Grade: Elementary
Subject: other

#1940. Popcorn Day

other, level: Elementary
Posted Sat Nov 11 08:10:53 PST 2000 by Elaine Magud (magud@inreach.com).
Joshua Cowell School, Manteca, Ca.
Materials Required: varied
Activity Time: approx 1 and 1/2 hours
Concepts Taught: varied

POPCORN DAY!

1. Activity: Popcorn Bingo
Objective: student will recognize (number, letter, or color)
Materials and preparation: popped popcorn or candy corn, programmed Bingo cards. You can make your own with clip art or just use regular Bingo cards (color, number, letter etc.
Procedure: Use the popcorn or candy as markers for your Bingo game. When you are finished the student can eat the markers.
2. Activity: Popcorn weighing
Objective: mathematics -- nonstandard measurement. (weight)+++ vocabulary -- more/less/same
Materials and preparation: unpopped popcorn kernels, balance scales, small objects and programmed sheet.
Collect small objects: unifix cube, paper clip, rubber band, crayon etc. Program a check-off sheet using clip art or drawing the object. Children can circle which weighs more or less.
Procedure: students count out 10 popcorn kernels and place in one side of balance scale. Place the small object in the other side of the scale. Dialogue; which weighs more? Less? Same?

3. Activity: sequencing growth of popcorn
Objective: science, following directions, sequencing
Materials: strip of construction paper and sequencing page. ( found in a theme book or drawn) Glue and colored pencils or crayons are needed. You can also do this by using a kernel of corn, yarn for the seedling, tissue paper and to make the stalk of corn and ear, and last a popped kernel.
Procedure: students sequence the growth of the popcorn.
4. Activity: Indian corn collage
Objective: fine arts, fine motor
Materials and preparation: black line of ear of corn, glue, colored unpopped kernels and popped kernels. You can color the unpopped kernels using alcohol and food coloring (paste works well). Leave the kernels in the alcohol mixture longer for a deeper color.
Procedure: students glue popcorn kernels etc. to black line master and create their own corn collage.
5. Activity: Counting Kernels
Objective: Math- number identification, and one on one counting.
Materials and preparation: Program a sheet of paper with numbers you are working on eg. 1-20. Make boxes on the paper and place the number in the upper left hand corner of the box. You will need glue and unpopped popcorn or popped kernels. Portable number lines are also an option for this activity.
Procedure: students recognize number on sheet and count out correct number of kernels. Students glue kernels in numbered box.
6. Activity: Making Butter ( to be eaten on popcorn later)
Objective: measurement, science -- changing a liquid to a solid -- discussion.
Materials and Preparation: small clean baby food jars, heavy cream, plates or bowls, coffee filters, freshly popped popcorn.
Procedure: students pour cream into jar -- about half full.
Students then shake, shake, shake the jar. (Hints: Some place marbles in jar. Cream should be taken out of fridge so it is not real cold. After all students have made butter you can melt in microwave and drizzle over popcorn you have placed in coffee filters. Yummy!
7. Activity: 5 Senses Riddle Book
Objectives: high frequency words in context. (ELD)
Science: 5 senses
Materials and Preparation: copy and assemble book.
Students will need word cards, book, crayons. A completed book to be read to the students.
Procedure: students listen to the story. Teacher indicates lines where a word is missing. Students write the high frequency word in the cloze sentences on the book. Student colors book and then reads with teacher.
8. Activity: popcorn graphing
Objectives: math --graphing, ELD
Materials and Preparation: program sentence strips for the pocket chart graph. Prepare different kinds of popcorn for tasting. (caramel, butter, cheese)
Provide napkins or coffee filters for popcorn. Prepare small name tags (if possible in the shape of a popped kernel) for graphing.
Procedure: students taste the different kinds of popcorn and then decide their favorite flavor. Students place name tag in appropriate section of graph. Discuss graph with whole group at the end of the day.