Popcorn Activities from the mailring:


HI! We're working on #3 and I will let them glue kernels in center of
3.We are teaching about the 'colorful corn' of the Hopi tribe. We play a
'corny game' for #recog. and they LOVE it. I drew corn on cob and
copied to yellow paper, then cut and put # (and dots ) on back. In Circle
ea, child picks up a corn with a clothespin (can be done with magnets
and paper clips but I love the fine motor skill) and if they get #
correct we all sing "Susie cracked corn but we don’t care....(3X) she
name d the # 7 (or whatever!) ALSO they are going to 'finger dot' yellow
paint on predrawn corn cob. I will be making popcorn with my hot air
popper.(Rance)

I use popcorn when I do the 5 senses. I hide an air popper in a box and we
sit around the box. (the top of the box open) First I start the machine
and
we HEAR the sound and talk about it. Then we start to HEAR the popping
sound.
Next is the popcorn flying out the top of the box and we SEE the white
popcorn. Then we SMELL it. (sometimes the popcorn smell comes before the
actual popcorn) and Last we pick it up and TOUCH it and then EAT it!!

I spread a sheet under the box before we start and we sit around the edge
of
it.

Ginger/pk/La

I read Mr. Picklepaw's Popcorn to the class when doing popcorn. In the
story, he goes on top of his iron shed to cool down the shed on a hot day.
The corn pops and he finds himself on top of a mountain of popcorn. Here
we
stop the story and brain storm all how he can get down. During the telling
of
the story, my aide puts the popcorn on at appropriate spots.

Popcorn Chant

You put the oil in the pot (Pour oil in pot)
And you let it get hot. (Shake pointer finger)
Put the popcorn in (Pour into pot)
And start to grin. (Point to grinning face.)
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. Pop! (Do the twist down to the ground. Pop up with
hands high on Pop!)

We get silly with this one and add more sizzles and try to trick them into
popping. Sometimes I use it at the end of the day by saying "Bus 6 pop!".
They get their things while the rest of us sizzle. The kids love it.

Happy popping.
Sheryl/k/MA

 

I always use the Frank Asch book also. Another thing you might want
to do is listen to Steve and Greg's Popcorn song on We All Live
Together. I use maracas and rhythm sticks with the kids to form the
popcorn band. The sticks are the corn popping and the maracas are
shaking it up. I usually do half and half and then in the middle of
the song let them trade instruments.

I also use the same song and let the children jump on packing bubbles.

 

Have fun!!!!!!!!! Jan in CA.

Take a full glass of water and fill it with popped popcorn. Take a full
glass of milk and fill it with popped popcorn. The water will spill. The
milk won't.
When we decorate our Christmas tree in our classroom the children string
cranberries and popcorn.
We also planted popcorn kernels.

 

Make a tachistoscope (where you pull letters over the "st" ) out of a stop
sign. Have the letter strip make rhyming words like hop, pop, top, mop,
bop.
Hi, I have the children PAN for POPCORN.
I used about ¼ bag of popcorn in my sand table.
They work with a partner for about 7-10 min mining for popcorn. After
their
time in up they have to take all of their popcorn and sort it into cups ten
kernels in each. Then they count and record their findings. I have a
premade
graph for the students to record their data. When everyone has completed
the
activity throughout the week then we discuss our results using the graph.

Using film canisters I put a different amount into each one. The child has
to
listen and sequence the canisters from less to most. Another way to do
this
activity is to fill two the same and have them match the containers. After
the
children have had practice with this I let the children take turns filling
the
containers for the class.

Using a scale you might have the children measure/compare items with
popcorn
such as a cotton ball, Popsicle stick, rock, unifix cube, tile piece,
crayon,
cookie,? you get the idea.

Have the children match one kernel to a coke bottle lid, matching
one-to-one.

Have fun?
Michelle
[email protected]

If you are trying to color it prior to popping it, I've put a portion of
> kernels in a ziplock bag, added a teaspoon of alcohol and several drops
of
> food coloring (color intensifies with more drops), shaken it vigorously
to
> distribute the color evenly, and set it out to dry in the bag with the
> ziplock opened! You can make it any color you'd like and the colors come
> out great!!

--Maria "G" : )

Since we are so close to Thanksgiving maybe you could use this activity.
Handsome Gobblers is the name it's from a 1994 Mailbox issue. To make
the gobbler, fill each finger of a disposable latex glove (because of
allergies I would use the kind from a meat deli in a grocery store) with
different colors of crumbled tissue paper to resemble turkey feathers.
Fill the thumb with brown tissue to resemble the head. Stuff cooled
popcorn into the remaining portion of the glove. Tie the end with a
piece of brown yarn ,use a black marker to make an eye and glue a piece
of candy corn to resemble a peak.
Hope this is helpful

Sandy

 

When you do your popcorn unit, start by putting a clean sheet on the
floor and the popcorn popper on top. As the corn pops, note that you can
smell it, hear it, see it, touch it and taste it...it works great for
the children to concentrate on all the senses. -Leslie
Are you doing the song " Popcorn" by Greg and Steve? what about reading
the
book The Popcorn Dragon by Tomie de Paoloa?
sue
Another fun estimating activity is to put an air popcorn popper on the
floor,
with concentric circles around it. The children can estimate into which
circle the most popped kernels will fall. I usually put a clean table
cloth
under the results, makes eat-up (I mean cleanup) a breeze! LOL

Laura =)
Pittsburgh Public Schools

Read Popcorn by Frank Asch - I'm pretty sure this is the story where they
make
popcorn and it takes over the house. You could ask kids how they would
solve
the problem. There's also a Hello Reader book called The Popcorn Shop (by
Alice Low).

Set dark paper from the paper roll on the floor. Set a popcorn popper in
the
middle with the lid off. Ask kids how far they think the popcorn will fly
-
they can mark their guess with an X, initials, or name. Or you could pop
some
with the lid, then ask kids what they think will happen if you take the lid
off. Pop a few kernels of popcorn and watch what happens (just warn the
kids
NOT to touch it when it flies out because it's so hot!)

Tina
One thing that I have done with popcorn is use a balance-type
scale to weigh the kernels. Because they are so small, the children are
often amazed at how much the kernels weigh. We provide lots of small
objects to compare the weight of the kernels to. I hope this helps.
Also, one of the teachers that I used to team teach with always did a
popcorn project with a hot air popper. She put a large cardboard box
around
the hot air popper so that the open end would be facing you. She used the
box so that the children couldn't see the popper at all. She had the
children use all five senses to try to guess what was in the box. First,
she rattled some of the kernels. Next, she plugged in the popper and they
heard the air flowing. Usually, by the time it started popping, the smell
gave it away. She had them close their eyes as she gave each child some
popcorn to touch and taste. Finally, they used the sense of sight to
confirm the guesses! The children loved this and thought it was a magic
trick!

Michelle
Sugar Pop Snack (serves 6) added 4/30/98
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups popped corn
In a small bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Pour butter over 4 cups popped corn.
Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the popcorn. Mix well. Serve!
Here is a popcorn link for you:
<A HREF="http://www.iup.edu/~njyost/KHI/pcorn.html">Popcorn Ideas</A>
http://www.iup.edu/~njyost/KHI/pcorn.html
There is some way to dye the popped corn and make pictures. But I don't
remember how, sorry. This year we glued plain popped corn on paper and
made
pictures and the kids loved it.
Have a great week!
Kristi

You might make a corn art collage by cutting an ear from yellow
construction
paper and leaves from green (or use corn husks?). After using your popped
corn
for math manipulatives let them glue kernels to the yellow ear.
Instructions
for this and some other cute things can be found at
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/thanks/craft.
The children can estimate how many kernels long objects are and then
measure
them. Also, while talking about the change from seed to popped corn it
might
be fun to do a "sink or float" demonstration to show how the dense seed
sinks
but the same thing floats when it is puffed up. Have fun!
Tess

You might want to try putting unpopped popcorn in your sensory tub.

The children can glue popped corn on a paper with the letters of their
name written on it.

Experiment to find out how much more unpopped than popped corn will
cover the bottom of a peanut butter jar lid.

 

Popping Popcorn (I'm a Little Teapot)

Here is the popper.
Where is the heat?
let's turn it on so we can eat!
The kernels are inside
Getting warm and hot.
Soon we'll hear them all go...
POP,POP, POP,POP,POP!

Happy popping!

 

 

Here's what I have for popcorn:

Shelly
[email protected]

 

>One thing I do with popcorn is to fill up a cup that is clear with
>popcorn. I then add water to the cup of popcorn. Make sure you fill it
>almost full put let the water line still show. I then lay a plastic lid
>on top. The plastic lid needs to be too big for the cup but not huge.
>After about 24 hours the lid will raise up and sometimes it will fall
>off completely. The water lever will have gone down. This lets the
>children see that the kernels will take in the water necessary to pop.
>The popcorn can be planted or put in a baggie garden and they will grow.
>
>If you or your school has access to a gymnasium parachute (the kind with
>handles all around), a fun way to incorporate physical activity in a unit
>on popcorn is to have the kids hold the handles and raise the parachute
>waist-high off the floor. Ask the kids to pretend that the parachute is a
>giant popcorn popper. Ask the kids to "make little waves" by flapping the
>edges of the 'chute. Tell the kids that machine is now hot enough for the
>popcorn kernels to pop. Throw in several soft playground type balls of
>various sizes (wiffle balls work well) that represent the popcorn. Have
>the kids start out making small "waves" and work their way up to tidal
>waves. The balls will start to jump, fly and bounce every which way.
>
>Popcorn is great for estimating. How many kernels in a teaspoon,
tablespoon,
>etc. Also how much will be popped from a certain amount.
>The Popcorn Dragon is a great book.
>We also tried balancing popcorn on a finger.
>Pop colored popcorn. The kids loved it. Of course there are loads of
cooking
>ideas from popcorn balls to adding different seasonings and "toppings."
>
>Watching Popcorn Pop
>Materials:
>popcorn popper
>oil
>popping corn
>salt
>melted butter
>paper cups
>large clean bedsheet
>Method:
>Spread sheet on floor and have children sit around it (stress the fact
>that they must stay there!!) Put popper in middle and pop the corn
>without the lid on! The children will be very excited to see how high
>and far the popcorn jumps!!
>
>Retrieve the popcorn in cups and add a little salt and melted butter.
>I love doing that, as much as the children. I follow it with the poem:
>
>Pop the Popcorn
>Pop the Popcorn
>Pop it in a pot
>Pop the popcorn
>Pop the popcorn
>Hear the popcorn pop!
>We do a similar activity, but to get the children more involved we have
them
>guess where the most popcorn will land.....
>Instead of a sheet, we take white butcher paper. We draw rings around the
>popper (so it looks like a huge bulls eye) and give kids a bowl with their
>name on it. They put the bowl in the circle where they think the most
>popcorn will land. When we are done popping, we determine where the most
>popcorn landed...then the kids check their bowls and count and see who got
>the most
>kernels in their bowl...they get to eat the popcorn in their bowl right
>away - and then we divide up the rest for snack time.......
>It's fun, and it gets them a little more involved...we also sing a popcorn
>song while the popcorn is popping!!
>
>
>
>
>It's also fun to make popcorn. If you can take your popcorn popper
outside
>or clear a large space on the floor. Put the popper on a clean sheet and
>pop
>the corn without the top on. This is so much fun as the children see the
>popcorn fly through the air. Most of it will land on the sheet and after
>all
>the popcorn has popped, the children can pick it up and eat it. Make sure
>you
>have the children stand back from the popper as the popcorn is pretty hot
>right after it pops. This is a real treat for the children!
>
>
> You put some oil in the pot and you let it get hot...
> You put some popcorn in and start to grin....
> sizzle, sizzle,sizzle, sizzle
> sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..........POP!!!!!!!
> they love jumping up on pop like the popcorn does....
>
>Popcorn submitted by Linda LinHubb
> Pop, Pop, Pop! (clap for each pop)
> Pour the corn into the pot. (pour)
> Pop, Pop, Pop!
> Take and shake it till it's hot. (shake)
> Pop, Pop, Pot!
> Lift the lid. What have we got? (lift lid)
> POPCORN! (shout it)
>
>Handgame
>You put the oil in the pot
> And you let it get hot
> You put the popcorn in
> And you start to grin
> Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle
> Sizzle sizzle, sizzle
> POP! (clap loudly)
>
>This can go along with the handgame that Linda sent us a while back.
>Remember to explain the word "grin" to the children and to tell them
there
>is
>a tiny drop of water in a kernel...when it gets very hot, it
>"explodes"...that's the POP >>
>
>[email protected]

Here are some activities we did for our Popcorn day in November - Read
Popcorn by Tomi DePaulo
1. graph - how do you like to eat popcorn?
plain, salted, butter?
2. Number Bingo - using popcorn as markers
3. Guess & Check - take a handful of popcorn.
guess how many kernels are in your hand. Check by filling up a hundreds
chart with your popcorn. Were you correct? Eat that popcorn.
4. Journal write - what I like about popcorn.
5. Take popcorn and shake with dry tempera to color. Glue onto black paper
and make a collage.
6. Make a pattern using different colored popcorn- popped or colored
kernels.
7. Make large popcorn on tagboard and number. Throw in the air and have
students pick them up. Sequence the class.
You can find some activities by going to the JollyTime website.
Elaine

We do something similar to this. We use our fingerprints to make the corn.
The kids use mostly yellow, but also a little red, blue, and brown to fill
the corn shape with fingerprint kernels. Then we cut two strips of a paper
bag to be the husk. It is DARLING!!!

Also, for a big hallway decoration, we make the body of a turkey and the
kinders trace their hands and cut the tracings out in various colors of
construction paper. We put the handprints behind the turkey body as
feathers!

Angie
Here's a song that we song:

The floppy, floppy scarecrow
Stands in the field all day.
His job is to scare the birds away.
Up on a pole as high as he can be,
And away fly those black crows,
1-2-3!
(to the tune of itsy bitsy spider)

Beth k/tx
---------------------------------------------------
-----------------

hello! I make Indian corn in November...as a math activity reinforcing
patterns. my kinders cut a corn shaped husk out of white paper.
I draw several lines down each with a marker. then, using small squares
(1/2 inch) of red, yellow, and orange paper, they create the kernels
down the husk in pattern. they use two or three colors at a time,
depending on abilities. then they cut out two green leaves using
the husk pattern. the leaves are overlapped at the end and the husk
is glued to the middle...when all is dried we punch a hole at the top and
hang
with yarn.

I’ve done the turkey decoration (with hand feathers) with a twist...got
it out of a mailbox issue, I believe. we add one extra touch: I
"hide" his feet in brown lunch bags and give him big black construction
paper glasses and bunny ears, and one of my husband's old neckties. the
sign
next to him reads:
"A turkey...Where?" always gets chuckles :o)

janet/spedK/nj
Hi Ellen! Oh, How I wish we lived near a corn field. The corn unit is one
of my favorite. I do activities for corn, Indian corn, popcorn, and candy
corn. We count and sort the candy corn. We estimate corn kernels. We
also
sort the colored corn kernels. We make popcorn using a popcorn maker where
you use hot oil. It is so cool to watch the children's responses. Most of
them have only seen it made in the microwave or at the movies. We do a
lot
of art projects. We cut out the cob and the husk, then fingerpaint the
kernels using fall colors for Indian corn. We also make a "Corn Book."
Each page has a different part of the corn on the cob. Page 1 - husk -
made
form construction paper. Page 2 - cob - made from construction paper -
Page
3 - silk - yarn pieces. Page 4 - kernels - glue real kernels on the page.
Page 5 - popcorn - glue popcorn on the page. We paint a Mr. or Mrs. Candy
Corn. Cut out a triangle, then using a pencil mark it into thirds. Leave
the top third white, paint the middle third yellow, paint the bottom third
orange. The children accordion fold 4 pieces of orange construction paper
strips for the arms and legs. I have some songs written on sentence strips
that we sing. We learn about the many different things that are made from
corn. Did you know that some types of baby powder have a corn product as
an
ingredient. The children just go nuts when I tell them this! I am doing
this at home, so I will check next week on more activities. I will get you
a
book list, also. Becca
Lis

I did the popcorn... put the popcorn popper in the middle of a big sheet
(
I used king size and it will still make it to the end. Have the kids
predict
how long before it will start to pop, how high it will pop and how far out
it
will pop. The how far they can use their names or a marker. Then when
you
have put the popcorn in...start counting slowly until you get the first
pop.
REMEMBER to keep everyone back maybe even farther than the sheet because if
one hits it will burn. Not bad but it scares them Great language
experience, senses, and math all in one. :-) Could even use popcorn
to
make a picture, or tactile experience writing letters.

Read Tomi DePaulo's popcorn... and the Scholastic Reader popcorn shop
REALLY
goes great with this activity because in that book the popper goes wild and
covers the town. The kids think it will happen to your room.

Hope this is what you wanted.

Sandy/K/Mo [email protected]

Lis - here are a couple of the posts that I had in my files that came from
this
list. neither tell exactly how much room to give the popcorn. guess
you'll just
have to use your "kinder good sense" to determine that - hope you have a
popcorn
popper already. I have been to 4 or 5 stores now to buy one for our school
and no
one sells them anymore. thanks to the microwave I guess. I’m gonna hit
the
garage sale trail next I guess. hope these posts help
Pam in OH

Watching Popcorn Pop
Materials:
popcorn popper
oil
popping corn
salt
melted butter
paper cups
large clean bedsheet
Method:
Spread sheet on floor and have children sit around it (stress the fact that
they
must stay there!!) Put popper in
middle and pop the corn without the lid on! The children will be very
excited to
see how high and far the
popcorn jumps!! Retrieve the popcorn in cups and add a little salt and
melted
butter. I love doing that, as
much as the children.
I follow it with the poem:
Pop the Popcorn
Pop the Popcorn
Pop it in a pot
Pop the popcorn
Pop the popcorn
Hear the popcorn pop!

We do a similar activity, but to get the children more involved we have
them
guess
where the most popcorn
will land.....Instead of a sheet, we take white butcher paper. We draw
rings
around the popper (so it looks
like a huge bulls eye) and give kids a bowl with their name on it. They
put the
bowl in the circle where they
think the most popcorn will land. When we are done popping, we determine
where
the most popcorn
landed...then the kids check their bowls and count and see who got the most
kernels in their bowl...they get to
eat the popcorn in their bowl right away - and then we divide up the rest
for
snack time.......It's fun, and it gets
them a little more involved...we also sing a popcorn song while the popcorn
is
popping!!

[email protected] wrote:

We make Indian corn by gluing colored tissue squares(wrap on the end of a
pencil) on to a corn shape then add three longer steamers for husks. They
turn out pretty.
Cheryl Jackman

Yes growing popcorn is EZ. Use masking tape and tape the bag to a sunny
wndow - ours grew this way anyway. Wow, you sure did get a lot of good
popcorn ideas!!!

How about growing popcorn? place the kernels in a ziploc bag with a damp
paper towel.
Chris
I found another Mailbox that had a unit on popcorn in it. This is a
really neat idea. Dancing popcrn kernels. To make the kernels dance you
will need:
1 tall glass
1 small glass
1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of vinegar
water
popcorn kernels 1 per child
put baking soda in the tall glass.
pour the vinegar in the small glass then fill it with water.
working over the sink pour the vinegar and water solution into the tall
glass. When the bubbling subsides have each child drop his kernel in the
glass. In a few minutes the popcorn kernels will dance. If the dancing
slows down add another tablespoon of vinegar to liven things up again.
Hope this is helpful. From Mailbox Dec-Jan 1991-92

Sandy

For a math activity, have constuction paper pieces on the floor w/ nos.
0-10
written on a paper-l paper for each number. Have the children count out
popcorn to make the sets for each numeral....Great for counting skills.
Have a good week!!!
Genie GA/K

Cinquains

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Creative Writing Ideas

How would it feel to pop?

Write the steps involved when popping corn.

Describe a piece of popcorn.

Invent a day for your favorite food.  Advertise the new holiday.

Make a list of popcorn words.  Divide your list into adjectives, nouns, verbs, etc...

What if popcorn was all you could eat for one week?  Would you still like it?

Describe a movie from the viewpoint of the popcorn bag.

http://www.midwayisd.org/etrip/January/kernels.htm

http://www.midwayisd.org/etrip/January/popcorn.htm

These ideas have been found on the web and complied by me for a few years.  They come from a lot of different sources.  If something is yours and I have not given proper credit please E mail me.