Header: Investigating Magnets

Student Name: Wendy Chang

What common objects are attracted to magnets?

Primary Content Objectives:

Students will know a magnet has two ends called poles, a north pole and a south pole.
Students will know the north pole of one magnet attracts the south pole of a second
magnet, while the north pole of one magnet repels the other magnet's north pole.
Students will know magnets attract certain metals (iron-bearing, nickel, and cobalt).
Students will know magnets have an effect on some items and can cause them to move.
Some items are not affected by magnets and remain stationary.
Students will know that the force of a magnet can move something without actually
touching it.

Students will understand: (big ideas)

Students will understand magnets have poles that can cause a push or a pull force on
other objects.
Students will understand that because of the attract/repel forces magnets exert on certain
objects, magnets have many useful applications in our daily lives.

Students will be able to do: (skills and behaviors)

Students will be able to predict and test which common objects will be attracted to
magnets and which will not be attracted to magnets.
Students will be able to classify objects as being attracted or not attracted to magnets,
such as a paper clip, crayon, and a book.
Students will be able to explain in their own words how a magnet affects an object such
as a paper clip, crayon, or a book.

Related state or national standards: (Examples include State Standards of Learning, Common
Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards or National Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies)
K.3 The student will investigate and understand that magnets have an effect on some
materials, make some things move without touching them, and have useful applications.
Key concepts include
a) magnetism and its effects;
b) useful applications of magnetism.
Assessment: (How (and when) will students be assessed? What evidence will you collect to
determine whether students have met the lesson objectives? Will the assessment(s) be a preassessment (diagnostic), formative (ongoing feedback) or summative?)
Formative Assessment: As the children are engaged in the task, I will observe and gauge their
level of understanding on the magnetic forces of attract, repel, and not attract by checking to see
if they are sorting the objects into the correct groups. I will then and providing the necessary
support for children who do not understand the concept.
Summative Assessment: After sorting the objects into groups for attract/not attract, the students
will draw pictures of these objects on the Magnet Mystery chart, which I will collect at the end
of the lesson. This will help me assess whether or not the students have a solid understanding of
magnetic forces.
Materials and Resources: (List here all materials that you will need in order to successfully
teach this lesson. Include technology and website links, texts, graphic organizers, student
handouts, physical manipulatives, etc.)
Magnets
Book - A Look at Magnets by Barbara Alpert
Objects to test magnetic force (i.e. paper clip, crayons, metal balls, books, soda can, scissors,
pencils, coins, paper, cookie cutter, binder ring, glasses, metal can, scissor, cloth/flag, math
manipulatives, clip, button, ruler, hole puncher, etc.)
Magnetic Mystery Worksheet (Figure-1)
Poster
Marker
Tape

Pencil
Paper
Key Vocabulary and Definitions:

Attract: the force that pulls like poles of magnets together. The force that pulls the
magnet and another object together.
Repel: the force that pushes like poles of magnets apart.
Not attract: the lack of pull between the magnet and another object.
Metal: any of various substances that have a more or less shiny appearance, are good
conductors of electricity and heat, can be melted, and are usually capable of being shaped

Lesson Procedures:
1. Introduction and goal orientation:
[10 minutes]
I will begin the class by going over the behavior expectations with the students, and Ill
have the students practice the expected behaviors a couple of times until they get it down.
Following the behavior expectations, I will conduct a read aloud on the book A Look at
Magnets by Barbara Alpert. The book will introduce the students to the concept of
magnets and how it works as well as their useful applications.
During the read aloud, I will ask the students some guided reading questions to aid their
comprehension.
Page 4: What are magnets made of?
Page 6: Do you think a magnet will move an aluminum can? How about a copper penny?
Page 10: How many poles do magnets have? What are they called?
Page 12: What will happen if you try to make two of the same poles on the magnet
touch? What will happen if you try to make two of the opposite poles on the magnet
touch? (Discuss the terms attract and repel)
Page 20: What are some ways magnets can be used for?
2. Connecting to prior knowledge and experiences: (Questions or activities that help
students make links)
[3 minutes]
To connect the lesson to the students prior knowledge, I will ask the students if they have
used a magnet before. I will also ask them to name some common items with magnets.
3. Tasks and activities: (What challenging tasks and activities will students engage in as
they construct knowledge, learn new skills or behaviors and develop understandings?)

[25 minutes]
I will begin by handing each student a magnet with a blue and a red side. Ill have them
pair up and attempt to put the two blue sides together and the two red sides together.
Once theyve realized you cant put the same poles together, Ill ask them to think about
why it doesnt work (because same sided poles repel/push away). Then Ill have them
predict whether the blue and the red poles will be able to stick together, and the students
will try it out and explain why the two sides attract (because opposite poles on the magnet
attract).
Next I will demonstrate the magnet experiment as a whole class activity by writing the
words attract and not attract on the board and taking objects (paper, cookie cutter,
binder ring, glasses, metal can, scissor, cloth/flag, math shapes, paper clips, button, ruler,
hole puncher, etc.) one at a time to see if it will be attracted/pulled to the magnet or not.
For each item, I will first ask the students to predict whether they think it will attract or
not attract, then calling a student up to test the predictions and placing the item in the
correct sort (attract or not attract).
Once all the objects have been tested, Ill have the students think and talk to their
shoulder partners about why certain objects are attracted to the magnet while others are
not attracted to the magnet (the objects that are attracted to the magnet are made of
metal).
The students will then return to their seats and work in groups to test out various objects
on the tray (paper clips, crayons, metal balls, books, soda can, scissors, pencils, coins,
paper, etc.) and sort them into two groups: attract or not attract. After they have sorted all
of the objects, they will write or draw the items on the Magnet Mystery worksheet (see
Figure-1).
4. Closure: (How will you wrap up the lesson and reinforce key ideas? Closure may include
some form of assessment or exit slip)
[4 minutes]
To wrap up the class, I will gather the childrens attention and ask them to share about
their magnet lab experiments (Which objects stuck to the magnet? Which ones didnt?
What surprised you the most while doing the experiments?) Following the activity
debrief, Ill collect the students Magnetic Mystery papers as a summative assessment.
Accommodations for individual differences: How will you modify the content (what is
learned), the process (how the content is mastered) or product (how the learning is observed and
evaluated) to support diverse learners? Describe additional supports that can be used for re-

teaching if needed, and a challenging extension for students for demonstrate mastery quickly or
show evidence of a lot of prior knowledge.
For students who are struggling with the concept of magnets and how objects can be attracted or
repelled by magnetic forces, I will take two magnets and review how when an object sticks to the
magnet that means its attracted to the magnet and if the object does not stick to the magnet that
means the object is not attracted to the magnet. I will model a couple of the items in the sort then
ask them to try it on their own as I observe their sort.
For students who master the lesson on the magnetic forces of attract and repel quickly, I will take
the lesson a step further by explaining the concept of a magnetic field. I can demonstrate how the
magnetic fields works by showing the magnets lines of energy using iron filings. I can also
discuss how the earth acts like a huge magnet and has a North and South Pole because the core is
composed of mostly iron. This gives the earth a magnetic field, which protects our planet in
many ways such as from the suns direct radiation.
Behavioral and organizational strategies: What behaviors will you model or discuss with
students? What do you want to remember about organizing the lesson and materials? Use this
section for reminders to yourself about behavioral and organizational strategies. For example, do
you want to explicitly model how to work with partners in this lesson? Or demonstrate how to
use mathematical tools?
Prior to the lesson, I will reinforce the rules and behavioral expectations with the students (i.e.
Raise your hands before speaking, listening when others speak, not getting out of our seats
during the lesson unless directed by the teacher, stop/look/listen, etc.). Ill have the students
practice the behavior a couple of times until they have it down. Furthermore, during the whole
class demonstration, I will have the students hide the magnets in their hands so that they can pay
attention and not get distracted when Im instructing the lesson.

Figure 1 Magnetic Mystery

Magnet Mystery
Record your findings from the magnet experiment!

attract

not attract