Article
Shutterstock.com (All Images)
Paired Texts,

Chocolate vs. Vanilla

Read on to learn about America’s favorite flavors!  

By Catherine Schmitt and Alex Winnick
From the October/November 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast information from two texts about two popular flavors: chocolate and vanilla.

Complexity Factors
  • Structure
    Both texts are narrative nonfiction. Each text has four short sections.
  • Language
    There are some challenging domain-specific words that are defined on the page.
  • Knowledge Demands
    No previous knowledge is necessary. Some familiarity with world geography may aid comprehension.
Lexiles: 500L-600L; Easier Level
Featured Skill: Compare and Contrast,
Other Key Skills: synthesizing, vocabulary, main idea, key details, supporting details, summarizing, text features, figurative language, author’s purpose, explanatory writing
Standards
  • Common Core
    RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.9, W.3.2, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, L.3.6
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6g, 6h, 6i, 7b, 7c, 7f, 7g, 9di, 9dii, 9diii, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 12b

Presentation View

Story Navigation

Lexile® measure

  • On Level
  • Easier Level
Download and Print
Easier Level
Think and Read: Compare and Contrast

As you read, think about how these flavors are similar and how they are different.

Rich, Tasty Chocolate

Where does chocolate come from?

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (Tree); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)

Chocolate comes from trees. These trees grow around the world, but they especially in the hot, wet forests of West Africa. Brown cacao (kuh-KOW) fruits grow on these trees. Chocolate is made from the seeds in these fruits.

How old is it?

Chocolate was first made about 3,000 years ago in Central and South America. People scooped out the fruits’ seeds and crushed them into a powder. Then they mixed in chili peppers and honey. It tasted like spicy dirt! And people are still making that bitter powder. 

How is chocolate made today?

The powder is used to make treats like fudgy brownies and cakes. Or it can be blended into an oozy liquid that’s used to make gooey candy bars. And instead of chili peppers, people add milk, sugar, and other sweeteners. This gives chocolate a rich, tasty flavor. Yum!

How do people enjoy chocolate?

Shutterstock.com

Creamy milk chocolate. Steaming hot chocolate. Chewy chocolate bars. Americans gobble up billions of pounds of chocolate every year. People in Mexico and Brazil even eat chocolate-covered bugs! What’s your favorite sweet treat?  

Sweet, Creamy Vanilla 

Where does vanilla come from?

Martin Gabriel/NPL/Minden Pictures (vanilla fruit); iStockPhoto/Getty Images (vanilla pod); Photodisc/Getty Images (beans)

Vanilla grows on plants in hot, wet parts of countries like Mexico and Madagascar. Long, green vanilla fruits grow on these plants. They have tiny seeds in them. People use these seeds to make a sweet, creamy flavoring.

How is vanilla made?

It can take months to get the flavor just right. People scoop out the fruits’ seeds and dry them in the sun. Then they crush the seeds and make an oozy liquid called vanilla extract. 

That sounds familiar . . . 

You’ve probably seen vanilla extract in a kitchen pantry! It's a ingredient in many of your favorite baked goods—from creamy cakes to crunchy cookies.

Just how popular is vanilla?

Shutterstock.com

It’s the most popular ice cream flavor in the United States. Other countries love vanilla too. In countries in Asia, it’s an important flavor in a rice pudding. And in Mexico, it’s the star of a delicious dessert called flan. What’s your favorite way to enjoy vanilla?

BETTER TOGETHER!

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Two chocolate cookies and a soft vanilla filling make an Oreo. It’s the most popular cookie in America!

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Swirl the two flavors together for an ice cream dream.

ARTUR KOZLOV/GETTY IMAGES

Chocolate and vanilla are the perfect pair for birthday cakes.

THINK AND WRITE

Write a paragraph explaining how chocolate and vanilla are alike and different. Then pick your favorite flavor and explain why you like it best! 

1 of 5
video (1)
Slideshows (1)
Audio (1)
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras

Continue to debate popular flavors in the Paired Text article “Ketchup and Mustard!” You’ll dive into the history of each sauce and learn how people around the world enjoy them. 

Have a sweet tooth? Learn about a fan-favorite candy in “How Gummy Bears Took Over the World.”  

Chocolate lovers can take their knowledge one step further in “The History of Yum/When Chocolate Tasted Yucky,” a Paired Text about how chocolate became America’s favorite candy. 

It’s a food frenzy! Head over to our food-related collection filled with stories about tasty foods. Your students are bound to see their favorite foods featured, from potato chips to chicken nuggets!

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. SEL Focus

4. Skill Building and Writing

5. Differentiate and Customize

Struggling Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers, Creative Writing

1. Preparing to Read

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

  • Ask students to predict what this article will be about based on the title, subtitle, and artwork on page 19. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 19 and the Think and Write box on page 21.
  • Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the story.

  • Build off the Think and Read prompt by explaining this story’s featured skill: Compare and Contrast. Encourage students to look for ways in which chocolate and vanilla are similar to and different from each other.

Introduce Vocabulary

  • Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading. 

2. Close Reading

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • Read the story as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the Read-Aloud.
  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions.

Close-Reading Questions 

  • Read the first section of “Rich, Tasty Chocolate.” What is chocolate made from?Chocolate is made from the seeds in the brown cacao fruits that grow on trees. (main idea) 

  • Read “How old is it?” When and where was chocolate first made? Chocolate was first made about 3,000 years ago in Central and South America. (key detail)
  • What did people mix bitter cacao powder with thousands of years ago, and what flavor did it create? What do people mix the powder with today, and what flavor does it create? Thousands of years ago, people mixed bitter powder with chili peppers and honey. It created a flavor like spicy dirt. Today people mix the powder with milk, sugar, and other sweeteners. It creates a rich, tasty flavor. (compare and contrast) 
  • Read “How do people enjoy chocolate?” Which details from the section describe the different ways that people enjoy eating chocolate around the world? In America people enjoy milk chocolate, hot chocolate, and chocolate bars. In Mexico and Brazil, people eat chocolate-covered bugs. (supporting details)
  • Read the first section of “Sweet, Creamy Vanilla.” What is vanilla made from? Vanilla is made from the tiny seeds inside vanilla fruits that grow on plants. (main idea)
  • What are some areas in the world where vanilla plants grow? Where do the trees that chocolate comes from grow? Vanilla plants grow in hot, wet areas of countries such as Mexico and Madagascar. The trees that chocolate comes from grow especially well in the hot, wet forests of West Africa. (compare and contrast)
  • Read “How is vanilla made?” What steps do people follow to make vanilla extract? First, people scoop out the vanilla fruits’ seeds and dry them in the sun. Then they crush the seeds to make a liquid vanilla extract. (summarizing)

Critical-Thinking Questions 

  • Why do you think the author included the sidebar “Better Together!”? Answers may vary. Sample response: I think the author included the sidebar “Better Together!” to show that you don’t have to choose between these two flavors. In fact, some people prefer them combined, like in an Oreo cookie, on an ice cream cone, or in a birthday cake. (text features, author’s purpose)
  • In “Rich, Tasty Chocolate,” the author describes chocolate powder that was made thousands of years ago in this way: “It tasted like spicy dirt!” How does this description help you imagine what the powder tasted like? Answers may vary. Sample response: This description helps me imagine a flavor that is both spicy and unpleasant. Dirt probably doesn’t taste very good. (figurative language) 

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Compare and Contrast

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Compare and Contrast Skill Builder.

  • Ask students to write a response to the prompt in the Think and Write box on page 21. 

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

Before reading the articles, preview the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions with students to help them know what they should be focusing on as they read. Read the articles aloud as students follow along. Read the articles again, this time pausing to work with the group on each question. Afterward, have students work in pairs to complete the Think About It Skill Builder.

For Multilingual Learners

Your multilingual learners may be more familiar with other uses of chocolate or vanilla. Read the Easier-level version of the articles out loud. Write a list of foods made from chocolate or vanilla that are mentioned in the articles. Invite students to add their own favorite foods made out of chocolate or vanilla to the list as well.

For Advanced Readers

Invite students to learn about two other popular foods by reading “Ketchup and Mustard.” Have students then compare and contrast all four foods: chocolate, vanilla, ketchup, and mustard. What do they have in common? What makes them different?

For Pairs of Students

Point out the descriptive details in the second paragraph of the first text. Ask students how these details help them imagine the candies that are being described. Then have students work in pairs to practice using descriptive details. Each pair should choose two types of food and work together to create a sentence for each food that vividly describes it. Challenge students to craft sentences that include details related to as many senses as possible. How does their food look, taste, feel, smell . . . even sound?

Text-to-Speech