Stage 3

Date: 16/10/2014
Time: 1.5
Rationale: This lesson is for students to inquire, explore and to further understand the concepts
of magnetism. The lesson is for students to revise and reflect on the topic of what was previously
understood in Stage 2.
KLA (s): Science & Technology, Maths, English, & Creative Arts.
Objectives:
For students share their understandings of what they understand about magnetism by engaging
and participating in creating a mind map in prezi.
For students to use scientific skills, such as inquiry and asking questions, to enable them to further
their understandings of how magnetism works by engaging in four different scientific stations.
Resources & Equipment:
Classroom organisation:
Introduction/ explicit teaching:
All resources and equipment will be set
Interactive white board (IWB)- Prezi, and
up prior to the lesson.
magnetic video.
Stations will be set up on tables around
24x Lab coats
the classroom.
24x Safety glasses
Station 1: Steel wool, 3x scissors, 12x
empty large bottles, water, food dye, 3x
magnets, 3x laminated experiment
sheets, 24x student recording sheets., 3x
ipads.
Station 2: Modelling clay, 3x horseshoe
magnets, 3x sharp pencils with eraser, 3x
Laminated experiment sheets, 24x
students recording sheets.
Station 3: 6x Ipads with Magnet games
loaded
Station 4: 6x magnets, 24x recordings
sheets.
Introduction:
Students sit down in front of IWB and the teacher introduces the topic of magnetism.
Teacher proposes questions such as: what do you know about magnetism? what do you
remember?, where do we find magnets?, How do magnets work?.
Students provide answers while the teacher records their understandings on the
magnetism prezi file on the IWB.
Explicit teaching:
Students watch a short video on the IWB about magnetism

http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/Web/skoool/phys/step/understanding_magnets/index.ht
ml

Teacher gives specific instructions about each of the four stations (see applied task for
details).
Teacher explicitly explains where the students need to be careful when handling materials,
and what they can use to protect themselves.
Applied tasks:
Every student puts on labs coats and safety glasses. Teacher explains to the students that
they are officially magnetic scientists when lab coats and safety glasses are on. Therefore
productive and responsible actions are needed throughout the lessons.
Stations are timed at 15minutes each, and 1 minute to rotate to new station.
There will be 6 students at each station at one time.
The teacher will rotate between groups throughout the time; however will mainly interact
with station 1 and 2, as more teacher supervision is needed.

Station 1: Magnetic field with steel wool

Students read provided experiment.
In a group of three, the students predict and write down what will happen to the steel wool
once the magnet.
The students follow the instructions written to make and do the experiment. With an Ipad
the students will video record experiments.
Students discuss and write down what happened and why they think is happened.
Students draw what they saw.
Station 2- Magnetic Attraction Experiment
Students will read provided experiment.
Students will set the experiment up according to the instructions provided in pairs.
Students will draw and label the set up of the experiment.
The students will conduct the experiment.
The students will provide reasons as to what happened and why they think it happened.
Station 3: Magnet Game
Students will play the magnet game on I pads provided. The aim of the game is for
students to understand that magnets have negative and positive charges.
Station 4: Exploring what is and what isnt magnetic
Students are to roam around the room with a magnet testing things that are or not
magnetic.
Students record data on sheet provided.
Conclusion:
Students will pack the equipment away and take off lab coats and glasses.
Student will gather back onto the floor in front of IWB.
Students will be given the opportunity to share what they discovered and add to the prezi.
Support:
Extend:
Focus on the concepts of magnetism by
Have the children focus on writing an inusing simple and easy language to
depth discussion into what they saw and
understand when explaining. Draw or
why they think it happened within
show diagrams of the north and south
stations 1 and 2.
poles of magnetism and provide
At station 4, have the children write a
examples in which the students can
short summary on what they discovered
relate too and picture in their heads.
when magnet testing.