National Cocoa Day

Various sources claim that either December 12 or December 13 is National Cocoa Day. Here in Texas it's warm again (near 80 degrees!), so it's not exactly ideal cocoa drinking weather, but I am going for it anyway. I love hot cocoa, so I was happy to see this "holiday" exists and we thought it would be a fun one to include in our anthology, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Read it now or save it for a chilly day!

And if you want to use the "Take 5" activities that accompany this poem in the book, here you go:

1. As your poetry prop, hold a mug as if it were full of hot cocoa and read this National Cocoa Day poem aloud with enthusiasm.
2. Share the poem again and invite children to chime in on the repeated phrase It’s cocoa, it’s cocoa while you read the rest of the poem aloud. Hold up your mug to cue them.
3. Use details from the poem to work together and make a list of things that contain cocoa. Another resource is TheStoryofChocolate.com.
   
4. Pair this poem with the picture book No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart (Charlesbridge, 2013). Talk about where cocoa comes from and how the interdependence of rain forest plants and animals is essential to its growth.
5. Connect with “On the Day of the Dead” by René Saldaña, Jr. (November, pages 292-293) and with selections from ¡Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: America's Sproutings by Pat Mora (Lee & Low, 2007) and The Popcorn Astronauts and Other Biteable Rhymes by Deborah Ruddell (McElderry, 2015).

Now check out the Poetry Friday fun over at A Teaching Life where Tara is hosting the party!