Soda Project (2019)
At the beginning of each school year, my 6th graders and I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. As we read, I assign my students a Creative Project where they get to be Willy Wonka and invent a new sugary product.
In 2019, we collaborated with the good people at Real Soda in Real Bottles in Los Angeles, California. The students were assigned to come up with an idea for a new glass-bottled soda, including its flavor, color, name, label, and slogan. The students presented their ideas in class and tried to persuade their classmates that their ideas were the best. Once everyone presented, the students voted to decide the overall champion. The winner was Sunset Blend, a red-colored soda that tasted like Strawberry-Raspberry-Lemon. Its label featured a beautiful watercolor of a beach sunset along with its tagline: “I’ve Never Seen An Ugly Sunset.”
Here’s a detailed article about Sunset Blend that appeared on my school district’s website: “‘Fizzy-Lifting’ Inspiration – CSD Sixth-Grader Invents ‘Real Soda’ for Sale in Utah Stores” (December 2020).
Here’s an article that appeared in our local Cottonwood Heights Journal: “Butler Middle student’s new soda pop flavor, label become reality” (February 2021).
Below is an article that appeared in our school newspaper, The BMS Post: “BMS 6th Grade Project Gets Bubbly” (November 2019).
