Science

Grade 2

| Magnetism - Intro

Gabe Ryland
TEAC 315
June 10, 2014

Connection Analysis: This lesson sa+ses the following standards:

NDE: Nebraska state science standard regarding second grade magne,sm.

Content Analysis:

Vocabulary:

Lesson Objective:

Students will reect in 2-5 complete sentences the meaning of magnets

(magne'sm) and how they func'on.

Magnet object with a magne/c force

Force a push or a pull
Charge posi%ve or nega%ve
A"ract pull together
Resist push apart

Materials:

10 + signs, 10 - signs (20 students total); student science journals; 10

magnets; iron-rich cereal

Opening:

Group students into pairs. Give one student in each pair a + sign and the
other a - sign. Explain to students that opposites a)ract, meaning that
posi%ves (+) and nega%ves (-) can join hands, but similar charges (e.g., posi8ve-
posi%ve, nega%ve-nega%ve) cannot join hands because they resist (push apart).
Have students wander about the room and interact with the other charges.
How many other students were you able to join hands with (a5ract)? How many
did you resist? Be sure to explain that students must stay with partners the
en#re #me (have them link arms). They cannot a6ract/resist partners because
they act as one unit.

Instruction:

Practice:

1. Have students return charge signs and return to their seats. Ask students to
share some of the observa(ons they made during the interac(on.
2. Begin instruc.on on specic terms: magnet, force, charge and review a"ract,
resist. Have students write the terms and write or draw a deni3on in their
science journals to help them remember.
3. Have students Think-Pair-Share about the new vocabulary terms with a
partner by describing the ac0vity they had just completed.

Students will use charge-labeled magnets (+ and indicated) and iron-rich cereal
to experiment with magnets. Pair students again and give one partner a paper
towel (or wax paper) with iron-rich cereal on top and the other partner the
magnet. Have students explore what happens when they use the dierent ends
(charges) on the magnet with the cereal. Partners will trade o a&er a few
minutes.

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Closing:

A"er cleanup of the prac0ce ac0vity, have students return to their desks and
reect in their science journals. Give a few sample starts on the board such as
One thing I did not know about magnets was or Today I explored. Be sure to
tell students that they must write 2-5 sentences (a paragraph).

Evaluation:

Collect journals and read through responses. Check for words such as magnets,
forces, charges, a,ract, and resist.

Questions:
1. When planning the lesson, I considered, rst and foremost, my audience. I chose second grade
and then had to think about their level of prior knowledge and the amount of scaolding that
would be necessary to create understanding. I then considered what I wanted to accomplish in
the lesson. O+en, at this /me in planning, I would refer to the Nebraska State Standards, but
because they were unavailable and I dont have them memorized (uh yet), I simply focused on
the tasks I wanted the students to complete and the specic knowledge that I wanted to convey.
Because this was to be an introductory lesson, I tried to make it fun and exci;ng, ge=ng
students geared up for the en/re unit on magne/sm. I included what I thought to be some of
the most important and relevant yet basic terms in a*empt to s-ll bring a certain degree of
learning to the lesson (not just all fun). I also had to consider how I would assess student
outcomes, and because of the exploratory nature of the lesson I designed, I decided that having
students reect in their journals would provide me enough feedback to determine the
eec$veness of the lesson.
2. I believe that my lesson is a good example of inquiry in science. By far not the best a lesson
could be in terms of inquiry, but posi4ve nonetheless. It provides students with an opportunity
to explore and create meaning on their own instead of simply having me, the teacher, lecture
them about magnets. The ac0vi0es provide background informa0on and experiences that can
be used throughout the lesson. Finally, having students reect about the lesson at its conclusion
encourages an inquiry-based thinking process.

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