Do you love chocolate? Dive deep into this hands-on, historical, and globally relevant class all about the history, culture, production, and logistics of chocolate making. You will learn to make chocolate and start your own chocolate business, while exploring the way chocolate connects the world. Equal parts global studies and entrepreneurship, this 12-week class will help you to understand why chocolate is the perfect medium to deliver a uniquely global perspective on your world. At the end of the class, we will hold a showcase to present our delicious products and impressive learning from the fall semester!
Please contact me to discuss food allergies, and any questions!
Chocolate-making, entrepreneurship, art, global studies, marketing, international culture, planting chocolate
This class will consist of short lectures and video presentations, followed by a primarily hands-on schedule where students design their own art and chocolates, and research the world of chocolates in class. We will spend several class periods making chocolates, including for our final capstone projects. There will be some out-of-class work which will require students to do some online research into specific topics of their choosing, as well as the history and production of chocolate. There will also be reflections in the form of writing and discussions in class. An optional addition to this course is for students to plant cacao (chocolate) trees; we will distribute seeds from a Hawaii cacao plantation in class for students to take home.
This class is based on the World Course designed by Harvard professor Fernando Reimers, in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His book Empowering Global Citizens: A World Course lays out a series of excellently prepared lessons to lead students to a deeper understanding about the world and their place in it. I highly recommend this reading for parents who want to follow along and learn about this fantastic global studies course designed for students from Pre-K to 12th grade. For students, we will primarily use online resources, including researching websites, watching videos, and using geographic resources such as maps.
Students will learn about the interconnectedness of the world through the lens of chocolate. They will learn to appreciate the ways that consumers and producers can create a better world, through ethical entrepreneurship. They will also learn about the history, production, and art of chocolate making, with particular hands-on components in making different types of chocolates.
Students must be able to sit and listen to 15 minute teacher presentations, complete small amounts of writing and online research, and participate in class discussions to the best of their ability. There will also be hands-on chocolate-making work; experience with cooking is helpful but not necessary.
10+; See teacher for age exceptions
Access to Internet after school, Pencil / pen and notebook, and folder. All chocolate making ingredients and equipment will be provided.