Developed by: Kelsey Criswell

University of Richmond
Introduction
• Physical Science: Magnets
• Length of Lesson: 35 minutes
• VA Standards of Learning: Science 2.2: The students will investigate and
understand that natural and artificial magnets have certain characteristics and
attract specific types of metals. Key concepts include:
a) magnetism, iron, magnetic/nonmagnetic, poles, attract/repel; and
b) important applications of magnetism.

Cognitive Objectives
The students will:
• predict which items are magnetic.
• test their predictions through experiments
• classify objects as magnetic or nonmagnetic
• create a chart to illustrate the results of their experiment.

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation

• 12 Pre-prepared Ziploc bags with each of the following items:
o nail, battery, bobby pin, rubber band, paper clip, cork, penny,
nickel, 3 inch piece of aluminum foil, golf tee, marble, soda can
tab (one bag per group)
• 12 Magnet Wands or Hematite Magnets (one per group)
• Pencil (one per student)
• Discovering Magnets Recording Sheet (one per student)
• Discovering Magnets Q & A Sheet (one per student)
• Chart Paper
• Markers

Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction/Anticipatory Set:
• Call all of the students to the rug informing them that we are going to start
a new lesson. Ask students if they know of an invisible force that can
move objects? Tell the students that we are going to start talking about this
invisible force, magnets. Ask the students: “Who knows what a magnet
is?” telling them to raise their hands if they have an answer. After you
have accepted several responses, tell the students that magnets can be
manmade from special metals or can occur naturally and they have the
ability to attract objects that are made of iron, nickel and cobalt.
• Next, tell the students that magnets can attract objects, or pull an object to
it. Show the students what attraction is by sticking a refrigerator magnet to
the chalkboard. Show them that you can let go of the magnet before it is
touching the board and the magnet will attract itself to the board and stick
without falling to the ground. Next, tell the students that magnets can also
repel an object, meaning that they do the opposite. Take the same
refrigerator magnet and hold it up to the wall or the side of a bookshelf.
Developed by: Kelsey Criswell
University of Richmond
Let go of the magnet before it is touching the side of the wall or bookshelf
so the students can see the magnet dropping to the ground. Tell the
students that the wall or bookshelf were nonmagnetic and therefore
repelled the magnetic so it was unable to stick.
• Remind the students that magnets are used often in our everyday life. Ask
the students to raise their hands to offer examples of things that magnets
are used for. Tell the students that we are going to use magnets today to
predict what types of objects that we use all the time are magnetic, or
attracted by magnets, or nonmagnetic, not attracted by magnets.

Lesson Development:
• Hold up a Ziploc Bag with the items in it and the Discovering Magnets
Recording Sheet and display it to the class. Tell the students that they will
work in partners to predict which items in their bag are magnetic and
which items are nonmagnetic. Tell the students that they will dump out
their bag and, working with a partner, predict, or guess which items are
magnetic and which are not magnetic. Point to the “Prediction Boxes” on
the recording sheet and tell the students that they will draw each item in
the box according to what their best guess is. Next, they will get a chance
to tell each item to see if it is magnetic or nonmagnetic by holding a
magnet to the item. After experimenting with the magic wand, the students
will then record their findings in the “Experiment Boxes” on the recording
sheet. Hold up the page and point to the Recording section.
• While still on the rug, assign partners and pass out one Ziploc bag and one
magnet wand to each pair. Dismiss each pair one by one to get the
Discovering Magnets Recording Sheet from you and then to go to their
desks to start working on their predictions with their partner.
• Tell the students that they will have ten minutes to complete the
“Predictions” Section. Put 10 minutes on the class timer. Walk around the
class and observe students and listen to their discussion as they decide
which category to place each item into.
• After the bell has rung signifying that the 10 minutes is up, ask students to
raise their hands to share their predictions by asking for students to raise
their hands for magnetic/nonmagnetic.
o Example: Raise your hands you and your partner predicted that the
nickel would be magnetic? Okay, put your hands down. Now, raise
your hand if you and your partner predicted that the nickel would
not be magnetic?
Ask this for several of the items so that the students can see how the
predictions of their classmates were the same or different to their own.
• Tell the students while passing out a magnetic wand to each set of
partners, that they will also have ten minutes to complete the
“Experiment” Section. Tell the students that they will alternate using the
magnetic wand with their partner to test each item to see if it is magnetic
or nonmagnetic. Tell the students that as they finish testing each item to
draw the item in under the appropriate column on the “experiment”
Developed by: Kelsey Criswell
University of Richmond
section on their recording page. Put 10 minutes on the class timer. Walk
around the class and observe students and listen to their discussion as they
conduct their experiment and place their items in the correct category.
When the timer goes off, tell the students to take a few minutes to finish
filling out their Recording Sheet and when finished to come to the rug
with their sheet for a class discussion.

Closure:
• Tell the students that now that we have tested each item with a magnetic
we are going to fill out a chart together. Post a T-Chart with one column
labeled “Magnetic” and the other labeled “Nonmagnetic.” Hold up each
item one by one and ask a student to tell you whether they found out that
that item was magnetic or nonmagnetic when conducting their experiment.
After the student has answered, tell them to come to the board and draw
the item under the correct category. Repeat until all of the items have been
placed onto the chart.
• Ask the students, “Which item were you most surprised to find that it was
magnetic?” and “Which item were you most surprised to find out that it
was nonmagnetic?” Ask the students, “Which items were you unsurprised
by? Which items did you definitely know were magnetic or nonmagnetic
before conducting the experiment?” After students have shared their
predictions and how they were proved right or wrong tell the students that
they will now go back to their desk to complete a Conclusion worksheet
on their own.
• Pass out the Conclusion worksheets to each student. Walk around the
classroom and observe the students as they are completing their
worksheet.

Homework
• No formal Homework.
• Encourage the students to take magnets on their refrigerator at home and go
on a hunt around their house to see what items in their house are magnetic or
nonmagnetic. Tell students that if they find things bring them in to share with
the class.

Assessment
Formative: The teacher will observe the students and listen to their discussions
while they are predicting, experimenting and filling out the charts on their
Discovering Magnets recording page.

Summative: The teacher will collect the Discovering Magnets Recording Sheet
that the students completed in pairs and the Discovering Magnets Conclusions
Page that the students completed independently. Review the student’s conclusions
to see if they were appropriate.
Developed by: Kelsey Criswell
University of Richmond
References
• Virginia Department of Education. "VDOE :: Science Standards of Learning
Resources." VDOE :: Virginia Department of Education Home. 2010. Web. 16
Mar. 2011.
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/science/review.shtml
• T/Tac Online. (2009, September). Magnetic Fishing. Retrieved from
http://ttaconline.com/staff/sol/sol_lessons.asp
• Hall, Sarah. "MAGNIFICENT MAGNETS." JSRCC Faculty & Staff Web Server.
30 June 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.
<http://staff.jsr.cc.va.us/asullivan/eisenhower/projects/magnificent_magnets.htm>

Appended Materials
• Ziploc Bag set of materials
• Discovering Magnets Recording Sheet
• Discovering Magnets Conclusion Sheet
• Class T-Chart Key