Rachel

 Cohen  

Title  of  Lesson:    Magnetic  Fields  

Grade  Level:    5th  
School:    Lawton  Elementary  School  
 
Purpose/Rationale and Connections to Students’ Ideas:
This  is  the  third  and  final  lesson  from  a  unit  on  magnetism.    After  teaching  the  first  
two  lessons,  students  should  understand that only some metals are magnetic, including
iron and steel. They should be able to identify the properties of magnets and understand
that magnets have north and south poles where like poles repel and unlike poles attract.
Lastly, they should be familiar with terms such as hypothesis, magnetism, attract and not
attract, and like and repel, and also know how to use and read a compass. I am teaching
to fulfill certain GLCE’s. I am also teaching this lesson to further student understanding
about the properties of magnets. Students may have various alternative ideas about
magnetism including: The larger the magnet the stronger the pull, magnetism does not go
through objects, and the magnetic field only exists at the north and south poles. In order
to address these misconceptions and alternative ideas, the class will perform an
experiment to show that a magnetic field surrounds every magnet and magnetism can go
through objects.

Connections to Standards/Benchmarks/Curriculum:
1. This lesson is adapted from a unit on magnetism developed in 1999 by the Ann Arbor
Public School district. Other sources used in the creation of this lesson plan include:
a. CASES website (http://cases.soe.umich.edu/topnav.php?nav=searchplan)
b. http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Physical_Sciences/PHY0200.
html
c. Berger, Melvin. The Mystery of Magnets. New York: Newbridge
Educational, 1995.
d. Walker, Colin. Magnetic Force. Cleveland: Modern Curriculum Press, 1993.
e. http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/pdfs/exploremag2_actsheet.pdf
2. Science content goals include:
a. E.SE.05.6 Earth as a whole has a magnetic field that is detectable at the
surface with a compass.
b. E.SE.05.42 Describe the Earth as a magnet and compare Earth’s magnetic
properties to that of a natural or man-made magnet.
c. E.SE.05.43 Explain how a compass works using Earth’s magnetic field.
d. E.SE.05.44 Explain how people have used compasses to aid in navigation on
land and sea.
3. Science inquiry goals include:
a. S.IR.05.03 Use tools and equipment appropriate to scientific investigations.
b. S.IR.05.01 Generate scientific questions based on observations,
investigations, and research.

The inquiry goals support the development of the content understanding by using
materials and equipment to investigate further properties of magnets and show the
magnetic field of magnets and their lines of force. Further, students will generate

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scientific questions and observations that will assist them in understanding why magnets
are so important to our everyday lives.

What I did to prepare to plan and teach this lesson:

In order to plan for the lesson, I researched magnetic fields and read a short book on
magnetism to better familiarize myself with the material and to better understand it. I
found all of the materials that I would have access to during the experiment/investigation
portion of the lesson. I then preformed the experiment and manipulated the experiment
to familiarize myself with how it works and to identify the difficulties students might
have in class. I altered some of the suggested procedures to produce results I felt were
more compelling and would further demonstrate that a magnetic field surrounds every
magnet and that a magnetic field consists of magnetic lines of force. For example, my
cooperating teacher informed me that working with the iron filings can be difficult and
messy and usually the students just watch a demonstration of the experiment. But I
wanted to find a way to allow the students to participate actively so I altered the
experiment slightly and preassembled plastic Ziploc bags with an index card in each one
with iron filings. That way the students would be able to experiment with the iron filings
and not make a mess with them. I answered the worksheet questions myself and thought
through how much time would be spent on each portion of the lesson.

What connected lesson preceded this lesson and what do you know about students
based on that work that informs this plan?
This is the third and final science lesson on magnetism. The lesson that preceded this
lesson was on identifying properties of magnets and understanding that like poles repel
and unlike poles attract.

Objective(s):
1. Students will understand that a magnetic field surrounds every magnet.
2. Students will understand that a magnetic field consists of magnetic lines of force.
3. Students will draw accurate representations of the filings surrounding the magnets.

Materials needed to have ready:

1. Transparency and overhead projector
2. Ceramic magnets
3. Ziploc bags
4. Index cards
5. Paperclip
6. Filings

Management considerations:
I will pass out the worksheet and the materials after the introduction and the discussion in
the beginning of the lesson. I want to prevent any distractions during our conversation. I
will have the two student helpers distribute the worksheet, but before distributing the
filings and magnets. I will first explain the investigation while showing them the
materials they will be using. The students will first make their predictions and after they
make their predictions I will pass out the filings and magnets. I will also pre-assemble

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the bags to minimize time lost during class, and I will also predetermine the students’
partner. I will be sure to tell the students they must keep the bags closed because if the
filings attach to the magnet it is extremely difficult to get them off and they can ruin the
magnet. In order to prevent the students from playing with the materials during the
discussion, I will collect the materials before we begin our concluding discussion. If
different students finish the work at different times, I will tell the students to continue
experimenting with the magnets and filings. Filings are fun to play with and I anticipate
students will have fun using the magnets with the filings.

Introduction/hook:
Who remembers what properties are? What are some of the properties of magnets that
we discussed and experimented with the past two weeks? (Magnets have north and south
poles, like poles repel and unlike poles attract, magnets attract steel and iron).

Outline of lesson sequence:

1. Introduction/hook (2 minutes)
2. You have all seen that magnets attract objects made of iron and steel. Let’s take a
paperclip for example. When the paper clip is on my hand and I put the magnet up to
it, the paperclip sticks to the magnet, because it is magnetic. Two weeks ago we
figured out that the paperclip is made of iron so therefore it is magnetic and sticks to
the magnet, but what is it about the magnet that allows the paperclip to stick? (2
minute)
3. Let’s think back to last week for a minute. Remember we hung a magnet from a
string and the magnet turned. What direction was the magnet facing? What made the
magnet turn and face north? (The earth’s magnetic attraction—the earth can be
thought of as a large magnet because it has a north and south pole) (Students might
think it was just the string that made it turn but not remember the north and south
poles have to do with the reason. Last time I hung a sign indicating the North wall of
the classroom so I will tell the students to look at the sign as a hint) (2 minute)
4. There is a space around a magnet where magnetic force is present. There has to be a
magnetic force around the magnet for the object to stick to it (show again with
paperclip and magnet). That is why the magnet hanging from the string was moving
and faced north—because of the magnetic force. Can anyone think of a scientific
name for the space around a magnet where magnetic force is present? What is the
area around the magnet called? (Magnetic field—space around a magnet where
magnetic force is present). Who can explain what the magnetic field is? (4 minutes)
5. Let’s think back again to our experiment last week. After we hung the first magnet
from a string, we hung a second magnet and twisted the string. What happened?
What made the second magnet turn? (3 minutes)
6. And when we put two magnets near each other, but not touching each other, what
happened? (Repelled or attracted because like poles repel and unlike poles attract).
But the magnets did not have to be touching for them to attract. How could one
magnet cause another to move without touching it? Discuss with your neighbor and
when you think you have an answer raise your hand. There is a magnetic force that is
causing the magnets to repel or attract. These lines are called lines of force. (Lines

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of force—imaginary lines that show the direction of the magnetic force produced by
the magnet). Who can explain what lines of force are? Magnetic field? We know
that lines of force are invisible; you cannot see them by simply putting to magnets
next to each other. How could we test, or reveal these lines of force? (4 minutes)
7. Today we are actually going to experiment to see that a magnetic field surrounds
every magnet and it consists of magnetic lines of force. (Hold up filings) Who
knows what these are? What are they called? What are they made out of? (Iron
filings) Since they are made of iron, we know they will be attracted to the magnet. I
am going to pass out a bag for you and your partner. Inside the bag is an index card
and iron filings. You and your partner will also receive 2 magnets and you are going
to test what happens when you put the magnets next to the filings. You will be able
to see the magnetic field and lines of force, if they are present. I am going to pass out
a worksheet. Before we actually test the magnets, what do scientists need to do?
(Make predictions/hypothesis) (3 minutes)
8. Pass out worksheet. First discuss what they will be doing in the experiment. The
magnet must always be placed underneath the plastic bag. Make sure some of the
iron filings are on top of the index card. Shake the card to make sure they are on top.
Make first prediction together to demonstrate how the drawings should look. Where
do you think the filings will go? Finish making predictions for two magnets with
opposite sides facing each other and two magnets with like sides facing. (5 minutes)
9. Pass out magnets. Tell students not to open the bags. Show them how the magnets
with opposite sides facing and like sides facing should be placed. Tell students to do
their best, and warn them that it might be difficult to draw the exact picture but we
will go over the results. I was just going to do a demo in front of the class but wanted
to give them an opportunity to do the experiment so I expect them to do their best and
follow the directions. (Students might be confused how to place the magnets
correctly. I will demonstrate and I will also walk around the room to help them if I
see they are not placing them correctly.) (15 minutes)
10. Walk around the room and make sure students are staying on track and answer any
questions.
11. Collect materials. Review results in front of the class using a projector and
transparencies with filings in the middle to discuss results. (10 minutes)
a. What did you find when there was one magnet placed under the filings?
Filings move out and away from magnet. This shows the magnetic force
extends beyond just where the magnet is. That is why when you put two
magnets next to each other but not touching, they will attract. The magnetic
field goes beyond just on the magnet.
b. What did you find when two magnets with opposite sides were facing each
other? Lines of force between the magnets and around the magnets.
(Students might still not completely understand lines of force. I will make
sure to show the lines of force when I review the results with the class on the
overhead transparency. This way, we can talk about the lines of force with the
filings showing the lines of force and not just suing their pictures.)
c. What did you find when two magnets with like sides were facing each other?
The filings are not attracted in the middle because there is no line of force.
There is no magnetic field, since like poles repel.

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d. Review terms magnetic field and lines of force: What did this experiment
teach us about magnets?
12. Final assessment (10 minutes)

Accommodations to meet full range of students:

The biggest accommodation I am making to meet the full range of students is finding a
way to easily provide every student the opportunity to actively engage in the experiment.
For many students, it is hard to fully understand the lesson without actually performing
the experiment, so I spent a lot of time determining the best way to allow each student to
use the filings. (Method explained above) I also incorporated different methods of
promoting class participation by having students pair-share and conducting full class
discussions. I also printed important vocabulary terms in Japanese for the ESL student.

Closing/wrap up:
I will ask review questions from entire unit including:
1. What types of materials are attracted to magnets?
2. What types of metals are attracted to magnets?
3. What are some properties of magnets?
4. Do magnets have to be touching for them to attract each other?
5. What is a magnetic field?
6. What are lines of force?
7. Why are magnets important to us? What are they used for?

Assessment:
I will judge if the students have attained the objectives set for the lesson by having them
conclude with the last part of the worksheet. They will have to label the poles on pictures
of magnets. I will also assess their understanding through discussion by asking questions
and probing further thinking depending on their answers. Lastly, I will give the students
a short assessment (10 questions) on the entire magnetism unit to assess their
understanding of all the concepts.

Next steps:
Since this is the last lesson in the unit on magnetism, I would want to review the final
assessment I give the students to determine what they have learned and which concepts
need further explanation.

What to eliminate/not to eliminate:

If I were running short on time, I would eliminate the final assessment because it is not
the primary focus of the lesson. The final assessment does not add anything new to the
lesson and can be given at any time. However, all of the other aspects of the lesson build
off of each other and are more important to include because they help students gain a
better understanding of the phenomena of magnetism. One aspect of the lesson that I
absolutely would not eliminate is the investigation itself and the discussion of their
findings. Without the investigation and without the discussion, students will not gain an
appropriate understanding of magnetic field and lines of force.
 

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