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Science topics ages 7 - 8
Magnets and springs
Curriculum relevance
| Online lesson plan
Offline lesson
plan | Worksheet |
Activity |
Quiz
Online lesson plan
Objectives
Know that there are forces between magnets and that magnets can attract (pull
towards) and repel (push away from) each other
Make and record careful observations of magnets
Know that magnets attract some metals but not others and that other materials
are not attracted to magnets
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National Curriculum
England: Key Stage 2, Science, Sc1 2c, 2j; Sc4 2a
Wales: Key Stage 2, Physical processes 2.4
Northern Ireland: Key Stage 1, Materials, Properties, c
Scotland: 5-14 Guidelines, Science, Forces and their effects, Level B
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Resources required
Online activity from Science Clips website: Magnets and springs
Pairs of bar magnets with ends labelled north and south
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Teaching activities
Introduction
On an interactive whiteboard, bring up the Magnets and springs online
activity. Use it to recap children’s knowledge of which materials are
magnetic. Drag three objects (not the magnet) onto the virtual table, and ask
children to predict whether they will be attracted by the magnet, explaining
their reasons. Then use the activity to test if they were right. Turn the
magnet on the bar over, and ask the children to make new predictions. Once
again, use the activity to test if they were right. Does it make any difference
which end of the magnet you use to attract materials?
Activities
Drag the magnet onto the virtual table. Ask children to predict what will
happen when you place the magnet on the bar above it. Test if they were right.
Turn the magnet on the bar around and ask the children to predict what they
think will happen now. Take responses but do not test.
Take a real pair of bar magnets and show the children that the magnets have
two ends; one end is called south, one is called north. Put the two magnets on
a table 30cm apart (north and south facing each other). Draw the arrangement of
magnets on the whiteboard and label the ends. Move one magnet closer to the
other until they are attracted. Label the whiteboard drawing with arrows and
words (including Pull and Attract) describing what happened and the forces
acting.
In pairs, children repeat this task, and then try to push the two north ends
together, followed by the two south ends. They record their observations in
labelled drawings.
Plenary
Ask the children what they observed. Explain that when the magnets jump apart,
the magnetic force pushes rather then pulls, and the magnets repel each other.
Ask the children to add these labels to their diagrams. Which ends repel each
other and which ends attract each other. Return to the online activity. Does
anybody want to change their prediction? Test with the activity. What do they
know about the two ends of the magnet in the activity? (They are either both
souths or both norths.)
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Extension
Do they think a pair of larger bar magnets will be attracted or repelled from
a further distance than a small pair? Predict, and then test, using a ruler to
measure results.
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Suggested homework
Ask children to find objects at home that use magnets (a compass, for
example).
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