3rd Grade Science Lesson

Push, Pull, and Power: Electric & Magnetic Forces

Shared by A STEM Educator

3rd Grade5e-learning-cycle3-PS2-3, 3-PS2-445 min

Learning Objective

Students will be able to describe how electric and magnetic forces can attract or repel objects without touching them, identify which materials are magnetic, and explain how electromagnets are used in real-world applications such as maglev trains and junkyard cranes.

Lesson Overview

Students explore how magnets and electromagnets exert non-contact forces through hands-on sorting, testing, and design challenges connected to real-world maglev trains and junkyard electromagnets. Students discover that magnetic forces act at a distance and can be controlled.

Materials

Bar magnets (1 per pair)
Horseshoe magnets (1 per group)
Iron filings in sealed bags (1 per group)
Assorted objects: paperclips, pennies, aluminum foil, steel washers, wooden blocks, rubber erasers, brass fasteners, iron nails
Static balloon (inflate 1 per group, rub on hair)
Small pieces of paper, tissue, and plastic wrap
D-cell batteries (1 per group for Elaborate)
Insulated copper wire (30 cm per group)
Large iron nails (1 per group)
Paperclips for weight testing (20 per group)
Ruler
Recording sheets / science journals
Sorting mats (two-column: Magnetic / Not Magnetic)
Index cards for exit slip

Scaffolded Task Progression

1Task 1

The teacher holds a bar magnet near a pile of paperclips. The paperclips jump toward the magnet before it touches them. Circle the best explanation:
A) The magnet is sticky.B) The magnet exerts a force that acts at a distance.C) The paperclips are alive and moving on their own.D) Air pushed the paperclips. Then write one sentence: How is this similar to what the balloon did to the tissue?

2Task 2

LOW-FLOOR SORT: You have 8 objects on your table. Test each one with the bar magnet and record your results in the table below.

Object	Prediction	Result	Magnetic?
Paperclip
Penny
Aluminum foil
Steel washer
Wooden block
Rubber eraser
Brass fastener
Iron nail

After sorting: What do ALL of the magnetic objects have in common? Write one sentence.

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