Magnet Investigations

Focus Statement:
This lesson is being taught to 4-5-year-old preschoolers, because it gives them a chance
to explore a major concept found in the world around them – magnetism. In addition to
the content itself, the lesson is also helps children develop important science process
skills such as carrying out investigations, making observations, and collecting data.
Students also engage in a shared writing experience to aid in language and literacy
development. The lesson is developmentally appropriate because it uses child-centered,
open-ended, hands-on activities to engage students in learning. Additionally, there is a
huge range of complexity in the conceptual understandings related to magnetism,
including everything from “magnets sometimes stick to things” to “magnets attract and
repel because of electric currents created by the alignment of atoms’ electrons”! There is
something for every student to discover about magnets, regardless of their current
developmental level or academic abilities.

Illinois Early Learning & Development Standards:

• 12.D.ECb. Explore the effect of force on objects in and outside the early childhood
environment.
o (such as wind, gravity, and magnetism)
• 11.A.ECc. Plan and carry out simple investigations.
• 11.A.ECf. Make meaning from experience and information by describing, talking, and
thinking about what happened during an investigation.
• 11.A.ECg. Generate explanations and communicate ideas and/or conclusions about their
investigations.
• 5.B.ECb. With teacher assistance, use a combination of drawing, dictating, or writing to
compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about
and supply some information about the topic.

Objectives:
• Throughout the lesson, students will observe their own actions and/or the actions of
others to view the effects of magnets in various situations.
• During scaffolded practice, students will come up with their own ways to test out the
effects of magnets in various situations.
• During the discussion and shared writing experience, students will describe what they
observed and discuss what happened during the investigation.

Instructional Strategies: Learning Tasks:

Introduction (2 minutes) Introduction (2 minutes)

1. I will tell students that today we are
going to investigate magnets.
2. I will ask students what they already
know about magnets.
3. I will spontaneously build off of these
comments and experiences as appropriate
1. Students will hear that today we are going
to investigate magnets.
2. Students will share what they already know
about magnets.
 to further children’s understanding about
magnets.
Teacher Modeling (5 minutes)
4. I will tell students we are going to make
a list of questions we have about
magnets, so we know what we want to
try to figure out.
5. I will model one question we could ask
about magnets: “What do magnets stick
to? What do magnets NOT stick to?” I
will write this on a piece of chart paper.
6. I will help students develop other
questions we could ask about magnets. I
will add these to the chart paper also.
These questions might include:
a. Are some magnets stronger than
other magnets?
b. Will two magnets still attract if
you put something in between
them?
7. I will show students an assortment of
many different magnets.
8. I will reread the first question: “What do
magnets stick to? What do magnets NOT
stick to?”
9. I will model how to investigate this
question by trying to stick a magnet to
various things around the room.
Scaffolded Practice (8 minutes)
10. I will invite students to join me in
sharing the magnets and testing out
different things around the room to try to
figure out the answers to our questions.
11. While students are exploring with
magnets around the room, I will assist
and redirect students as needed. I will
also continuously remind students of the
questions we are trying to figure out, and
I will build off what students are already
doing to suggest different things to try
with the magnets.
3. Students will listen for understanding as
their comments are directly responded to
by the teacher.
Teacher Modeling (5 minutes)
4. Students will listen as the teacher explains
one question that we could ask about
magnets.
5. With the help of the teacher, students will
compile a list of questions they have about
magnets. Students will contribute by
sharing things they wish to discover.
6. Students will view an assortment of many
different magnets to spark curiosity.
7. Students will listen as the teacher rereads
the first question on the list, and observe as
the teacher models how to investigate the
question by trying to stick a magnet to
various things around the room.
Scaffolded Practice (8 minutes)
8. Students will share the magnets and work
collaboratively or individually to test the
effect of the magnets in different scenarios
around the room. For example, students
might...
a. Try to stick the object to different
things in the room.
b. Stick a big magnet and a small
magnet to something metal to
informally compare the magnitude
of the forces.
c. Put something non-magnetic
between two magnets to see if the
magnets still attract.
 d. Etc.
9. Students will consider teacher suggestions
to guide their investigation in new ways.

Closing & Reflection (5 minutes) Closing & Reflection (5 minutes)

12. I will ask students to return their magnets
to the pile and return to their designated
spots on the rug.
13. I will write “Magnets” on the top of a
piece of chart paper.
14. I will ask students what they noticed or
what they learned about magnets.
15. I will write down facts students share
about magnets, and I will read them
aloud as I write them.
16. I may ask students to help me sound out
words, if time allows.
17. To reinforce the scientific process, I will
tell the students I am proud of how we
asked questions, explored to try to figure
them out ourselves, and then thought
about we learned.
10. Students will return their magnets to the
pile and return to their designated spots on
the rug.
11. Students will discuss what they noticed and
what they learned about magnets.
12. Students will observe as the teacher writes
down the facts that students share about
magnets and listen as the teacher reads
them aloud.
13. Students will help sound out words to
spell, if time allows.
14. Students will reflect on their work with the
scientific process, as they listen to the
teacher review how we asked questions,
explored to try to figure them out
ourselves, and then thought about we
learned.

Assessment:
• Throughout the lesson, I will informally observe students to monitor the extent to which
they observe their own actions and/or the actions of others to view the effects of magnets
in various situations.
• During scaffolded practice, I will informally observe students to monitor their ability to
test out the effects of magnets in various situations.
• During the conclusion, I will observe students and use the following rubric to evaluate
students’ comments:

Beginning Approaching Meeting Exceeding

Students listen attentively Students make 1-2 Students make more
Students are not
to the discussion about verbal contributions than 2 verbal
attentive to the
the investigation, but do to the discussion contributions to the
discussion about
not provide any verbal about the discussion about the
the investigation.
contributions. investigation. investigation.

Instructional Resources and Materials:

• Chart paper with easel
• Marker
• Assortment of magnets of different shapes, sizes, and strengths

Accommodations:
 • Child with social-emotional disorder:
o Show him the magnets during center time before the lesson to get him excited
about them so that he will want to join group time.
o Take note of the observations he makes during the investigation, and include them
in the shared writing experience. Even if he refuses to participate in the
discussion, he will see that his contributions are valued.
• Child with social-emotional need, academic need, and language disorder:
o Take note of the observations he makes during the investigation, and remind him
of them during the shared writing experience. Even if he cannot recall them
himself, he will see that his contributions are valued.
o As he tries different scenarios throughout the investigation, continuously
comment on what he is doing to model the language he needs to describe it.

References:
Illinois State Board of Education. (2013). Illinois early learning and development
standards: For preschool 3 years old to Kindergarten enrollment age. Retrieved
from https://www.isbe.net/documents/early_learning_standards.pdf
Woodford, C. (2017). Magnetism. Retrieved from
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/magnetism.html