A Bowl of Popcorn
Popcorn Questions
How ____ is popcorn?
Who ____ the game of popping corn in the old days?
Who popped corn to ____ fortunes?
Who tried interesting ways of popping corn during the nineteenth ____?
Pop! Pop! Pop! ____ you love the smell of freshly made popcorn?
It is one of the most popular snacks around the world, and historians believe that ____ have enjoyed it for more than 5,000 years.
It was in Central America that corn was originally grown, and it was in caves in New Mexico that the ____ popcorn was found.
Part 2
____ Americans not only loved eating corn but also enjoyed the game of popping corn.
____ seeds were thrown on hot stones over a fire.
Then they popped and bloomed into white ____.
The game was to ____ and enjoy the flowery snacks.
Native Americans used popcorn for decoration as ____.
Their teenage ____ used popped corn to decorate clothes.
The Aztecs made corn decorations for the statues of the ____ of rain.
They thought popcorn a symbol of good ____ and goodwill.
They believed that they would be protected by popping spirits when they wore decorations made with ____ corn.
Part 3
In addition to Native Americans, many other people around the world enjoyed this ____ snack.
The Chinese, as well as people in Sumatra and India, made popcorn long before Columbus arrived in the West ____.
In ancient China, ____ popped corn to tell fortunes for the coming year and their daughters’ future marriage.
In the Song Dynasty, Chinese people invented large pot-shaped popping machines to ____ corn, and these machines are still used by street poppers today.
It was Americans that tried interesting ____ of popping corn during the nineteenth century.
Some threw corn seeds onto hot ashes, stirred, and then picked out the popped ____ pieces.
Others mixed corn with fat or butter and ____ it in a pan.
They ____ popping corn wonderful and exciting.
A more popular way was cooking popcorn over an open fire in a wire box with a ____ wooden handle.
The fanciest popcorn popper was invented by Charles ____ in 1893, and before long many types of interesting poppers were seen in movie theaters and parks.
Part 4
Finally, an electric ____ popper for the home was invented in 1925.
Believe it or not, poppers were in ____ demand and were even made by middle school students in school clubs.
How do you like your popcorn? Sweet, ____, or spicy?
Next time you enjoy popcorn, ____ yourself as a Native American, an ancient Chinese person, or an inventor.
With a bowl of popcorn, you can be a Native American and make pretty decorations or be an ancient Chinese person and tell ____.
Or better still, why don’t you be an ____ and come up with a new popper for your favorite popcorn?