I hope the new school year is going well for all of you who have started back already. I’ve just done my first week and I am TIRED!! Sooo glad it’s the weekend! Next Saturday 13th September is Roald Dahl day and next week I will be teaching a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory novel study unit. I love using novels to teach across a range of different subject areas and this particular book is one of my favorites!

Here are some of my cross curricular ideas for using Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the classroom:

Literacy

I get my students to write newspaper articles based on Charlie finding the final Golden Ticket. This pushes the students to write formally and use the features of a report.

Charlie Bucket’s house and the Inventing Room in the factory are fantastic to use as a basis for setting descriptions. I read the passages to the children and get them to imagine they are in that setting and then discuss what each of their senses would be experiencing, i.e. the creaking door in Charlie’s house or the potions bubbling over in the factory. I get encourage them to use descriptive language and finally the students write a paragraph based on each sense.

Science

The novel is also great to use as a basis for a unit on plants. you could get your student to write about the life cycle of the cacao plant and study the part of a flower.

You could also discuss nutrient and making sure the students understand the importance of a healthy balanced diet.

Social Science

Students can study a country where the cacao plant grows. Students could produce fact files on the country and learn key facts, main cities, river, and what life is like for the people who live there.

Technology

There is so much scope here to develop students’ skills. I have had my students aim to be the next Willy Wonka by designing their own chocolate product. I got them explore different ingredients which could go in their product, think about packaging and create a persuasive poster advertising their product. We even made the new chocolate product – lots of fun!

All the ideas above, plus many more are included in my Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Novel Study available in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to save you the hassle and time when planning your novel study. What are your plans for Roald Dahl day?