3rd Grade Magnetism and Electricity Unit

3^rd Grade Magnetism & Electricity Unit

Activity 6: Investigating Magnetic Poles

DSM Magnets

Pacing Suggestions:
1 Day

Teacher Resources:
Tips		Investigating Magnetic Poles. (Adobe^® Reader^® PDF) Investigating Magnetic Poles. (Microsoft^® Word^®)

Essential & Unit Questions ¹

Benchmarks ²

Assessments ³

Using Assessments to Monitor Student Learning

What happens when two magnets are brought together?

4G(3-5)#2: Without touching them, a magnet pulls on all things made of iron and either pushes or pulls on other magnets.

12A(3-5)#2: Offer reasons for the findings and consider reasons suggested by others.

Questions 2, 5, and 8 on teacher-generated Investigating Magnetic Poles sheet (In place of publisher's sheet, use teacher-generated sheet, which is available under "Teacher Resource" on electronic curriculum.)

Do students know that when two magnets are brought together they will either push or pull each other? (Their answers should include both movements.)

1A(3-5)#1: Results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same. Sometimes this is because of unexpected differences in the things being investigated, sometimes because of unrealized differences in the methods used or in the circumstances in which the investigation is carried out, and sometimes just because of uncertainties in observations. It is not always easy to tell which.

Discussion Question on page 43:

How can you explain the fact that we all used the same materials and did the same thing, but we all did not get the same results?

(See Steps 5-7 on page 43 in Teacher's Guide.)

Do students recognize that the differences in results depend on the placement of the sticker on the magnet? (Note: The Teacher's Manual doesn't specify this variable; however, students should come to this conclusion by the end of Step 7.)

What is a "fair" experiment? Why should experiments be "fair?"

12A(3-5)#2: Recognize when comparisons might not be fair because some conditions are not kept the same.

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