Lesson Plan: Magnets

National Standards:
Physical Science-Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism

State Frameworks:
2. Apply an understanding of properties of objects and materials, position and motion of objects, and properties of magnetism.
c. Describe observable effects of forces, including buoyancy, gravity, and magnetism.
d. Classify materials that are or are not attracted to magnets and cite examples of useful
magnetic tools in everyday living (e.g., can opener, compass, refrigerator door seal.)

Objectives:
· Construct a compass using needle magnet, corks, and water
· Write a journal entry that demonstrates the use of a compass

Big Ideas:
· There are many forces that affect objects on earth. Magnetism is one of these forces and it has an effect on certain types of metal.
· Magnets are a naturally occurring force, but humans have harnessed their power to make life easier.

Preparation:
1. The teacher will read the book What Makes a Magnet? By Franklyn M. Branley
2. She will engage students by asking them questions about magnets.
a. What are some magnets you find in your house?
b. What are some interesting things you’ve discovered about magnets?
c. How did people in the past use magnets?
d. What are some ways we use magnets today?
3. After reading the book, she will go back and reread pages 12-13 and 16-18 that describes how to make a magnet using a needle and then how to use the needle to make a compass.
4. Students will work in groups and follow the directions in the book to make a magnet and then a compass. Each group should have copies of the necessary pages.
5. Once students have made their compasses, the class will return to whole group discussion.
6. The teacher will remind students of a social studies lesson where they learned the cardinal directions. She will ask students to explain the directions.
7. The teacher will explain that the needle became a magnet, because it has a very weak magnetic force and when we rub it against a magnet, it makes the magnetic force stronger. Basically, it is like “turning on” the needle’s magnetic force.
8. The teacher will explain that the compass is a magnet because earth can be thought of as a big magnet, and the magnet in our compass is attracted to the northern magnet.
9. The teacher will then reread pages 22-24.
10. She will ask students to imagine what it would have been like to live long ago and how they could use compass to find directions.

Guidance:
1. The teacher will read the text, stopping at appropriate places to ask questions. The text is not difficult, but there is new vocabulary such as pole, compass, etc. The teacher will explain these new words, and some new concepts such as polarity.
2. The teacher asks questions both about how magnetic forces work and how people use magnets.
3. The teacher observes the group activity, and helps students with the needles when needed. The teacher may also have to stick the needle into the corks so that students do not get hurt.
4. The teacher reiterates important passages about how people use magnets.
5. The teacher accompanies students on their compass walk and assesses whether students are using their compasses correctly.


Application:
1. Students will go on a walk through the school and use their compass to tell them which way they are going. Students may be told to go west, for example, and will have to walk in that direction.


Assessment:
1. Students will write a journal entry pretending they are using their magnet to find directions. They must include some of the information they read about in their journal entry.