chocolate fever".  Will this be the end of his chocolate obsession? 

Reading Level:
     Lexile: 680

Genre/Theme:
     Fiction
     Humor
    
Subject:
     English Language Arts

Teaching ideas for a 3rd Grade Classroom:
     Web Resources: http://www.mce.k12tn.net/chocolate/fever/chocolate_fever.htm  has activities and questions for students to complete.  Teachers may have students use this website to complete portions of the activities or questions online or may choose to print the questions.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/chocolate-fever-discussion-guide gives teachers examples of questions for a literature circle guide.

Suggested Delivery:  Read aloud

Before Reading:
     Vocabulary to introduce:  predicament, infirmary, revolting, bound, desolate, keen
After showing students the cover and reading the preview, have students make predictions. 

During Reading:
Have students begin a graphic organizer that has the character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

After Reading;
Students will use their graphic organizers to write a summary of the text.

Smith, R. K. (1972). Chocolate fever. New York: Scholastic, Inc.