Student Resources
Amy Cowen on August 19, 2016 7:30 AM. "Popcorn Popping Science." Science Buddies. Accessed July 17, 2017. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/2016/08/popcorn-popping-science.php.
Linked to Scientific American, it presents a stem lesson that students can do at home or in a home economics classroom as it requires an oven.
Cobb, V. Science Experiments You Can Eat. New York: Lippincott, 1972.
Describes experiments that students can do using popcorn and other items found in the kitchen.
DePaola, T. The Popcorn Book. New York: Scholastic, 1978.
For many years, this has been the most popular of the elementary school books about popcorn. It has colorful illustrations and presents a great deal of information about popcorn in student friendly language.
Doudna, K. The Kid's Book of Simple Everyday Science: Amazing Experiments--no Lab Required. Minneapolis, MN: Scarletta Kids, 2013.
Provides experiments that look at heat transfer in a variety of ways, including making popcorn.
Higgins, N. Fun Food Inventions. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2014.
Provides background information that is written at a middle school level.
Kudlinski, K. V., and Wexler J. Popcorn Plants. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 1998.
For students who have had little exposure to a traditional science textbook, this is a great start. It has a table of contents, an index and a glossary. There is even a section aimed at adults/parents on how to share the book with a child. The author does a very good job of describing the biology of the popcorn plant. There is strong visual support with clear pictures of the parts of the plant at various stages with additional labeled diagrams that show the overall structure, the process of pollination and even how the plant makes its own food. Kudlinski does a thorough job covering the material while keeping it accessible to children through the use of shorter sentences and the repetition of key nouns.
Landau, E., and Lies, B. Popcorn! Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
It presents the mostly non-fiction material in a variety of ways including a mini popcorn quiz with the explanations included. It then goes on to describe the corn plant, the popping mechanism, and the history of popcorn with humor and relatable language. Each section is clearly labeled by title and consists of just a few pages with strong visual support. There is even a small section toward the end labelled “Top Secret For Parents Only” that describes the nutritional value. To encourage students to do their own research, the last page lists both books and websites the author has found useful.
McCallum, A., and Hernandez, L. Eat Your Science Homework: Recipes for Inquiring Minds. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2014.
Students resource for information about the science of making corn pop with some suggested exploration activities.
"Science Fair Projects." Popcorn Board Learn For Kids Science Fair Projects. Accessed July 17, 2017. https://www.popcorn.org/Learn/For-Kids/Science-Fair-Projects.
Provides ideas and in some cases, details on science projects for students connected with popcorn.
"What Makes Popcorn Pop?" Wonderopolis. Accessed July 17, 2017. http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-makes-popcorn-pop.
Excellent resource to use in a flipped classroom. It provides solid facts with a reading that highlights key vocabulary words. There is even a quiz feature that students can use to test their comprehension. It also has student friendly text and even includes the myth of the demon living inside each kernel of popcorn. It would lend itself to a language arts extension of either reading other myths or creating other food myths. Would also lend itself to an art extension.
What Makes Popcorn Pop?: First Questions and Answers about Food. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life for Children, 1994.
Factual information presented using lower level vocabulary. It also discusses other foods besides popcorn.
Wood, R. W., and Brown, R. E. Heat Fundamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House, 1999.
Presents a variety of experiments that students can do using common materials that look at changes in state due to temperature changes.
Wyler, R., and Stewart, P. Science Fun with Peanuts and Popcorn. New York: Messner, 1986.
Gives background information and presents several different experiments that students can do with popcorn.
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