Cocoa Ice - (Book 2) Unit 2 - Week 3 - Reading Lesson Plan

Oct 16, 2026

Cocoa Ice is a Grade 3 reading lesson plan built around the novel-length text set in the early 1800s. Students learn how trading connects distant communities by exchanging ice blocks from the Kennebec River in Maine for cocoa beans in Santo Domingo. The story is told in two parts, each narrated by a girl from one location, and highlights key setting details, vocabulary, and text-dependent questions about narrators, cocoa processing, and local products. Teachers guide independent reading, rereading for stops, and discussion while aligning to core ELA and writing standards.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatDOCX

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Teacher Instructions

Before Teaching

Big Ideas and Key Understandings

Synopsis

During Teaching

Text Dependent Questions

Answers

(Book 2) Unit 2/Week 3 Title: Cocoa Ice Suggested Time: 5 days (45 minutes per day) Common Core ELA Standards: RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.7; W.3.2, W.3.4; SL.3.1; L3.1, L3.2, L.3.4 Teacher Instructions Refer to the Introduction for further details. Before Teaching Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task. Big Ideas and Key Understandings Trading can link the lives and experiences of people in faraway places and can help them to learn about one another. Synopsis Cocoa Ice is set in the early 1800s. The story describes the exchange that occurs when a trading ship from Maine travels to the Caribbean village of Santo Domingo. The story is told in two parts, each part narrated by a girl who lives in one of these locations. The two communities are connected by a schooner that carries blocks of ice from the frozen Kennebec River in Maine to Santo Domingo. There the ice is traded for cocoa beans, used for making chocolate. Each girl is delighted when chocolate and ice is mixed together, to create an extraordinary treat. Read entire main selection text, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings. Re-read the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary. During Teaching Students read the entire main selection text independently. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud with students following along. (Depending on how complex the text is and the amount of support needed by students, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1 and 2.) Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discuss the questions and returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (e.g., whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work, etc.) Text Dependent Questions Text Dependent Questions Answers Reread page 162. Use details to describe what the young girl thinks Santo Domingo is like. How does she know about Santo Domingo?” The young girl in the story knows about Santo Domingo from her Uncle Jacob who has told her many stories of his travels. The text says that the young girl’s Uncle Jacob travels to Santo Domingo on a trading schooner. What word helps you to figure out what a schooner is? (Pg. 162) The text says ‘sails’ so a schooner must be a ship. Santa Domingo is also an island so you’d need a ship to get there. Reread page 163. Who is the narrator now? How do you know? The young girl in Santo Domingo is the narrator. You can tell from the picture that it is the young girl from the island. The author states that early morning is the best time to climb a tree. Why is this true? (Pg. 163) Because the sun has not yet had time to bake the earth until it is hot and steamy. If you wait until the afternoon rain will make the tree too slippery to climb. If a schooner comes into the bay, you will be the first to see it. How does the text and the illustrations on pages 162-163 help you figure out the setting of the story? The setting is of the island of Santo Domingo. The text gave the name of the island earlier and uses the words “hot and steamy” Earth, and mentions the schooner comes into the “bay”. The illustrations show the island and the water and the plants and trees. The girl is wearing clothing that is bright and colorful. Use details from page 164 to describe the Cacao tree. Trees that grow chocolate grow only in the shade, grow little pink flowers and green pods side by side on the trunk. Ripe yellow and red pods are ready to be picked. It is always blooming, ripening and ready to harvest. In the second paragraph on page 167, Papa says, “Wait for the sun to make the chocolate.” What does he mean? (Pg. 167) After a few days in the sun the bitter co

FAQs

What big idea connects the two faraway locations in Cocoa Ice?

Trading links the lives and experiences of people in distant places and helps them learn about one another.

How is the story structured and who narrates it?

The story is told in two parts, and each part is narrated by a girl who lives in one of the locations.

What does the narrator learn about Maine and how does she learn it?

She learns about Maine from sailor Jacob, who has shown her pictures.

Oct 16, 2026

Uploaded by Aria Callaghan