South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

What Is the Attraction? (Magnets) (Grade 2)

Master Teacher
Tina Rivers

Time Allotment
Ten 45-minute periods over two consecutive weeks

Overview
Students will explore how magnets are used in everyday life, how magnets were discovered, and what objects in our environment are magnetic. The students will be involved in various hands-on experiments and they will keep a record of their findings and observations. At the culmination of the unit, the students will present these experiments through a PowerPoint presentation. They will make a poster showing characteristics or usefulness of magnets, too.

Subject Matter
Science

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:

Recognize the characteristics of magnetic objects, recognize where magnets are used in their everyday environment, and reflect on how the discovery of magnets is important.

Demonstrate the law of polarity, “opposites attract, like repel,” with bar magnets, they will be able to identify the strongest point on a magnet and they will find out if more than one magnetic pole is stronger than one alone.

South Carolina Curriculum Standards
(From the South Carolina Science Curriculum Standards, grade 2, available online at www.myscscshools.com)

South Carolina Science Academic Standards

Magnetism

Standard 2-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of force and motion by applying the properties of magnetism. (Physical Science)

Indicators

2-5.1: Use magnets to make an object move without being touched.
2-5.2: Explain how the poles of magnets affect each other (that is, they attract and repel one another).
2-5.3: Compare the effect of magnets on various materials.
2-5.4: Identify everyday uses of magnets.

Media Components
Video
Magnets: A First Look explains that magnets are made of steel and iron and describes how magnets attract or repel. In addition, it explains that magnets have poles; how to make magnets; types of magnets; and where magnets are found.

Directions: To access this program, log on to ETV’s StreamlineSC Web page (http://etv.streamlinesc.org).Select Keyword: magnet. Click on “Magnets: A First Look” and select “a” in front of the clip “What Kinds of Things Do Magnets Attract?” (3:02). This adds the clip to “My Playlist.” Select Continue button. Click to close window. Follow these steps to add the other clips: “Does a Magnet Have to Touch Something to Attract It?” (1:57); “Magnetic Fields, Magnetic Poles, and the Compass” (2:13); “Similar Magnetic Poles Repel, Different Magnetic Poles Attract” (2:50); “How to Make a Magnet” (1:05); “Electromagnets: Using Electricity and Magnets Together” (1:42); “Magnets: A Review” (1:36). When finished, log off.

(Note to Teacher: If you don’t have an account with ETV’s StreamlineSC, check with your media specialist about signing up for one.)

Web Sites
Enchanted Learning (www.enchantedlearning.com) provides printouts to color and information on magnets.

SC Discus (www.scdiscus.org) is South Carolina’s virtual library and provides free access for South Carolina teachers and students. Kids Infobits has kid friendly information on magnets with pictures.

Clip Art and Media (http://office.microsoft.com/clipart) has clip art pictures of magnets.

Google (http://images.google.com/images?q=magnet&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images) is a search engine site to locate information and pictures on magnets.

Other Media
The students will use Microsoft PowerPoint to make a slide presentation describing their hands-on experiments and Microsoft Word to make a poster illustrating characteristics or uses of magnets.

Materials
Books
What Makes a Magnet? by Franklyn Mansfield Branley (Harper Collins Children’s Books, 1996)
Magnetsby Angela Royston (Heinemann, 2002)
Magnets by Peter Riley (Gareth Stevens Audio, 2002)

Per student:
Paper
Pencils
Magnets
poster paper
magnetic items
non-magnetic items
magnet journals
Amazing Magnets Crossword Puzzle

Equipment
Computer with Internet connection
Projector and screen or TV and TVconverter
PowerPoint and Word software
Digital camera

Prep for Teachers

Gather art and experiment supplies.
Check out books and equipment from the library.
Bookmark Internet sites to be used by the students.
Make a copy of the Amazing Magnets Crossword Puzzle for each student. It is found at the end of the lesson.
When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity
Step 1: Lead the students in a discussion about what they know and what they would like to learn about magnets.

Step 2: Put the students in pairs, and allow each pair to walk around the room and record observations in their magnet journals about what objects are magnetic or not magnetic.

Learning Activities
Step 1: Log on to your account at ETV’s StreamlineSC to retrieve the video segments from your Playlist. (Note to Teacher: It is probably better if you download it to your desktop computer’s hard drive or a CD to start with. Many schools actually don’t have the band width to live stream.) Students will view segments from Magnets: A First Look. Prior to viewing a segment, tell students the Focus for Media Interaction question or questions. After each segment, have the class discuss their answers.

Step 2: The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 1. “What Kinds of Things Do Magnets Attract?” (3:02) are “What can a magnet do?” (pick things up, stick to things, move things) “What will a magnet attract?” (Things made of iron or steel.) STOP the clip when prompted. Discuss with the students the question “What would you do to pick up the pins and not the buttons?” (Use a magnet to pick up the pins.) RESTART the clip and play until the end.

Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Repeat the Instruction steps for the next clip. The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 2. “Does a Magnet Have to Touch Something to Attract It?” (1:57) are “Why does the paper clip float?” (The magnet attracts it.) “Can a magnet attract a paper clip through glass?” (Yes.) STOP the clip when prompted. Discuss with the students the question “How could you tell which closed box has the paper clips?” (Use a magnet to drag the box.) RESTART the clip and play to the end.

Repeat the Instruction steps for the next clip. The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 3. “Magnetic Fields, Magnetic Poles, and the Compass” (2:13) are “What is a magnetic field?” (the place on a magnet where the magnet has force) “Where is the magnetic force the strongest?” (at the poles) “What is like a gigantic magnet?” (the earth) “How are birds able to fly north or south?” (They can detect the earth’s magnetic fields.)

Step 3: The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 4. “Similar Magnetic Poles Repel, Different Magnetic Poles Attract” (2:50) are “What do poles not alike do?” (Attract each other.) “What do poles that are alike do?” (Push each other away.) “What are some kinds of magnets?” (bar, horse shoe) “How is the train in Japan able to float above the track?” (Magnets keep the train from touching the track.) STOP the clip when prompted. Discuss with the students the question “How can you tell north or south poles on an unmarked bar magnet?” (Use another magnet.) RESTART the clip and play to the end.

Repeat the Instruction steps for the next clip. The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 5. “How to Make a Magnet” (1:05) are “How do you rub a piece of steel or iron against a magnet to make it a magnet?” (Rub in one direction at least 12 times.) “How can a group of ball bearings form a chain from the end of a magnet?” (Magnetic field makes the ball bearings magnetic too.)

Repeat the Instruction steps for the next clip. The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 6. “Electromagnets: Using Electricity and Magnets Together” (1:42) are “What kind of wire do you need to make an electromagnet?” (copper) “Why are electromagnets useful?” (They can be turned on and off.) “What are some examples of things that use electromagnets?” (crane, electric fan motor, door bell, telephone, headphones, tape player)

Step 4: The Focus for Media Interaction questions for 7. “Magnets: A Review” (1:36) are “What metals do magnets attract?” (iron, steel) “What is a magnetic force?” (the place on a magnet where the magnet has force) “What are the poles on a magnet called?” (north pole, south pole) “What do like poles do?” (Repel or push away from each other.) “What do different poles do? (Attract or move together.) What useful things can electromagnets do? (Lift things, sort things, help us find our way.) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Step 5: Now have students complete the Amazing Magnets Crossword Puzzle which is based on the information seen in the video clips. Then read several of the non-fiction books about magnets you have gathered to the students. Also, allow them to read some of the books independently.

Step 6: Now that the students have viewed and discussed the experiments from the video clips, have them recreate the experiments and write their observations in their journals. Materials needed for this activity: bar magnets, steel pins, plastic and wood buttons, cardboard box, paper clips

They should be able to answer the following questions:

What would you do to pick up the pins and not the buttons? (Use a magnet to pick up the pins.)
How could you tell which closed box has the paper clips? (Use a magnet to drag the box.)
How can you tell north or south poles on an unmarked bar magnet? (Use another magnet.)
How do you rub a piece of steel or iron against a magnet to make it a magnet? (Rub it in one direction at least 12 times.)

Step 7: Allow students to research how magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials—electromagnets, compasses, and magnetic fields. Allow the students to take pictures with digital cameras to use with their projects. Have students work on their projects using the computers in the classroom and the media center. Students will work at the computer as partners to locate information. They also will use the computer to type the information learned. They can use clipart to illustrate their work.

(Note to Teacher: Each pair of students can create 1 or 2 slides which would include a picture or clip art to illustrate their subject; information they found in their research; and names of the students creating the slides. Students can create a publication instead of a slide presentation covering the same information.)

Culminating Activity
Have each pair of students present their slide presentation or publication to their classmates.

Cross-Curricular Extension
Art: The students can make their own magnetic art project including a magnet puzzle and a decorative magnet.

Community Connections

Invite parents and community to see the class display and listen to the student presentations.

Student Materials

Amazing Magnets Crossword Puzzle (PDF)
Amazing Magnets Crossword Puzzle Answers (PDF)