KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

PROFESSIONAL SEMESTER PROGRAM
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher Candidate: Katie Shields
Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Sell
Group Size: 25
Subject or Topic: Magnetism: The Force

Date: 9/15/14-9/16/14 Time: 2:15-3:00

Coop. Initials:
Grade Level: 4th
Section:

STANDARD: (Common Core):

S4.A.2.1.1: Generate questions about objects, organisms, or events that can

be answered through scientific investigations.
I.

Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):

a. Students will discover what kind of materials magnets stick to.
b. Students will discover what happens when you bring two or more magnets together.

II.

Instructional Materials:
a. Magnets (25)
b. 1 bag of test objects for each group
c. Scrap paper (25)
d. Magnetic Observations sheets (25)
e. Large paper bag
f. Test-Objects Inventory Sheets (25)
g. Promethean Board

III.

Subject Matter/ Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea):

a. Prerequisite Skills
i. Knowledge of scientific fact and opinion
b. Key Vocabulary
i. Magnet
ii. Iron
iii. Steel
iv. Attract
v. Repel
vi. Force
vii. Magnetism
c. Big Idea
i. Only iron sticks to a magnet.
ii. Two magnets attract or repel when they interact.
iii. The magnetic force causes magnetic interactions.
iv. A force is a push or a pull.

IV. Implementation:
A. Introduction
a. Play Describe the Object as a class.
b. Hold up the paper bag and tell students that you have an object inside it.
c. Ask one student to reach in the bag without looking, feel the object, and

d.

describe its characteristics.

The student should not name the object, but should describe it so that the other
students can draw a picture of it.

B. Development
a. Choose a student to do the describing.
b. When the student is done, the class can ask questions to get more information.
c. Ask students to draw a picture of what they think the object looks like.
d. When students have finished drawing as best they can, remove the object from
the bag and show it to them.
e. Let them compare their pictures to the object.
f. Ask what other words would have helped to describe the object.
g. Distribute a single magnet to each student.
h. Ask what the object can do.
i. The key observation should be that the magnet sticks to some objects.
j. When all the students have observed the sticking, tell them that the object
behaves this way because it is a magnet.
k. Ask students to describe other magnets they have seen or played with.
l. Ask students to find what their magnet can stick to without leaving their seat.
m. Call on students to share what stuck to their magnet.
n. Pose the question, Do you think there is something that is the same about all
the objects that the magnet sticks to?
o. Ask students to share their ideas about what the magnet sticks to with their
group.
p. Call on each group to share their conclusions.
q. After someone observes that stickers are all metal, ask for a show of hands from
those who found that magnets stick to metal.
r. Some groups may have observed that magnets dont stick to all metals, just
some metals.
s. Have students place magnets in their desks.
t. Hold up a bag of test objects.
u. Have students split up into pairs and sort through the objects.
v. They should first guess which objects will stick to a magnet and which objects
wont.
w. After they finish sorting, they can use their magnets to test their guesses.
x. Students will record the results on the Magnetic Observations sheets.
y. Put all of the objects back in the bags and then collect them.
z. Discuss any objects that surprised them.
aa. Is there anything you notice that is the same about all of the things listed in the
column for things that stick?
bb. Are there any metals in the things that dont stick column?
cc. What do you think if different about the metal items in the first column
compared to those in the second column?
dd. Explain that there is only one common kind of metal that magnets stick to:
metal iron.
ee. Sometimes iron is mixed with other metals to make steel.
ff. Magnets stick to steel because it is mostly iron.
gg. Write the rule on the board, if a magnet sticks to an object, that object is iron or
steel.
hh. Discuss the rock that sticks to the magnet. The rock contains iron in a mineral
called magnetite.
ii. Challenge students to find objects in the room that are made of iron or steel and
make a list of them on their Magnetic Observations sheets.
jj. Have a discussion.

i. What made you sure that these objects were iron or steel?
ii. Which objects surprised you?
iii. Were there any objects you thought might be iron, but were not?
iv. Did you find any steel that was hidden by paint or something else?
kk. Have students get back with their partners.
ll. Allow 10-15 minutes of free exploration of interesting ways magnets can
interact.
mm.
Challenge them to try:
i. Moving one magnet on a desk using another magnet under the desk
ii. Making a talking magnet by balancing the force field of one magnet on
a second magnet
iii. Duplicating unusual discoveries made by other groups
iv. Threading four magnets on a pencil to see what happens
nn. Ask different students to describe what they found out about the interaction
between two or more magnets.
oo. Introduce vocabulary to describe the interactions of magnets.
pp. When two magnets come together so that they stick, we say they attract.
qq. When two magnets come together so that they push, we say they repel.
rr. Place four magnets on a pencil so they all repel each other and ask students to
do the same.
ss. Ask students to describe what it feels like when they push the repelling magnets
together and what they think if causing the magnets to push apart.
tt. What you can feel between the magnets is a force, the magnetic force.
uu. When the magnets pull toward one another and stick, it is a force of attraction;
when they push apart, it is a force of repulsion.
vv. Have students fill in part 3 on the student sheet.
C.

Closure
a. Collect all magnets and start a word bank on the board.
i. A force is a push or pull.
ii. A magnet is an object that sticks to iron.
iii. Magnetism is a specific kind of force
iv. When magnets pull together, we say they attract.
v. When magnets push apart, we say they repel.
b. Ask students what they learned and record it on the board.

D. Accommodations / Differentiation
a. Seating available in the front of the classroom for students who have trouble
seeing the board
b. Extra help for students who struggle
c. Support provided as stated by IEPs
d. Grouping of seats to help with behavioral issues
E. Assessment/Evaluation plan 1. Formative Student understanding will be checked by informal
observation by checking that students are completing their Magnetic Observations sheets.
2. Summative
V. Reflective Response:
A. Report of Students Performance in Terms of States Objectives

(Reflection on students performance written after lesson is taught,

includes remediation for students who failed to meet acceptable
level of achievement)
a. All students performed really well. They were very
interested in this investigation and excited to see all of the
things magnets can do. They came up with really great
observations and they had no problem filling in their
observation sheets.

B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught.

Reflective answers to questions recorded after lesson is taught.)
1.

Is there a way I could have improved my lesson?

A. I could have been clearer about rules when using magnets.
I also could have had that word bank words typed on the
board so it was neater. I also could have typed up
questions to guide their observations.

2.

Did I provide my students with enough practice?

A. I think I provided my students with enough practice. They
had plenty of time to use the manipulatives and gather
some information.

3.

Was my lesson engaging?

A. I think my lesson was engaging. The kids were really
excited to use the magnets and see all of the things they
can do. They couldnt wait to show me what they learned.

VI. Resources (in APA format):

(2005). Magnetism and electricity. California: Delta Education.