Child eating popcorn in front of a yellow popcorn background
Shutterstock.com
Poetry,

Pop-Corn

A lighthearted poem celebrating the beloved snack.

By Evaleen Stein
From the October/November 2022 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will read a poem  and identify how the sounds of its words help the reader imagine popcorn popping.

Complexity Factors
  • Purpose & Levels of Meaning
    “Pop-Corn” is a lighthearted poem that uses repetition of sounds to evoke the sound and image of popcorn popping.
  • Structure
    The poem consists of one stanza of seven lines of varying length. Its rhyme scheme is a, b, b, a, a, a, a.
  • Language
    The poem uses onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, and repetition.
  • Knowledge Demands
    The poem refers to corn grains bursting as they cook in a popcorn popper.
Featured Skill: Figurative Language,
Other Key Skills: main idea, text features, figurative language, interpreting text, key details, author’s craft, rhyme, visual literacy
Standards
  • Common Core
    RL.1, RL.2, RL.3, RL.4, RL.5, RL.7, R.4, SL.1, SL.2, L.1
  • TEKS Grade 3
    1a, 1c, 3b, 4, 6a, 6c, 6d, 6f, 6g, 7c, 7d, 7g, 9b, 10c, 10d

Presentation View
See Student View
Figurative Language

As you read, think about how the sounds of the words help you imagine popcorn popping.

Pop-Corn

Pop! Pop—Poppetty-pop!

Shake and rattle and rattle and shake

The golden grains as they bounce and break

To fluffy puffiness—Poppetty-pop!

Bursting and banging the popper’s top!

Poppetty-pop!

Pop! Pop!

Reprinted by permission of THE POET. All Rights Reserved.

Audio ()
Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Audio ()
Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Can't Miss Teaching Extras

Build background knowledge and engagement by first sharing this issue’s Mini Read, “The History of POP!”

There’s another poem about a delicious treat your students will love. Read them “How to Make an Ice Pop” from our May/June 2021 issue.

For more practice with figurative language, share the lovely poem “Feet Talk.” Ask students to compare the sounds they hear in this poem with the sounds from “Pop Corn.”

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. Skill Building

1. Preparing to Read

Set a Purpose for Reading

  • Read the title of the poem along with the poet’s name. Ask students to describe the illustration and predict what the poem will be about. Review the predictions after reading the poem.
  • Ask students what they know about how corn becomes popcorn. Pair the poem with this issue’s Mini Read about the history of popcorn. You can use the Mini Read to build background knowledge for reading the poem. 
  • Tell students to keep the Think and Read prompt in mind as they read the poem.

Preview Text Features and Vocabulary

  • Go over any vocabulary terms that may be challenging for your students. You might want to explain that the word popper in the fifth line of the poem refers to a machine that makes popcorn. 

2. Reading and Discussing the Poem

  • Read the poem to the class, play the audio version, or use text-to-speech.

  • Next, ask students to take turns reading aloud each line in the poem.

  • Discuss the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions. (Alternatively, assign all or part of the Learning Journey Slide Deck, which contains the questions as well as other activities from this lesson plan and a link to the poem.)

Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions

  • Which words in the poem sound like popcorn as it cooks? (figurative language) The words “Pop! Pop—Poppetty-pop!” sound like popcorn as it cooks.
  • What is happening to the popcorn in the second line of the poem? (interpreting text) The popcorn is shaking and rattling around in the popcorn popper as it cooks.
  • Read the fifth line of the poem: “Bursting and banging the popper’s top!” What do you think is happening to the popcorn as it continues to cook? (interpreting text, key details) As the popcorn cooks, it is breaking  apart and banging against the top of the popcorn popper.
  • Why do you think the poet repeats “pop” sounds throughout the poem? (author’s craft) The poet probably repeats “pop” sounds throughout the poem to help you imagine the sounds of popcorn popping over and over as it cooks.
  • Which words rhyme in the poem? (rhyme) The rhyming words are pop, top, shake, and break.
  • How does the illustration help you understand what probably happens after the poem ends? (visual literacy) The images of popcorn behind the girl show what the popcorn looks like after it’s cooked. The photo of the girl happily eating popcorn helps you imagine how much fun it is to eat this tasty treat. 

3. Skill Building

Featured Skill: Main Idea

Distribute or digitally assign our Main Idea Skill Builder and have students complete it in class or for homework.  

Text-to-Speech