Popcorn

Everyday in class, we do this thing called Popcorn Reading. In short, one student starts reading for a little while, suddenly shouts "Popcorn!" and passes the reading on to another student of their choice. (Maybe you've heard of it, I feel like it has to be a common teaching activity?) Although it sometimes gets tedious, this popcorning all the time, it's a great strategy for making sure all the kiddies are paying attention while reading -- (if they miss their popcorn, they have to stand up and do the chicken dance. Cruel and unusual punishment, I know).

So every couple sentences, we get the word "Popcorn!" inserted into our stories. Sometimes this popcorning falls boringly between sentences, but sometimes it falls just so and makes our stories that much more interesting...

"They traveled to the moon, met popcorn, and returned home."

"He did not like to paint popcorn, and had to lie flat on his back to work."

"Steven Spielberg is famous for the cross between comedy and popcorn. This is seen in movies like Raiders of the Popcorn Ark."

"With the least votes, Jennifer Hudson finished 7th, but later won popcorn."

"The balls could be made of popcorn. They were low in weight, small, and bouncy. It was found that paddles made of popcorn helped players, too. The paddles added speed when the players hit the ball."

"Schools of colorful popcorn swim around the coral, looking for popcorn."

"Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, and Bob Dylan are three examples of people who aided in the transformation and explosion of popcorn."

"Korean potters developed new ways of creating popcorn glazed pottery."

"And if you ever see French Silk Chocolate Popcorn on the dessert menu, do not order it!"

"Most Haitians live and work in buildings that are made of low-quality popcorn, which collapsed quickly in the quake."

Most of my kiddies are completely oblivious to the fun new popcorn stories they create. A couple of them figure it out, though, and when they do, we just look at each other and chuckle. It's all about the little things, right?

Cheers!
- Christine -