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The Chocolate Touch · Garden Heights Academy
Part 4
for The Chocolate Touch · Part 4 · Chapters 7–8
a novel by Patrick Skene Catling
30 min5 Parts
This workbook is built on a solid pedagogical foundation, effectively integrating content and language learning based on the CLIL framework (Content and Language Integrated Learning), elevated by our unique 5th C — Connection — and an integrated Standardized Test section that weaves every SAT & TOEFL question type right into the novel, so learners build real test skills easily, naturally, and with fun.
What Happens in Part 4
Trying to please his mother, John picks a healthy lunch — but it turns to chocolate too. Worse is still to come. At school orchestra practice, John lifts his trumpet to play his big solo in front of everyone. The instant the trumpet touches his lips, it turns into solid chocolate and makes a silly, blubbering sound. The whole room bursts out laughing, and a red-faced John runs from the room. The chocolate touch is ruining the things he cares about.
What We Will Learn
Focus
What It Means
Plot (Embarrassment)
The healthy lunch fails and the trumpet solo disaster
Music
The trumpet and the school orchestra
Character
How John’s feelings begin to change
Chapter Summary
Chapter
Key Events
Ch.7
John chooses a healthy lunch to please his mother, but it still turns to chocolate
Ch.8
At orchestra practice his trumpet turns to chocolate during his solo and everyone laughs
Copyright Notice
This is an independent study guide created by Garden Heights Academy to support reading comprehension and literary analysis. It contains original analysis questions and does not reproduce any text from the novel. The Chocolate Touch is a work by Patrick Skene Catling. This guide is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the author or any associated rights holders. Students should read the original book, available from libraries and booksellers.
Part 1
Vocabulary
Study 10 key words from Chapters 7–8, then answer each question.
🧠Knowledge Bank · From Bean to Bar
Food Technology · ProcessingHow does a bitter little bean become sweet, smooth chocolate? It takes many careful steps. First the cocoa beans are roasted until they smell rich and warm. Then they are ground into a thick, dark paste. Workers mix in sugar and often creamy milk, then stir the mixture for hours until it turns silky. Finally it is poured into molds and cooled until hard. All that work is hidden inside one small bar. John gobbles chocolate without a thought, but each piece is the end of a long, patient journey. Knowing the work behind a treat can help us enjoy it with more respect.
orchestran.Ch.8
A large group of musicians
“He played in the school orchestra.”
trumpetn.Ch.8
A brass musical instrument
“His trumpet turned to chocolate.”
solon.Ch.8
A part played by one person alone
“John had a big trumpet solo.”
instrumentn.Ch.8
A tool for making music
“The instrument melted into chocolate.”
embarrassv.Ch.8
To make someone feel ashamed
“The accident embarrassed John.”
blushv.Ch.8
To turn red in the face
“John blushed and ran away.”
performv.Ch.8
To do something in front of others
“He had to perform his solo.”
audiencen.Ch.8
People who watch or listen
“The audience burst out laughing.”
nervousadj.Ch.8
Worried and uneasy
“John felt nervous before his solo.”
pleasev.Ch.7
To make someone happy
“He tried to please his mother.”
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.
1A large group of musicians is an ___.Ch.8
2True or False: A “solo” is a part played by one person alone.Ch.8
3A brass musical instrument that you blow is a ___.Ch.8
4True or False: To “blush” is to turn red in the face.Ch.8
5Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8
Word choices:orchestrasolotrumpetaudience- some words will not be used
In the , John raised his to play his .
6True or False: To “embarrass” someone is to make them feel proud.Ch.8
7The people who watch or listen to a performance are the ___.Ch.8
8True or False: To “perform” is to do something in front of others.Ch.8
9Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.7–8
Word choices:nervouspleaseblushperform- some words will not be used
John felt and began to as the audience laughed.
10A tool for making music is an ___.Ch.8
Part 2
Comprehension
How well do you understand Chapters 7–8?
🧠Knowledge Bank · Following the Story’s Big Idea
Reading Skill · ThemeEvery good story has a theme — a big idea or lesson hiding under the events. It is not just what happens, but what it all means. In The Chocolate Touch, one big idea grows clearer with every chapter: too much of a good thing can hurt you. As John’s magic causes more and more trouble, watch how the story keeps teaching that same lesson in new ways. Following a theme is like following a golden thread through the whole book. When you can say the lesson in your own words, you truly understand the story, and not only its plot.
1Why does John choose a healthy lunch?Ch.7
2What happens to the healthy lunch?Ch.7
3What happens when John plays his trumpet solo?Ch.8
4True or False: The other children laugh at John during his solo.Ch.8
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Part 4.Ch.7–8
Even the healthy lunch turns to chocolate.
Everyone laughs and a red-faced John runs away.
At orchestra practice he raises his trumpet to play his solo.
John picks a healthy lunch to please his mother.
It turns to chocolate and makes a silly sound.
6True or False: John runs away, embarrassed, after the trumpet turns to chocolate.Ch.8
7What does the trumpet sound like after it turns to chocolate?Ch.8
8How is the curse changing John’s life now?Ch.8
9True or False: John’s plan to eat a healthy lunch works perfectly.Ch.7
10Fill in the blanks.Ch.7–8
Word choices:trumpetchocolateappledrum- some words will not be used
John’s turned to in the middle of his solo.
Part 3
Literary Elements
Understanding HOW and WHY Patrick Skene Catling creates certain feelings across Chapters 7–8.
🧠Knowledge Bank · Catling’s Word-Craft: The Chocolate Trumpet
Music & Acoustics · Situational IronyA trumpet is a brass instrument, and it works only by touch. The player presses both lips against the mouthpiece and buzzes them, while three valves open extra loops of tubing to change the note. So the instant John lifts his trumpet to his mouth, the metal turns soft and brown, and buzzing lips cannot make a chocolate tube ring. When an action produces the exact opposite of what a character expects, we call it situational irony. Catling makes us laugh and teaches at the same time: John’s greed keeps spoiling the very things he loves.
📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples
Situational irony: John hopes to shine, but the opposite happens.Dahl-like humor turns John’s disaster into a funny scene for readers.Each new failure is rising action pushing toward the story’s peak.
The questions below are mixed — not grouped by device. Decide which device each one is about.
1John hopes to shine at school, but the opposite happens. This is —Ch.7–8
2Situational irony is when the opposite of what a character expects happens.Ch.7–8
3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.7–8
Word choices:ironyhumorrisingsymbol- some words will not be used
John wanting to shine but being shamed is situational
The author’s playful .
4The author turns John’s trumpet disaster into a funny scene. This use of comedy is —Ch.7–8
5Rising action is the calm ending after all the problems are solved.Ch.7–8
6Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.7–8
Word choices:risinghumorironyfalling- some words will not be used
Each new failure is
The mix of shame and comedy adds dark .
7Why does the author make John’s trumpet turn to chocolate in public?Ch.7–8
8The trumpet scene is an example of rising action because it —Ch.7–8
9Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.7–8
Word choices:ironyrisinghumorsymbol- some words will not be used
John hoping to shine but failing is
His mounting failures are .
10Making a painful moment funny mainly helps readers —Ch.7–8
Part 4
Think Deeper
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it through.
🧠Knowledge Bank · Wanting to Change
Psychology · The First Step to ChangeSomething new is stirring inside John. For the first time, his magic is not fun anymore, and he begins to wish it would stop. That feeling is the first step of real change. Nobody can grow better until they first want to be better. John is starting to see that his greed has a cost, and that seeing is painful but important. In your own life, change often begins the same way — with a quiet, uncomfortable feeling that something must be different. Notice this turning point in John. Wanting to change is where every good lesson truly begins.
1Claim: “The curse ruins even John’s efforts to do well.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence
2How the curse spoils things, or just a detail of the scene? Tap each item to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ How the curse spoils thingsJust a detail ►
3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect
John picks a healthy lunch→
He lifts his trumpet to play→
His big solo is ruined→
The curse keeps spreading→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
The trumpet turning to chocolate matters because , which shows that .
Part 5
Standardized Test · Vocabulary & Text Structure
Part 4 practices exam reading skills — Vocabulary in Context, Text Structure & Inference — in the styles the SAT and TOEFL use. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then choose the answer best supported by the text.
🎓Knowledge Bank · How the SAT & TOEFL Ask
Test Skills · Part 4This section keeps building the four exam question families: Vocabulary in Context, Main Idea, Inference, and Author’s Purpose. For a vocabulary item, cover the word, read the sentence, and predict a replacement before you look at the choices; for main idea and purpose, ask what job the whole passage is doing.
A trumpet turns a player’s breath into music through a clever chain of events. When the player presses their lips together and blows, the lips vibrate rapidly, buzzing like a tiny motor. This buzzing shakes the air inside the long metal tube and produces a sound wave. The shape of the tube makes the note loud and clear as the wave travels toward the wide, flaring bell at the end. By pressing valves, the player changes the length of the tube, and a longer path makes a deeper note. Skilled players control the pitch mostly with their lips, tightening them for high notes and loosening them for low ones. A brass instrument makes no sound on its own; it only shapes and amplifies the buzz the player creates. Music, in the end, is moving air that we have learned to control.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1As used in the passage, the word “vibrate” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context
2According to the passage, what first makes the sound in a brass instrument?TOEFL · Factual Information
3According to the passage, what first makes the sound in a trumpet?TOEFL · Factual Information
4As used in the passage, the word “travels” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context
5According to the passage, how does a player make a deeper note?TOEFL · Factual Information
6As used in the passage, the word “deeper” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context
7Insert Text (TOEFL). Look at the four squares [1]–[4] in the excerpt below. They show where this sentence could be added: “For this reason, a tuba, with its very long tube, booms out the deepest notes of all.”
A brass player changes pitch by pressing valves. [1] Each valve the player presses opens up more tubing. [2] Because the air must travel a longer path, the note comes out lower and deeper. [3] A short bugle has no valves, so it can play only a few high notes. [4]
Where would the sentence fit best?TOEFL · Insert Text
8Which statement best expresses the central idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas
9The passage most strongly suggests that without a player’s buzzing lips, a trumpet would —TOEFL · Inference
10Why does the author describe the sound moving from lips to bell?SAT · Text Structure & Purpose
Part 6 · Optional
Creative Writing
A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.
About This Section
This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!
Writing Task — Part 4 “An Embarrassing Moment”
John is embarrassed in front of everyone when his trumpet turns to chocolate. Write about an embarrassing moment (real or imagined). What happened, how did it feel, and what did you do next? Write at least 40 words.
You can start with: “I wanted to disappear when…”
0 / 40 words minimum
🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)
No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.
Part 4 Complete!
You finished Chapters 7–8 of The Chocolate Touch.
Here are your auto-graded results:
-
points out of 100
Your Writing
Your writing was checked automatically for length, spelling, grammar, and whether you included the key parts of the scene. Scroll back to Part 5 anytime to read your feedback and improve your work.
Independent study guide by Garden Heights Academy. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the author or any rights holders. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced.
