Advanced Level Products

I think all Kindergarten students are capable of more than we give them credit for. Every year I change the chapter books I use for read-alouds. Sometimes I go with something new, sometimes the classics work, every class is different but I am always reading to them a story several grade levels above their recommended level. This is fabulous for building vocabulary and listening comprehension skills.

Anyway, we're reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and I was very proud of the projects they made. Before we got to the chapters where Willy Wonka shows off his magical inventions-I asked my kids to invent their our out-of-this-world candy. They decorated the triorama and then modeled their candy out of clay. I also had them write about their creations. One invented a candy cane that lasts forever, one a chocolate that looks and tastes like a hot dog and my favorite-gum that makes you smarter! Who couldn't use some of that.

I think this is a really good example of asking kids to apply what they are learning and it's an activity that fits right along with their ability levels.