3rd Grade Magnetism and Electricity Unit

3^rd Grade Magnetism & Electricity Unit

Activity 3: Can the Force Go Through It?

DSM Magnets

Pacing Suggestions:
1 Day

Teacher Resources:
Tips		Can the Force Go Through It? (Adobe^® Reader^® PDF) Can the Force Go Through It? (Microsoft^® Word^®)

Essential & Unit Questions ¹

Benchmarks ²

Assessments ³

Using Assessments to Monitor Student Learning

What is a general rule about magnetic forces going through things?

Related to benchmark 4G(3-5)#2.

Activity addresses a common student misconception that magnetism cannot pass through materials or materials "block" magnetic forces.

Class discussion of lab (See Step 3 on page 27 in Delta Teacher's Manual.)

Do students have an emerging understanding that the thicker a non-magnetic object is the weaker the magnetic force going through it becomes?

12A(3-5)#1: Keep records of their investigations and observations and not change the records later.

Observe students conducting experiments and look for changes made to predictions during or after the experiment is completed. (In place of publisher's sheet, use teacher-generated sheet available under "Teacher Resources" on the electronic curriculum.)

Students should not be changing their predictions after experimentation. If students are compelled to change their predictions, additional conversations are needed to dispel that idea that predictions need to be correct. Another strategy is to have students make predictions independently and then allow them to discuss and change them prior to running an experiment.

1. For conceptual benchmarks.
2. Bolded sections indicate portion of benchmark addressed
3. Unless noted as a Summative Assessment, the assessments are formative and should be used to guide teaching and learning.

3rd Grade Magnetism & Electricity Unit

3^rd Grade Magnetism & Electricity Unit