Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Unit Overview

This novel study provides teachers with a highly structured format for teaching language arts as students develop a love for reading longer materials like novels. Various areas such as reading comprehension, vocabulary development, spelling, grammar and writing are all entwined in this integrated approach. Activities are divided into three main sections:

1) Chapter Questions

For each chapter grouping there are a number of thought-provoking questions. These are presented in a variety of formats, including true & false, multiple choice, short answer and complete sentence answer. Reading comprehension is key as students must read and understand the entire passage in order to answer the questions.

2) Language & Vocabulary

Each set of chapters contains a number of activities dealing with skills such as: sentence structure, nouns, alphabetizing, subject & predicate, quotation marks, adjectives, verbs, plurals, contractions, adverbs, verb phrases, similes, meanings, ‘Pig Latin’, phrasing, preposition, couplet poetry, suffixes, syllables, numerical order, adverb phrases, collective nouns, comparative adjectives & adverbs, superlative adjectives & adverbs and homonyms.

3) Writing and Creativity

This section gives students the opportunity to apply what they have learned and to use their creativity and imagination to complete activities. Activities such as short poetry, creative writing, unscrambling, using clues to solve a puzzle, and word web will generate student enthusiasm for writing and creative thinking.

Story Synopsis

This story is about Charlie Bucket, a nice boy who comes from a poor family. Charlie loves Willy Wonka’s chocolate but usually can't afford to buy any. Willy Wonka, head of the very popular Wonka Chocolate empire, announces a contest in which five gold tickets have been hidden in chocolate bars and sent throughout the world. The children who find the tickets will be taken on a tour of Wonka's chocolate factory led by none other than Willy Wonka himself. Charlie miraculously finds a ticket, along with four other children much naughtier than him. The tour of the factory holds more than a few surprises for the bunch, as one child after another shows their wickedness and is removed from the tour. In the end, Charlie is the last remaining child, and Mr. Wonka announces that he has won the factory. Along with Grandpa Joe, Charlie and Wonka are propelled out of the factory in a special glass elevator.