Magnets Learning Cycle

In this introductory learning cycle, students will explore the interaction of magnets and materials, investigate
the uses of magnets in their everyday lives, and create an invention that utilizes a magnet.

Rationale:

Children may be familiar with a variety of uses of magnets in their daily lives. However, their experiences
with magnets may do little to help them make sense of how magnets work. Understanding what magnets
can and cannot do can help children make use of magnets more effectively.
Because the behavior of magnets is explained on the atomic level, and cannot be directly observed by
students, the teacher must carefully sequence learning activities to support students in making inferences
about magnetic behavior. The Learning Cycle method utilizes students explorations with materials as the
basis for developing abstract concepts.

Teacher Background:
The term magnetism actually comes from the region of Magnesia, a province of Greece where over 2000
years ago loadstones were found to have the unusual property of attracting pieces of iron. Humans have
taken advantage of this property of materials to navigate the seas, take pictures of inside the human body,
levitate trains above the track (maglev), and do more mundane things like keep purses closed or hang
items on a refrigerator door. Once thought to be magic, magnets have become of great importance to
science!
Magnets can both attract (pull) and repel* (push) other magnets, as well as attract other types of objects
(While a common misconception is that magnets attract all metals, it is actually only those that contain iron,
nickel, or cobalt in sufficient amounts that are attracted to a magnet). Note that a magnet does not attract
wood is not the same as a magnet repels wood the magnet has no effect, or exerts no force on wood,
therefore it is NOT repelling the wood!

Link to Standards:

According to the NSES, From the earliest grades, students should experience science in a form that
engages them in active construction of ideas and explanations and enhances their opportunities to develop
the abilities of doing science. (p121) The activities in this learning cycle correspond with:
Physical Science
CONTENT STANDARD B:
As a result of the activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of
Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism
o Magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials.
Science and Technology
CONTENT STANDARD E:
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
Abilities of technological design
o Identify a simple problem
o Propose a solution
o Implementing proposed solutions

o Evaluate a product or design

o Communicate a problem, design, and solution

Materials List

For each group:

Assorted magnets (horseshoe, cow, disk, bar, etc.)
Assortment of objects (non-metallic, metallic, with iron and without)
Chart paper or white board & markers
Access to craft magnets and a variety of materials and/or access to technology for creating
advertisements (e.g., desktop publishing, video, etc.)

Goals/objectives of the lesson:

Students will develop the following knowledge and abilities related to processes, content, and
understandings about science:
Science Processes/Skills:
Students will
Observe the interaction of
magnets and other objects.
Infer whether objects
contain iron, nickel, or
cobalt, based on their
interactions.
Operationally define
attract, repel, and
magnet.
Identify a problem that
could be solved with a
magnet
Pose/design a solution to
the problem
Evaluate the design of the
solution
Communicate the
problem and solution to the
audience

Science Content/Knowledge:
Students will explain that:
Magnets can attract and
repel other magnets.
Magnets can attract objects
that contain iron, nickel, or
cobalt.
Magnets repel only other
magnets.
Magnets can attract or
repel at a distance.
Magnets can attract or
repel through other
materials.

The Nature of Science:

Students will discuss...
Scientific claims must be
testable and backed by
evidence.
Scientific ideas are subject
to change in light of new
evidence.
Science and technology
influence each other

Engage/Encountering the Idea:

Begin by brainstorming, in small groups, items that use magnets or, to help build interest in the
lesson in advance, ask that students conduct a scavenger hunt to identify examples of magnets
they encounter in their daily lives. Have students share their examples with the whole class, and
discuss the way that magnets are used in the examples they give. A three-column chart can be
made in which you list the item, the way in which the magnet is being used, and how it solves a
problem.

Tell students that they seem to know a lot about magnetic products already, and so you want to
know a bit more about what they think about how magnets work. Provide each student with a copy
of the Agree/Disagree Statements (see Appendix) Students will respond individually, then discuss
their ideas in small groups, coming to consensus on whether they agree, while noting any
disagreements among group members.

Exploring the Idea:

On the basis of student responses to the A/D statements, the teacher can group students
based on similar ideas. Each group should be provided with an assortment of magnets and
materials in order to test their ideas.
Guiding questions should be used to push student thinking further and help clarify their
thinking, as well as encourage additional explorations:
o What does it mean to attract? Repel?
o Does it matter how far away the magnet is from the other magnet/object?
o What happens when you turn the magnet/object another way?
o Does it matter what type of material is between the magnet and the object it is
attracting?
o What do you notice about the kinds of materials magnets attract? The kind of materials
they do not attract? How are they alike? Different?

Explanation/ Organizing the Idea:

Remind students that scientific claims must be backed up by evidence. Ask students to share a
claim, and the evidence they have to support that claim. Have groups share their observations from
the exploration. Resolve any inconsistencies by making further observations if necessary. Ask
students to describe the interactions they observed between magnets, and between magnets and
the other items.
Have groups share the ways in which they tested their ideas.
Have students compare their initial ideas to their explorations. Were students surprised by anything
they found? At this point, some of the students original ideas may differ from what they observe
occurring. Ask what scientists do when their observations dont match their ideasemphasize that
while much of scientific knowledge is durable, it is also tentative or subject to change with
new evidence.
Students may be puzzled by the observation that not all metals are attracted to the magnets,
although their observations fail to allow them to discover why this is so. They may be able to
generalize that magnets attract some metals, but not others. The teacher can inform students that
magnets specifically attract iron, and to a lesser extent, cobalt and nickel. The attraction is based
on a property of the substance itselfthese are special in that they are the only substances a
magnet attracts.
As appropriate during student sharing, clarify and/or introduce vocabulary:
o attract (pull toward)
o repel (push away)
o magnet (objects that attract and repel each other, and attract certain metals)
Emphasize that understandings scientists develop can often have practical applications to our daily
lives, and be useful for solving problems. Students will be exploring this in the next activity.

Extend/ Applying the Idea:

Pose the following scenario to students, having them do a THINK-PAIR-SHARE to discuss:

The local recycling center is looking for more effective ways of separating recycled items, for
example, sorting out cans from plastic containers. Would a magnet be useful for this? Why or
why not?
In the above situation, students should realize that magnets will only be able to sort out objects that
contain iron, but not other metals such as aluminum cans, and so magnets are not useful for
solving this particular problem. What kinds of problems might magnets be useful for solving? Refer
back to students examples from the Engage phase of the lessoncan they identify the problems
that magnets were being used to solve for each example they gave?
Extending Further: If students need further experiences, it may help to bring in several examples of
items that use magnets for students to examine and discuss in terms of the problem, design, and
solution. Students should explain the role the magnet plays and the types of interactions utilized.

Evaluation:

Tell students that now that they have learned about magnets, they will be identifying a problem and
proposing a solution that utilizes magnets. (Their solution, or invention, can be a new idea, or an
improvement on an old idea.) On the assigned date, students will present their ideas at an
Invention Convention. They will make use of technology to enhance communication of their ideas
(e.g., desktop publishing, multimedia applications)
Students will present their inventions at an Invention Convention. Presentations will be followed
by a question/answer period.
Following the Convention, a whole-class discussion should focus on the way science and
technology influence one another:
o How is scientific knowledge important to inventors? What knowledge did you use to make
your invention?
o How are inventions/technology helpful to scientists? Can you think of any examples?
(microscope, telescope, etc.)

[You will be creating evaluation criteria for student inventions as part of the Assessment Project for this
course, so none is provided here.]

References:

National Research Council. (1996). The national science education standards. Washington, D.C.: National
Academy Press.
Keeley, P. (2008). Science formative assessment: 75 practical strategies for linking assessment,
instruction, and learning. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.

Agree and Disagree Statements

Statement
How can you find out?
1. Magnets attract some objects, and repel others.
_____ agree
______ disagree
_____ It depends ______ not sure
My thoughts:

2. Magnets attract metals.

_____ agree
______ disagree
_____ It depends ______ not sure
My thoughts:

3. Magnetism can pass through other materials.

_____ agree
______ disagree
_____ It depends ______ not sure
My thoughts: