Popcorn In The Classroom

August 20, 2024

It may not seem like it from the heat, but summer is winding down, and that means it’s time for back to school! We like to think that some of the posts we’ve made here on the Topsy’s blog in the past have been educational in their own way, but today we’re going to do something a little different. Here are some suggestions on fun and creative ways to use popcorn as a teaching tool!

History and Social Studies

People have been eating corn for thousands of years. Students who associate popcorn with movie night might be surprised to find out how long ago Native American people groups may have first started popping maize to eat.

The history of popcorn as a food makes it a great jumping-off point for studying the history and culture of the various people who have eaten it, from millennia ago right up to popcorn’s rise as a movie theater snack during the Great Depression more recently.

Math

Since popcorn is easy and cheap to make in large quantities and easy (and tasty) to clean up when the lesson is done, popcorn kernels make useful counters or props for teaching basic math like addition, subtraction. If you have ten popcorn kernels and eat four of them, how many are left?

By using food coloring or different types of popcorn like caramel corn and cheese popcorn, you can also use kernels as a teaching aid for learning fractions. If you have 12 popcorn kernels, and three of them are caramel corn, what fraction of your popcorn kernels are caramel?

Art

Popcorn kernels are a great choice for using in art projects. Macaroni noodles glued to paper might be more common, but popcorn kernels have the advantage that you can easily dye them with food coloring. The shape of popcorn kernels also means they work well for depicting things like clouds, bushes, and trees.

Science

Popcorn can also be used as a teaching aid for simple science experiments and demonstrations.

Even something as simple as explaining what makes popcorn pop can help students learn about what happens to water as it heats up. Measuring out several cups of unpopped popcorn and then seeing how many cups they fill after they’re popped up is a good illustration of the concept of volume.

For something a little more advanced, you can use popcorn as part of a lesson on acids and bases. Dissolve baking soda into several cups of water and drop in some popcorn kernels. Then add different liquids, and the acidic ones will make the popcorn “jump” or “dance” as they react with the baking soda base.

Throw a Classroom Popcorn Party with Topsy’s!

For most of the ideas we’ve suggested, any microwavable popcorn will do. But when it’s time to talk about what the students have learned over a tasty snack, it’s time for the good stuff! Pick up a tin of delicious gourmet Topsy’s popcorn. Our tins come in sizes big enough to satisfy the whole class, and you can pick from classic buttered popcorn, caramel popcorn, cheese popcorn, and cinnamon popcorn, so that even picky eaters are sure to find something they like.