The study of magnets and magnetic fields quickly become a favorite science unit among students. There is a sense of the unknown when studying magnets. You can sense the force between similar and opposite poles when they repel and attract, but you can’t necessarily see it. We may see iron filings line up to show us what a magnetic field looks like, but we can not see the force that causes it. There is a mystery to it all. Magnetic forces compel us to think outside the obvious, which is exciting as a learner. Explore the Properties of Magnets Unit with slideshows, hands-on labs, brainstorming sheets, and videos. Happy learning!
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This simple graphic organizer is an effective tool to use when starting your Properties of Magnets Unit. It encourages students to share what it is they already know about magnets before exploring them. Students can bring knowledge to the table that is based on incorrect assumptions. It can be beneficial to know their misconceptions before teaching them something new. After viewing a video about magnets of reading the science slideshows below, guide your student to write down what it is that they learned about magnets.
The most effective activity to create concrete understanding of magnetic properties is to allow your student access to a hands-on magnet station. I would suggest using this with your student throughout your Properties of Magnets Unit. It is the best way for your child to learn the properties of magnets. Let your student spend some time investigating magnets on their own. Over time, show your student how each magnet has two distinctive poles. Demonstrate how like poles repel each other and opposite poles are attracted to each other. There are several labs and activities below for you to try with your student.
If you are looking for manipulatives to create your own magnet station, there are lots of options to choose from. We keep a portable magnet station in our closet. This sounds sophisticated, but it consists of a cookie sheet, 2 plastic bins (which are not pictured), hundreds of paper clips, and an assortment of different magnets. At any time, the kids can get this magnet station out and explore magnetic fields by repelling and attracting. Our magnet station items were all purchased from Dollar Tree with the exception of some of the magnets. It has been used countless times and I am sure will continue to be. CHECK OUT THE SUPPLIES BELOW!
This is a fun hands-on lab that does not require the mess that comes along with a lot of other science explorations. The “What is Magnetic?” lab is an awesome introductory activity for the Properties of Magnets unit. All you need is a household magnet and of course your home for your child to go explore items that are magnetic. IF they struggle finding items to test, guide them to find more. You may want to have a selection of items for them to test already prepared. In that case, you may find the hands-on activity below more suitable.
A fun hands-on activity is the Investigation Station: Magnetic or Not? It is one of the most effective classroom labs in the Properties of Magnets unit. Students can use this lab sheet individually or as a group to make prebsdictions about what items they think will be attracted by a magnet. After a student has made their predictions, the student will be given a magnet to test their predictions. There are four different versions of this lab. Depending on how you wanted to present this lab, you may find one of the versions more appropriate than another.
Kids always find this lab fascinating. They can watch the video, but it isn’t until they do the lab themselves do they believe that the magnetic field is real. You will need to purchase iron filings and a bar magnet to do this lab. Other than that, you should be able to salvage something from your kitchen. Watch the video, do the lab. Cool, huh?
There are 7 hands-on Magnetism Experiments in this set. You can choose to do all 7 experiments or only one. These labs are written with step by step instructions for the student and teacher. Questions are asked throughout the exploration so that students are encouraged to process and connect what it is that they know about magnets with what they are experiencing. The materials for each experiment is listed at the top of the page. Do not be intimidated with these experiments. They are fairly easy and shouldn’t take too much effort on the teacher or student’s part. The experiments do help solidify laws of magnetism for students. DOWNLOAD HERE.
The hardest thing about this experiment is finding five different magnets to use. Be creative. If they are different in size or shape, they will work. Truth is that a lot of the magnets we use were purchased from the Dollar Tree when I would find them available. Have your student answer questions 1-4 first. Then, encourage them to predict how many paperclips each magnet will attract. Next, it’s LAB TIME!
When conducting the experiment, I give my student a bowl of paperclips so that he can put the magnet in the bowl. Be sure to use all the same size paperclips as this will affect your results. The student will then pull the magnet out and tally up how many paperclips each magnet held. Compare and analyze your findings. Talk to them about how the size of a magnet does not always tell of its magnetic strength.
We offer a few different versions of the “What Magnet is Strongest” lab because the needs of a class are different based on size, ability, and time. This version of the lab requires students to predict and test but does not analyze the data as thoroughly as other versions.
In this case, you can probe and ask the class questions verbally. This lab was used with our science co-op as a hands-on investigation into magnets. We discussed how size and shape of a magnet does not always determine its strength. Truth is, in this application of the lab, we used 5 distinctive magnets: doughnut, bar, horseshoe, wand, and a fun one we called the “snake.” Happy learning!
I have used this video for years when teaching about magnets. It is entertaining, amusing, and has enough educational clips to make it worth my time. It reiterates in a different way what I have already taught them about magnets, which is perfect. We all learn differently. The video may resonate with one child more than another. Enjoy!
The Earth is believed to have a solid iron core that is spinning. This causes Earth to have a magnetic field, which acts like a force field. Hence, Earth is a GIANT magnet. When highly charged particles that are emitted from the sun hit this magnetic field, a light show in the sky is the result. This is a simple explanation of one of the world’s most beautiful wonders… the Northern Lights. Also known as the Southern Lights or the Aurora Borealis, this phenomenon is truly spectacular. The colors shown in the night sky are a testament to God’s creation.
When combined with the Earth is a magnet slideshow, this video is the perfect companion to helping your student understand the why behind the Aurora Borealis. Watching the Northern and Southern lights through continuous footage is a spectacular sight. FreeSchool does a good job at simplifying the explanation of this phenomenon.
The day we watched this YouTube video we were astonished at the magnetic experiments demonstrated. After viewing, the kids continued to talk about it wanting to know how they could perform similar experiments. Totally worth watching if only for its ability to stoke curiosity and imagination!
Looking for a more permanent science curriculum? Even though we pursue various science units that encompass labs and such, we also use a science textbook each year. Some might say that our science units supplement our textbook, while others would say the opposite to be true. The labs, experiments, graphic organizers, videos, and other activities bring the textbook information to life.
We use Abeka Science textbooks. I love that they incorporate God and His sovereignty into their curriculum. When I taught in the public school system, I noticed that many of my students were lacking in vocabulary. This made it difficult for them to understand the why behind many of our investigations. Unfortunately, they were deficient in their background knowledge. Our science time would be lacking too if it weren’t for the rich vocabulary and science language that we find in our science textbook and readers. If you are interested in shopping for a full-time science curriculum or even just a textbook to guide you, click on the following link! Happy homeschooling!
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