Magnets & Electricity
Investigation 4: Current Attraction
Part 3
Investigating More Electromagnets
Students propose other ways to change the strength of the electromagnet.
3. Lesson set up and Management
1.1.4 Understand that energy keeps things running and comes in many forms.
1.2.2 Know that energy can be transferred from one object to another and can be transformed from one type of energy to another.
2.1.2 Plan and conduct simple investigations, using appropriate tools, measures and safety rules.
2.1.3 Use data to construct reasonable explanations.
2.1.5 Record and report observations, explanations and conclusions using visual, oral, written, and mathematical expression.
3.1.3 Evaluate how well a design or a product solves a problem.
1. Electromagnetism is magnetism created by current flowing through a conductor.
2. Electromagnets can be turned on and off.
3. The strength of the magnetism produced by an electromagnet can be varied.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
1. Keep your wire stripper handy. You and your students will use them for cutting more wire and stripping plastic when the wire breaks.
2. Be sure to have extra wires ready for the investigation.
3. Test the D-cells and make sure they are working before beginning by using the steps on Page 10 of this investigation.
4. If you keep your washers in small cups and your materials are out from Part 1 of this investigation, the set-up will be much easier.
5. You could set up this investigation so that each group has a different question to investigate and then each group will share their results at the end of the exploring.
6. You don't need to run off a copy of Student Sheet No. 20 for each student. Either write the questions on the board or have the sheet made into an overhead. Let the students write the answers in their journals.
Student Management:
1. Keep all materials at the station at which they are working. Don't let them carry the materials around. Let the students wander and explore.
2. Keep Moving! If you are constantly moving, it will keep everyone on task.
3. When discussing questions, have students place their materials in the middle of their table and desks or have them place their hands in their lap.
4. Because, students will try to turn the switch off and on when others are trying to investigate, make sure that students keep the washers over their desks or the trays. It makes a huge mess when washers are dropped onto the floor.
1. You can lengthen or shorten the time on any lesson.
2. Use Pages 2 & 3 to help guide further inquiry at the end of every part.
3. Give students time to discuss their observations with each other.
4. Give journal reflection time.
5. Keep word banks and content inquiry charts up so students can see and have more time to copy later, if needed. It's nice if you can keep them up all the time and just add to them as you go.
Writing Support:
1. Reflective journaling on the day's lesson.
2. Start and finish each lesson with a KWLQ chart. ("What do I know?", "What do I want to know?", "What have I learned?" and "Are there any more questions to investigate?")
3. Have students write all word banks and inquiries in their journals.
4. Write a short story describing real or imaginary encounters with electromagnets.
Reading Support:
1. Check the Resource section of the teacher's guide for more reading suggestions or the literature link on this site.
2. Read FOSS science Story "Magnets and Electricity in Your Life."