Kacee Sommerfeldt

Grade 8

Lesson Plan
Class:

Science

Date:

Unit:
Topic:

Magnets and electromagnets

Direction of field lines, making a magnet

12 September, 2016,
Monday

Outcomes: Upon this lesson students will be able to

1. Plot direction of magnetic field around bar magnet.
2. Make a magnet.

Outcome
:

What is a magnetic field? Can magnetism be made? Stopped? Can magnets be made?

Materials:

Instructional Strategies:
- Reinforcing effort & providing
feedback.
- Setting objectives & providing
feedback.
- Cooperative learning.
- Summarizing and note taking.

8J PP
Magnets
Paperclips
J2a handout
J3a handout
Steel bar
Compass

Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=079ROtsEf2k

Objective: By the end of this lesson you should be able to draw the
direction of the magnetic field line, and be able to make a magnet.
9
9:05

9:15

Attendance and lunch tickets on managebac.

Have notebook, pencil out. Clear off work space, put everything away
except for what we need! We will be moving around today.
Go over homework 8J.1 #1-11 call on students to answer questions.
Recap last lesson
What materials are attracted to a magnet?
What happens if you bring the north poles of two magnets
together?
What happens if you bring the north and south poles of two
magnets together?
What is a magnetic field?
Sketch the magnetic field around a bar magnet?

Each activity has a

further experiment
you can do if there
is time, pay
attention and work
together so you
can experiment
more.

Plotting magnetic fields activity J2a. We will have about 30 min. to

complete this activity. Draw in your exercise workbook, partner copies
it into own notebook as well.

9:25

Accommodation
/Modification

To make partners, draw cards, same number are partners, number

each table 1-5 and spread partners out so there is plenty of room.
Make sure everyone is on the Plotting magnetic field side of
handout.
Take turns reading instructions for what to do.
Complete first activity have about 10 min.

If finish early can

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Kacee Sommerfeldt
Grade 8

9:45

9:55

.
10
10:05

If time
there is a
video

start homework as
wait for other
groups to finish.
8J.2, all questions

Go onto extension activity have about 10 min.

Discuss: show result of what arrows look like around magnet. Then
show results for extension. Why do you think compass pointed in
this direction? Where are magnetic field lines closest together?
What does this tell us about the strength of the magnetic field?
that magnetic forces act through non-magnetic materials but not
through magnetic materials
Ask pupils to recall whether magnetism will act through any materials,
using evidence they have from everyday life, eg fridge magnets, games
such as magnetic football.
Ask pupils to devise a test to see which materials allow magnetism to
act through them, eg when a thread is attached to paper clip and taped
to a bench, the paper clip will hover below a magnet and fall when a
sheet of magnetic material is inserted between it and the magnet. Ask
pupils to suggest what the materials have in common to prevent the
magnet working.
describe how they found out that magnetic materials block the action
of magnetic elds

It takes about 50
strokes in same
direction to work
well.

Slide 15, write out magnetic fields summary

Do you think it is possible to make a magnet? How?

J3a activity: Making a magnet: handout instructions. Now switch up

partners, put letters together to make partners (they are stickers on
card)

We will have about another 30 min. to complete this task. Read

through instructions together as a class. Plan and predict together,
draw table on board and have class write it down.

We are going to do an experiment to test it out if we can turn a

magnetic material into a magnet. Each partnership gets a magnet and
5 paperclips to start.

Option to start: Stroke one paperclip with magnet in same direction 50

times, then see if the paperclip is magnetized by using it to pick up the
other paperclip. Did it work? It does work

Otherwise just do activity from instructions.

Show how to set up graph, strokes on x axis, and paper clips on y axis.

Compare graphs.

Any groups that finish early can do the activity on the back with the iron
filings in tube.

Discuss: have each group write their highest number of strokes with
paperclips, and highest number paperclips with strokes. Is there any
pattern? Do you think this was the best way to test strength of magnet
you made? Can you think of other ways for testing the strength of the
magnet? Would it be more accurate?

10:22 min Watch Bill Nye Magnetism video no 83

How can you test

for a magnet?
You can only
show that an
object is a
magnet if it
repels a known
magnet
Attraction is not
a good test
because Fe, Co,
and Ni attract
both ends of a
magnet.

If they are working well and on

task, can give them extra time
for the extension activities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079ROtsEf2k

What does a magnetic field look like?

What are magnets made up of?

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Kacee Sommerfeldt
Grade 8

10:45

What ends are on a magnets and what do they do?

Why is the earth like a magnet? Core made of iron and ore. Lined up
domains make it magnetic (domain theory of magnetism), moving
electrons. Compasses.

5:49: question, why does piece float above other? Pause and discuss.
What happens if you turn the one piece over? They stick together.

Conclusion: Get back into poster making groups, talk among group what
you learned. Call on one person from each group. Add to your posters.
Homework: finish questions from activity if didnt finish. J8.2 pages 113-114
#1-9; 8J.3 pages 114-115 #1-7

Self-Evaluation / Reflection:
Some things that went well about this lesson was the grouping, getting into new partners with cards was something
they had not done before. For the first part of the activity there was not much movement between partners, but
when I had them get into their new partners with the letters midway through class for the next activity they were in
better partnerships. I liked how it got them with people they may not have worked with before.
I need to do a better talk before handout equipment on respecting it, I did it midway through and still found 3
broken compasses.
Came up with the term ladys and gents to get their attention, along with eyes on me. I asked them how they
wanted me to get their attention, I went with their first suggestion, and one of mine. It worked better after that.
Close to a 2 hour class on Mondays I need to be careful about how to keep it interesting to keep them on task. As
the end came they were getting more distracted. I would bring them back from the experiment into a discussion.
I ended up changing my lesson around, wrote out what they needed out beforehand so most of the students were
prepared for class. We went over homework, when I asked they all said they had it complete, but when I would call
out for answers, some students did not actually complete all the questions. The call out was good accountability.
We did activity J2a and the extension with plotting magnetic fields, then took down a quick summary note page,
then they added to their posters. Reading through the directions was good, I could have made it better with
demonstrating more on the whiteboard so they knew exactly what to do since there was still some confusion.
Another idea is to do each step to start together.
Having a talk about discuss with your partner before you ask teacher, and do not distract other partners would be
good to do. Set more expectations before we start the experiment. Go over what to do if they finish as well. I wrote
questions up on the board they could work on.

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