Georgia Southwestern State University Lesson Plan Guidelines

Created by GSW School of Education

EDEC 4200 Spring 2016
(Revised by L. Larsen)
Name: Monica Murphy
Lesson Date: March 4, 2016
Lesson Start Time:

12:20

Lesson End Time: 1:30

Classroom/Lesson Context
__X__ Whole Group _____ Small Group _____ One-on-One
Please specify the number of students:
__10__ Girls __11__Boys
Learning Central Focus
A. Lesson Plan Title: Magnet Scavenger Hunt______
B. Grade Level: ___3rd Grade_____
C. Central Focus:
The central focus for the content in the learning segment is for the students to be able to
accurately determine what objects are magnetic and which are not. Students must investigate
magnets and how they can affect other magnets and common objects.
D. Content Standard:
S3P2. Students will investigate magnets and how they affect other magnets and common
objects.
a. Investigate to find common objects that are attracted to magnets.
b. Investigate how objects attract and repel each other.

Student Learning Goal(s)/ Objective(s):

A. Skills/procedures:
The students will investigate magnets, how they affect other magnets, and, mainly, how they
affect common objects. Students will also investigate and determine what everyday objects are
attracted to magnets and which are not. Students will participate in an activity where they are
given a bag full of random magnetic and nonmagnetic items. They will use a magnet to
determine if the items in their bag are magnet or not and they will record their answers onto a
graphic organizer.

B. Prior Academic Knowledge and Conceptions:

Students should have prior knowledge about the concepts of magnets attracting and repelling.
Students should at least be able to differentiate between attracting and repelling by using the
hand motions (coming together for attracting, going apart for repelling). Hopefully, they will be
able to verbalize the definition of each. Students should have some knowledge of what a
magnet actually is even if it is just referenced to what is on the refrigerator. A basic skill students
should have successfully mastered is sorting and recording. The students should know how to
sort between two different things. They will be sorting between magnetic and nonmagnetic, so
after explanation of what those mean, they should be able to differentiate between the two and
record their sorting onto paper.
When considering the gaps in knowledge that students may have, some students may not
understand that objects like air, water, wood, paper, our hands do not block magnetic force. This
is a concept students should have learned in 1st grade, so if not learned, this is something that I
will have to reiterate and make sure the students have full understanding on before moving on
to the lesson.
Common Errors, Developmental Approximations, Misconceptions, Partial
Understandings, or Misunderstandings:
Students may assume or have a misunderstanding that any object that is shiny is magnetic.
This is not always the case. For example, a penny is shiny, but it is not magnetic. In order to
address this misconception, I will be sure to put some shiny items in the bag that are not
magnetic, and I will put some objects that are not shiny that are magnetic into the bags. I will
address this by stating that we have to look past the physical characteristics of the item and
actually test it with our magnet. The students should not just assume that any object is magnetic
or nonmagnetic without testing it first. Also, some students may believe that bigger magnets are
stronger than smaller ones. Although sometimes this is true, it is not always true. I will inform the
students that a larger magnet and a smaller magnet are created from the same material and
shaped in the same way.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks

A. Launch: __15__ Minutes
Prior to beginning this lesson, I will ensure that all students are seated in their desks, quiet,
have a pencil ready, and are prepared for the lesson (no bathroom needs, questions, or
concerns). In order to gain my students attention, I will start the lesson by informing the
students that I have a magnet magic trick to show them! I will put a magnetic marble in my
pocket without the students seeing. I will place a second magnetic marble and a thin set of
papers on my desk. I will hold up one magnetic marble (not the one in my pocket), and inform
the students that I can move it however I want, even through a book. I will take the magnetic
marble from my pocket and place it in my hand. I will set the packet of papers over my hand that
contains the marble and balance it in my hand. Then, I will place the other magnetic marble over
the other. I will hold the book steady with my free hand and slowly move the hand that holds the
magnetic marble underneath the set of papers, so that the magnet on top rolls along with it.
When the students see the magic, I will show them the magnet I had in my hand and let them
know that they will have a chance to work with magnets during this lesson.
After settling the students down after the excitement of the magic trick, I will ask the students a
few questions to get them thinking about magnets. Some questions I will ask are, Who can tell
me what a magnet is? Where do we normally see magnets? What does a magnet do? I will
expect the students to raise their hand to answer. To enter into the instruction of the lesson, I will
show a short video about magnets. After playing the video, I will discuss it shortly, and then we
will move onto the instruction.
B. Instruction: ____18______ Minutes
I will begin the lesson by reading a passage to the students. The passage is titled, The Sad Tale
of the Lonely Magnet. This will refresh the students on what a magnet is and how they work in
everyday life. I expect that students will relate better to this then they would a science book or
informational text, but this passage still ensures that students get the concept of a magnet. This
will also engage the students and get them ready for the activity later.
Next, I will go over the questions attached to the passage with the students. I will read the
questions aloud and have the students raise their hand to answer. This will ensure their
understanding of the passage and concepts related to magnets that were incorporated into the
story about the sad, lonely magnet.
I will then go over a short worksheet titled Fill in the Blanks with the students to make sure they
understand the terminology about magnets. This worksheet gives the students a word bank and
expects them to fill in the correct blank with the correct work. I will do this with the class on the
ActivBoard and call on students to participate and answer questions. I will expect each student
to use their thumbs up/thumbs down method to agree or disagree quietly with their classmates
answers. I will use this as a method to determine whether the students understand the concepts
or not. After completing the worksheet and determining that most, if not all, the students are
prepared to move on; we will begin the science activity about magnets.

C. Structured Practice: ____25______ Minutes

We will now go on a scavenger hunt! I will pass out bags of items (magnetic and nonmagnetic)
to the students. The students will also receive a magnet to use and test their items. I will instruct
the students that we are going on a scavenger hunt and that we will be determining what is
magnetic and what is not. We will use a magnet given to each student to go through the items in
our bag and determine if they are magnetic or not. We will chart our data and findings onto the
graphic organizer labeled, Magnet Mystery. We will have 10-12 items in the bags and will write
the name of the item into the column that it correctly goes into (magnetic or nonmagnetic). The
students will also have the opportunity to be called on to get out of their seat, take their bar
magnet and find an item in the classroom that is magnetic or not and then share their findings
with the class. The students will have to tell me if the item they found/chose was magnetic or not
and why (I will expect them to use words like repel, attract, north pole, south pole, and magnetic
field). We will continue this part of the activity until a majority of the students have participated
and I feel comfortable allowing them to complete work about magnets independently.
Application: ____15______ Minutes
After going through each of the 10-12 items and items around the classroom, students will be
given a sheet titled, Magnet Discussion Questions, which they will complete independently.
Questions asked on this sheet are Why did the magnet attract the objects it did? Students
should use their knowledge from what we read as a class and remember that magnets attract
things with metal in them. Other questions that they are expected to answer are, How do you
think these objects are the same? Which objects were not picked up by the magnet? Why
do you think the magnet did not pick up the objects? Again, they will be expected to write 2-4
complete sentences with correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. Students may
reference the Fill in the Blanks Worksheet for terms and correct vocabulary to use. I will walk
around and monitor the students while they work on these discussion questions independently. I
will determine who is struggling, who understands, and who doesnt.
D. Closure: ____17______ Minutes
As part of the way I will close the lesson, I will give the students a type of ticket out the door. I
will prompt the students to find two items in the classroom that we have not previously
discussed, one item that is attracted to their magnet and one item that repels their magnet. I will
give the students a note card and have them write the two items they found and why it did or did
not attract or repel to their magnet. This will allow the students to find and use real world
examples of items that are magnetic and not magnetic. I will take this closing activity up and use
it as a way to determine if students understood the concepts and expectations of the lesson or
not. This will allow me to know if I need to review topics in this lesson or know that we are ready
to move on.
Finally, to end the lesson, the students/teachers have been working diligently to increase the
writing that goes on in every subject. So, to increase their writing skills, I will as the students to
take out their Science Journal to write a response to a prompt I will give them. As a way to
connect with the passage we read and put the concepts learned about magnets into action, I will
give them the prompt, If I were a magnet, I would stick to This will allow them to think like
the sad, lonely magnet in our story and they will be able to tell their own story as if they were a

magnet too. Students will have this prompt to go off of and be expected to write 5-7 complete,
full, correctly written sentences. My hopes are for the students to use their writing skills and
imagination to pick something in the classroom or the outside world and explain what they are
sticking to and why they are able to stick to it. The students must be scientific and can be
creative at the same time. The information about why they are able to stick to the object must be
correct (because the item they are sticking to is metal/has iron in it and is attracted to the
magnet). The students will leave this writing with me and I will use it to determine their
understanding of magnets and what knowledge they gained from the text we read. I expect
students to use vocabulary found in the book as well as terminology used throughout the
lesson.

Differentiation/ Planned Support

A. Differentiation plan:
For the worksheet part of the activity, I expected students to write 2-4 sentences, to differentiate
for students; I will allow some to only write 2-3 sentences instead of the expected 4 of the other
students.
Some students may finish the activity more quickly than others, so I will have addition items to
add to those students bags in order to allow them to keep participating in the activity. Students
that are complete the sorting of the initial items in the bag will be allowed to get more items and
record those results (magnetic/nonmagnetic). I will also give students who finished quickly the
opportunity to go around the classroom and find items on their own that are magnetic or are not
magnetic.
For students who seem to understand the task, but are taking longer, I will allow them to not
complete as many items as they have in their bag. I will have a set number that all students
must complete. Once they have reached that number, students who are taking longer, may
record their data and stop.
If a student seems to be struggling, I will try and work with them to move them along and
understand the knowledge that they are missing. I will test several items with struggling students
and ask what is happening when the item is touched to the magnet. I will ask, Is the magnet
attracted to the item? For lower level students I will ask, Is the magnet sticking to the item? if
so, I will ask them to determine if that means it is magnetic or nonmagnetic.

B. Student Interactions
Students will already be seating in a horseshoe shape desk arrangement, so they will have the
option to work and talk quietly with their neighbors. I will expect students to stay in their seat, no
moving to be near a friend, and they will be expected to each fill out their own data sheet.
Students will all also be expected to test their items and see if it is magnetic or not. They should
not take their neighbors answers. Students should remain quiet throughout the activity and if I
hear off-topic conversations or if students are a disruption to others, they will revert back to
working independently.

C. What Ifs
I expect students to enjoy this hands-on activity; however, some may find it boring or repetitive.
As listed in the modifications above, if some students finish quickly or seem to be bored, I will
allow them to get up and walk throughout the class and find items on their own that are
magnetic or nonmagnetic.
I expect students to know what most all the items in the bag are. I plan to discuss and go over
each item prior to beginning the activity; however, some students may not know what a
particular item in the bag is. If this is the case, I will raise attention to the item to the entire class
and give them a description of what the item is and its purpose.
Theoretical Principles and/or Research Based Best Practices
The learning task for this lesson is appropriate for my students because research proves that
hands-on activities and manipulatives enhance learning and allow students to be able to
connect with the learning better. By actually doing something, students are more like to retain
the information and be able to apply it later on in life. The theory of experiential education
revolves around the idea that learning is enhanced when students acquire knowledge through
active processes that engage them. (Hartshorn and Boren, 1990). Manipulatives help students
learn by allowing them to move from concrete experiences to abstract reasoning. (Heddens,
1986; Reisman, 1982; Ross and Kurtz, 1993).
Materials
The teacher will need materials to give to the students. These materials include the bags full of
items that are either magnetic, nonmagnetic, or both and worksheets that the students will
complete. The teacher will also need to give the students the graphic organizer to chart their
data after checking to see if each item is magnetic or not. The teacher will need a computer to
launch the video and a smart board to clarify any questions and write directions for the class.
Students will need a pencil, the bag of items, and worksheets, charts, and organizers given by
the teacher to record answers and data. Students will also need their brains and possibly their
passage to reference.
Vocabulary
Students will need to know context specific terms or vocabulary words such as magnet,
magnetic poles, magnetic force, magnetic field, lift attract, repel, force, iron, copper, steel,
magnetism, magnetic, and nonmagnetic, north pole, and south pole.

Analyzing Teaching
A. Worked/Didn't Worked

The entire lesson went fairly well. The magic trick at the beginning was a big hit. The students
were very responsive and receptive to the questions I asked about magnets and were excited to
tell me the examples of magnets they knew about. The students also enjoyed the video during
the launch. Their normal teacher plays a lot of videos during class, so I decided to do that in
order to not put them too off track. Since they are so used to having videos to watch, this was a
good visual for them to see and think about. Also, the scavenger hunt activity worked really well.
The students really understood what they were doing and were excited to compare their findings
and results with their neighbors. They were also happy to share their answers with the whole
class and they liked the idea of charting their information to see what there was more of,
magnetic or not magnetic items.
Looking back, I wish I would have had a PowerPoint to go through with the students instead of
me just standing in front of the class talking and lecturing almost. It seems that the information I
told the students was heard and understood, but if I would have had the information on a
PowerPoint, I think it would have worked better for the students. It would have allowed them to
see the information and hear it; therefore, it would have reached my visual and auditory
students.
The passage and the activity worked for me and the students. It allowed me to see the students
interact and understand the concepts, and it allowed the students to learn in a fun and creative
environment.
The lecturing and talking without the PowerPoint seemed to be fine with the students, but
perhaps they were not as focused as they could have been with one, so that may have not
worked the absolute best for them.
B. Adjustments
In order to prepare for another lesson, I would need to look at the students work from today and
gain knowledge on what the students did not understand and try to teach those concepts again
and refresh the students on the knowledge that they did not grasp in the previous lesson. Also,
in order to adjust the lesson for tomorrow, I would probably increase the level of difficulty of the
lesson because for the most part, all of the students had really good skills and understanding
pertaining to magnets.
C. Proposed Changes
Whole group: The Sad Tale of the Lonely Magnet was a really great story for the students to
read. They really loved the story line and could relate easily to the story. The story did have
comprehension questions to go along with it and I chose to not focus so much on these for the
Science lesson. Instead I allowed the students to do the Fill in the Blanks Worksheet which I
thought correlated more to science. Looking back, I wish I would have gone ahead and spent
some time doing the comprehension questions along with the passage. The students still
understood the passage and it related directly to the topic of magnets, so I dont think it didnt
work, its just something I would do differently if I had another chance.
Group of Students: In order to extend and change my instruction for a group of students, I think I
would have read part of the science book to some students somehow. A majority of the students
in my class were completely fine and needed no review on magnets, but a few could have used
that extra support of just a short paragraph out of their science book. Their regular teacher

never uses a science book, but I think I would have incorporated the book somehow just so they
would have had it to reference and use.
Individual Students: Like listed above, If I were to make any changes in the instruction of my
lesson for individual students, it would be to use a PowerPoint to direct the information from the
lesson. Most of the students were completely fine without a visual, but I can imagine that some
students would have been even more focused if they had that to look at.
D. Justification
By making these chances, it would improve the students learning by engaging all the different
learning styles better. If I would have used a PowerPoint, I would have engaged my visual
students better. By using the science book more, it would have helped my auditory learners
hear the information from a source and not just from me. The scavenger hunt allowed my
kinesthetic students to have the hands-on manipulatives that they needed.

In an article on edutopia.org, it states that teaching to the different learning styles can be
extremely helpful in keeping the students engaged and interested in the lesson. If I were to
teach this lesson again and incorporate these changes, I believe the lesson would reach
more students and help keep the students participating and allow them to be more motivated
to conduct their work. Providing students with multiple ways to access content improves
learning (Hattie, 2011). Providing students with multiple ways to demonstrate knowledge and
skills increases engagement and learning, and provides teachers with more accurate
understanding of students' knowledge and skills (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Instruction should
be informed as much as possible by detailed knowledge about students' specific strengths,
needs, and areas for growth (Tomlinson, 2014). All of these points confirm that, A one-sizefits-all approach to education will invariably leave some students behind. This means that if
we do not differentiate our teaching a teach to each style of learning, then some students will
fall through the cracks and not get all the concepts they need to fully understand the lesson.

Other Resources:
The Sad Tale of the Lonely Magnet- Students will read story and answer questions attached.
This activity can be found on the Activity Page of mdmurphy.weebly.com
Magnet Mystery- Students will select a magnet, go around their house, find objects that are
magnetic and not magnetic, and chart them under the correct category. This activity can be
found on the Activity Page of mdmurphy.weebly.com
Magnet Mania- Students will follow the directions of the worksheet. Students will fill in the blank
using the words in the word bank. Students will draw a line from the object to its correct
category (magnetic or not). Students will complete a short 3-5 sentence paragraph answering
the prompt, If I were a magnet, I would stick to This activity can be found on the Activity
Page of mdmurphy.weebly.com

Magnet Questionnaire- Students will answer questions in full sentences related to magnets.
This activity can be found on the Activity Page of mdmurphy.weebly.com
Magnet KWL- This activity can be completed prior to learning about magnets to help track
students learning. This can be completed independently, with parents, and in class with teacher.
This activity can be found on the Activity Page of mdmurphy.weebly.com
Fill in the Blanks- Unit of Work that I pulled from to create individual assignments. PDF.
Magnet Discussion Questions- These questions will be answer in full sentences and allow
students to improve their understanding of magnets. This activity can be found on the Activity
Page of mdmurphy.weebly.com
Educational Apps:
Learn about Magnets by BodhaGuru- $0.99
This app is intended for 9-11 year old children. This app allows students to learn all about magnets. In this
app, students can interact with the app and learn how magnets were discovered. Also, students and children
can play with magnets and objects to determine if they are magnetic or not. Students will learn about
magnetism and the North and South Poles while playing this app.
Magnet Runner- Butterfly Fields- Free
This imaginative science app allows children to help characters, Zuko, Robo, Rudy, and Star move through a
city of magnets. While playing the game, students will interact with the different properties of magnets, the
types of magnets, and how they can be used in real life.
Magnet Ascent by Jun Li- Free
This app allows students to apply their knowledge about magnetic items, nonmagnetic items, attraction, and
repelling. A magnet is lives its life in a toolbox with all sorts of magnetic items, like nails, screwdrivers. All of
which keep getting stuck to the magnet. Students and children playing the app will have to use unique
strategies to avoid all the magnetic items and get the magnet out of the toolbox.
Learning Module:
Magnet Madness!
https://web.archive.org/web/20120410044511/http://home.interserv.com/~skyblade/magindex.htm
This online learning module allows students to explore the different components of magnets. Students can
learn more about magnets by clicking on the various links, reading, and interacting with the given
information and directions. Some of the topics the module covers are: What is Magnetism? Get charged
with Charges! And Compasses!
Game:
3rd Grade Magnet Millionaire
https://www.quia.com/rr/42166.html
This game is similar to Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Students are given a question and are expected to
answer the question correctly. The class can be divided into teams, boys and girls or one side of the room
and the other, and can compete with each other to see who knows the most about magnets.

Magnets: This website has different kinds of webquests, worksheets, and experiments to try out.
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/science_elem_magnets.htm. This can be found on the
Other Resources Page on mdmurphy.weebly.com.
Magnet Projects: This website gives students a few cool projects and activities to try out.
http://fullerton.ops.org/STAFF/Specialists/MagnetTechnology/MrsSallyRehmeier/3rdGradeMagn
etProjects/tabid/328/Default.aspx. This can be found on the Other Resources Page on

mdmurphy.weebly.com.

Magnetism Quiz: This will allow students to quiz themselves on their knowledge and
understanding of magnets.
http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/science/magnetism/quiz767.html. This can be found on the
Other Resources Page on mdmurphy.weebly.com.
Magnet Slides: Google Docs Slide Show PowerPoint. This slide show walks students through
important terms dealing with Magnets. This slide show can be found on the Google Presentation
Page on mdmurphy.weebly.com.
Write 5 questions to match your standard.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What are some common objects that are attracted to magnets?

What are some common objects that are NOT magnetic?
What are some characteristics of objects that are attracted to magnets?
How do different magnets work with one another?
What is the reason behind why magnets attract and repel one another?

Using these five questions, create a QR code for the answer to number 1.
You will have to download a QR scanner and you will have to use a QR
builder on line.
http://www.qrstuff.com/ (QR Builder I used)
http://www.coolmagnetman.com/magattr.htm (Where the QR code will take you)
QRReader (App I used to read QR code)

Use www.getkahoot.it to create a fun paced game for your students. Use
questions 2 and 3 for kahoot.
What are some common objects that are NOT magnetic?
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/be3bd05f-0bc4-4170-a122-8c8b17995d41

What are some characteristics of objects that are attracted to magnets?

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/a59aba65-5bb7-4e30-aaac-3b8ff89e9330

Using www.socrative.com use question 4 to demonstrate the use of this

game.
file:///C:/Users/Monica
%20Murphy/Downloads/Quiz_magnetsandhowtheyworktogether.pdf
This website allowed me to create a quiz, provide the answer, provide an
explanation of the answer, choose the type of quiz it was, monitor student progress
and completion, and share and view my created quiz. The website also allowed me
to choose what type of questions to ask, multiple choice, true/false, and short
answer.

Using www.plickers.com use question 5 to demonstrate.

I created a quiz and added a roster for my class to complete the questions.

Lesson Planning
GSW School of Education
Revised Spring 2016
This is an abbreviated format of the GSW lesson plan. Teacher Candidates will practice
writing three lesson plans in the EC science course.
The grading rubric is included in this packet. Pay close attention to the following:
Instructional Strategies Section
Instruction I (teacher candidate) do
Practice We (teacher candidate and students) do
Application You (student) do
These sections need DETAIL. Consider the following:
What are you providing as instruction?

How are you providing the instruction?

When the practice section starts, are your students doing?
How is the practice helping meet your goals of this lesson?
In application, what types of assessment(s) are you doing?
What should the student achieve by completing this application?