Popcorn Writing, Part 1

This week for our writing assignment, we did a "fun" assignment.  I printed out a worksheet from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Basically, we popped popcorn and talked about it while we snacked.  The children loved it!

While the popcorn was popping we talked and how it sounded.  Was it loud, or soft?  Maybe it was sizzling?  The sound that everyone agreed on was "pop."  Hmm, go figure.

After the popcorn was finished, I put it all in a bowl and set it in the middle of the table.  That's when the torture really began.  I told the children that they got to look at it.  No eating.  So, they looked.  And looked some more.  We wrote down words in the "Looks ..." column according to what they said it looked like.  This required some guidance.  I asked them questions like, "Does the popcorn look sharp, hard, all the same?"  The questions helped a lot.

At this point, their stomachs were growling and they were begging for just one taste.  But, we weren't to that sense yet.  First we had to talk about how it felt.  I passed out bags of popcorn to all the children, then instructed them to put one kernel in their hand and just feel the popcorn.  Was it pokey, or squishy? Rough or smooth?

Finally, it was the tasting part of the worksheet.  They each got to put that one kernel in their mouths on their tongues.  But, I told them not to chew it.  We then brainstormed how it tasted, and felt, in their mouths.  They said, "buttery, yummy, delicious."  You get the gist .... they were in heaven after all that smelling, looking, and waiting.

By far, one of our best introduction to the senses for writing.  Eliza had a sheet she'd gotten from school that listed a bunch of synonyms for the different senses which she pulled out and used to help her come up with some other words.  The second part of our writing assignment is yet to come: the writing!  I explained before we got the popcorn started that we would be using these words and descriptions to write poems about popcorn.  Eliza was super excited.  She loves writing poems.  And, even Kate, who hates writing, enjoyed herself.  I guess I would too, if I were "assigned" to eat popcorn!