Lesson Plan Template for Elementary Education

Name: Ashley Henderson

Grade: Second
Topic: Science Magnets
Essential Questions (What question(s) will students grapple with as they learn through this
lesson?):

What objects are attracted to the magnet?

How far away from an object do you have to hold the magnet for the object to be moved by
the magnet?
Are all metal objects attracted to magnets?

Primary Content Objectives:

Students will know (facts/information):

A magnet creates an invisible area of magnetism all around it called a magnetic field.
A magnet is strongest at its poles.
The farther away the magnetic poles are from each other, the weaker the magnetic force.
Magnets can attract objects made of iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Students will understand (big ideas):

Magnets have important applications and uses in everyday life.

We live on a giant magnet, the Earth.
Not all objects are magnetic, so not all objects will be attracted or repelled by a magnet.

Students will be able to do (skills and behaviors):

Identify the north and south magnetic poles of magnets.

Predict which materials will be attracted to magnets.
Test their predictions of which materials will be attracted to magnets.
Classify materials as to whether they are attracted to magnets or not.

Related state or national standards (Examples include State Standards of Learning, Common
Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards or National Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies):

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VA Science SOLs
o 2.2 The student will investigate and understand that natural and artificial magnets
have certain characteristics and attract specific types of metals. Key concepts include
a. Magnetism, iron, magnetic/nonmagnetic, poles, attract/repel;

Assessment (How (and when) will students be assessed? What evidence will you collect to
determine whether students have met the lesson objectives? Will the assessment(s) be a preassessment (diagnostic), formative (ongoing feedback) or summative?)

Pre-assessment: At the beginning of the small group activity, I will be asking the students
what type of metals are attracted to magnets. This will be an important question because
their answers will determine their predictions.
Formative Assessment: Their predictions on the worksheet will determine if they understand
that certain objects are attracted to magnets and others are not. It will also show whether
they think all metal objects are attracted to magnets or if they realize that different metals are
not all attracted to magnets.
Formative Assessment: The students answers to my questions regarding proximity of the
magnet to the object will be helpful to see how well the students understood the material
from the previous stations and the previous years lessons on magnetism.
Summative Assessment: The students answers to the final questions, such as the question
which asks the students to explain why some objects were magnetic and some were not. This
will allow me to see whether or not the students understand the difference between magnetic
versus non-magnetic objects. Additionally, the students will have a final summative
assessment on the following Friday.

Materials and Resources (List here all materials that you will need in order to successfully
teach this lesson. Include technology and website links, texts, graphic organizers, student
handouts, physical manipulatives, etc.):

Class set of magnets

Materials at Stations
o Scrap Paper
o Iron Nail
o Thumb Tack
o Scissors
o Nickel
o Eraser
o Paper Clip
o Rubber Band
o Penny
o Ruler
Class Set of Worksheet: Center 1 Magnetic or Non-Magnetic = Appendix A
Volunteers to man extra stations to allow for small groups

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Key Vocabulary and Definitions (I will not be going over these definitions, but these words will
be mentioned repeatedly. The students should already know all of these words from previous
years in school, but if not, I can review them in a small group.):

Magnetism: the invisible force of attraction between two magnetic materials caused by
something caused electric currents.
Attract: pull toward one another
Repel: push away from one another
Magnetic Field: the invisible area of magnetism all around a magnet
Bar Magnet: a magnet shaped like a rectangle
Horseshoe Magnet: a magnet bent round into a tight U-shape

Lesson Procedures:
1. Introduction and goal orientation: We began the magnets unit on Friday with a BrainPop
video and the reading of interactive notebook pages. Over the next two weeks, the
students will be learning about magnets through experimentation and read alouds. The
students will also be learning a few songs over these two weeks to help them remember
the information. On Wednesday, the four second grade teachers are participating in a
grade-wide magnet unit rotation with each station taking 25 minutes. I am in charge of
Center One Magnetic or Non-Magnetic. My class will be ending the rotations in my
room and this is the class that we will videotape for my observation. At this point, the
students have created a magnet, tested the strength of different types of magnets, and
tested the ability for magnetic force to penetrate various objects.
2. Connecting to prior knowledge and experiences (Questions or activities that help
students make links): The students will come to our room and place their projects in their
backpacks and bring their center packets to one of the stations set up around the room.
Today, we are going to be testing which materials are attracted to magnets. We have
talked in class about the particular metals that are attracted to magnets. Will someone
raise their hand and tell me which metals are attracted to magnets? Yes, magnets are
attracted to iron. Magnets are also attracted to nickel and cobalt. I have a few objects
here on my table that I need your help to find out if they are attracted to magnets. Before
we test out the magnets, we are going to make predictions. A prediction is your guess as
to whether or not a particular material will be attracted to the magnet. We are not going
to share our predictions out loud yet because I want everyone in our group to be able to
make a prediction on their own. The first material is scrap paper. Write yes in this
square if you think the scrap paper will be attracted to the magnet. Write no in this
square if you think the scrap paper will not be attracted to the magnet. The next material
is an iron nail. Write yes in this square if you think the iron nail will be attracted to the
magnet. Write no in this square if you think the iron nail will not be attracted to the
magnet. The next material is a thumb tack. Write yes in this square if you think the
thumb tack will be attracted to the magnet. Write no in this square if you think the
thumb tack will not be attracted to the magnet. The next material is a pair of scissors.
Write yes in this square if you think the scissors will be attracted to the magnet. Write

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no in this square if you think the scissors will not be attracted to the magnet. The next
material is a nickel. Write yes in this square if you think the nickel will be attracted to
the magnet. Write no in this square if you think the nickel will not be attracted to the
magnet. The next material is an eraser. Write yes in this square if you think the eraser
will be attracted to the magnet. Write no in this square if you think the eraser will not
be attracted to the magnet. The next material is a paper clip. Write yes in this square if
you think the paper clip will be attracted to the magnet. Write no in this square if you
think the paper clip will not be attracted to the magnet. The next material is a rubber
band. Write yes in this square if you think the rubber band will be attracted to the
magnet. Write no in this square if you think the rubber band will not be attracted to the
magnet. The next material is a penny. Write yes in this square if you think the penny
will be attracted to the magnet. Write no in this square if you think the penny will not
be attracted to the magnet. The last material is a ruler. Write yes in this square if you
think the ruler will be attracted to the magnet. Write no in this square if you think the
ruler will not be attracted to the magnet.
3. Tasks and activities (What challenging tasks and activities will students engage in as they
construct knowledge, learn new skills or behaviors and develop understandings?): Now
that we have all made our predictions, we are going to test them. Give me a thumbs up if
you predicted that the piece of scrap paper will be attracted to the magnet. (Depending
on how many magnets we have in the class, I may give each student a magnet and let
them test it for themselves by passing the scrap paper to the other people at the table, but
due to time and material restrictions, I may test the magnet on each object myself.) Okay,
lets see. Is the magnet moving the paper at all? Answer out loud. Do you think I need
to move my magnet closer or is this close enough for the magnetic field to reach the piece
of scrap paper? So, the piece of scrap paper is not attracted to the magnet. Please write a
no in this box. The next object is an iron nail. Give me a thumbs up if you predicted
that the iron nail will be attracted to the magnet. Lets see! Is the iron nail moving with
the magnet? Lets write down the answer in the chart. The next object is a thumb tack.
Give me a thumbs up if you predicted that the thumb tack will be attracted to the magnet.
Lets see! Is the thumb tack moving with the magnet? Lets write down the answer in
the chart. The next object is scissors. Give me a thumbs up if you predicted that the
scissors will be attracted to the magnet. Lets see! Are the scissors moving with the
magnet? Lets write down the answer in the chart. The next object is a nickel. Give me
a thumbs up if you predicted that the nickel will be attracted to the magnet. Lets see! Is
the nickel moving with the magnet? Lets write down the answer in the chart. The next
object is an eraser. Give me a thumbs up if you predicted that the eraser will be attracted
to the magnet. Lets see! Is the eraser moving with the magnet? Lets write down the
answer in the chart. The next object is a paper clip. Give me a thumbs up if you
predicted that the paper clip will be attracted to the magnet. Lets see! Is the paper clip
moving with the magnet? Lets write down the answer in the chart. The next object is a
rubber band. Give me a thumbs up if you predicted that the rubber band will be attracted
to the magnet. Lets see! Is the rubber band moving with the magnet? Lets write down
the answer in the chart. The next object is a penny. Give me a thumbs up if you
predicted that the penny will be attracted to the magnet. Lets see! Is the penny moving
with the magnet? Lets write down the answer in the chart. The last object is a ruler.

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Give me a thumbs up if you predicted that the ruler will be attracted to the magnet. Lets
see! Is the ruler moving with the magnet? Lets write down the answer in the chart.
4. Closure (How will you wrap up the lesson and reinforce key ideas? Closure may include
some form of assessment or exit slip): Which objects were magnetic? Were these objects
all made of metal? Answer out loud. Lets write the name of these objects on this line.
Use the top half of the worksheet as a resource to help you spell the names of these
objects. Which objects were non-magnetic? Were any of these objects made of metal?
Answer out loud. Lets write the name of these objects on this line. Use the top half of
the worksheet as a resource to help you spell the names of these objects. There is another
question that asks each of you to explain why some objects were magnetic and some
were not magnetic. The last question on the paper asks how many of your predictions
were correct. This answer is different for each of you. Write the number on the line.
Please make sure your names are on your paper and then place them in the finished work
tub and pack up your backpack and join me on the rug sitting urban style.
Accommodations for individual differences [How will you modify the content (what is
learned), the process (how the content is mastered) or product (how the learning is observed and
evaluated) to support diverse learners? Describe additional supports that can be used for reteaching if needed, and a challenging extension for students for demonstrate mastery quickly or
show evidence of a lot of prior knowledge.]:
I will arrange the groups so that I am able to work with the students in our class that
struggle with reading, so they will have the chance to work with me and have me help them read
the worksheet.
I will arrange the groups so that I am able to work with our students that need additional
support for handwriting, so that I can trade off writing the students dictated answers if it is shown
that she needs this on Wednesday.
I will ask probing questions to ensure that the students are comprehending the activity
rather than just copying the answers of their peers.

Appendix A

Center 1 Magnetic or Non-Magnetic

Object
Scrap Paper
Iron Nail
Thumb Tack
Scissors
Nickel
Eraser
Paper Clip
Rubber Band
Penny
Ruler

Prediction

Actual

1. Which objects were magnetic?

__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
2. Which objects were non-magnetic?
__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. Explain why some objects were magnetic and some
were not?
__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Appendix A
4.

How many of your predictions were correct?

_______________