National Popcorn Day
Hey friends, I just found out that National Popcorn Day is January 19.
Say whaaaaat? I know! I am so hyped and inspired.
I love a good theme to wrap learning experiences around, so you can imagine my excitement when I randomly came across National Popcorn Day and immediately had to take a deep dive into how we could integrate this into our classrooms! Along the way, I also learning that October is National Popcorn Month — oh my goodness, even more reason for me to dive into meaningful, intentional, and FUN integration of popcorn in classrooms!
Fun Fact, during one of my student teaching placements, I used popcorn as a hook for learning and practicing using adjectives with second grade learners. We popped popcorn, completed a taste test and used our 5 senses to write adjectives on big pieces of popcorn that I created and we made a wall display with our popcorn and a big classic red and white popcorn bag. This was before everyone had cell phones, much less cell phones with cameras — I wish I had photos, although I might have developed photos from then somewhere in my files from college. Stay tuned!
Interested in using popcorn with your learners? I have compiled resources, ideas, and inspiration below for all subject areas and ages of learners. Take a look! Also, don’t forget that you can use popcorn without any instrucitonal intentions, it’s purpose can just be to add joy to the day — I give you permission.
Ideas to jump start your thinking
Taste Test: practice using adjectives, graphing preferred flavors from the test — go a step further and have learners conduct the taste test in other learning spaces
Manipulatives: use unpopped or popped popcorn kernels for 10s frames, to practice letter recognition and creating, spell out words or their own names
Art: make creative crafts with kernels, maybe even an art piece demonstrating something about popcorn with popcorn (how meta)
Math: estimate kernels in a container, estimate kernals to cover surface area, how many kernels make 1 inch, 1 cm, etc?, what is the ratio between unpopped kernels and popped kernels? Is there a difference between different brands of popping corn or methods and the size of kernels?, elapsed time for popping corn
5 senses: create a sensory bin with kernels, compare and contrast with your five senses popped vs unpopped corn
Science: use experimental design to compare different popping methods, examine heat transfer process involved in popping corn, connect kinetic and potential energy to the popcorn process, examine kernels popped and unpopped under a hand lens, stereoscrope or microscope (or all three!), compare different types of corn (monocotyledons), investigate cell structure and classify corn, plant corn and observe over time.
Here is a great Foldscope Microscope investigation by Holly Stuart
For Fun: use pop ems (toys) for brain breaks in the day, set a timer for 30 seconds for learners to “pop” out of their seat, bring in packaging material to pop, use yellow and white crumpled paper for a “popcorn fight” in the room — bonus points for integrating this into learning — maybe they can match vocabulary words and definitions, math problems and solutions, or again — why not just have a little fun!
Great resources I found just hanging out on the internet for you, free to use!
History of popcorn, a dedicated space for educator resources, and it even has a special “kids corner” with interactive pieces and printable activities! popcorn around the world
I also found these learner friendly videos from “Kids Should See This”, a website dedicated to bringing video content to kids that is friendly for learners of all ages and contains engaging content:
- why popcorn pops
- popcorn under a microscope
- how to make popcorn on the cob
- popcorn cannon
- cool way to pop one kernel at a time
- walking popcorn (spoiler alert — its an insect that looks like popcorn!)
- popping musical instrument
- popcorn themed cake animation
Whatever pops into your head — feel free to share! Once you start thinking all things popcorn you can’t help the explosion of ideas that surface. Share in the comments, share on social media — and join in the opportunity to weave a little fun into your day!
