Kristen Batalla, Vanessa Laroche

LARP Milestone 2:
Selecting High Quality Tasks
Big Idea: Earth’s magnetism and solar winds contribute to the phenomenon of the aurora borealis
and the relationship between the Sun and the Earth.

This LARP assignment consists of four components:

(1) Provide the list of revised learning goals for your two-day LARP lesson based on the
feedback that you received in milestone 1.

Learning Goals (Milestone 1):

1. Students will be able to explain why the Auroras are only visible at certain
regions due to the Earth’s magnetism patterns in the typical auroral zones.

Feedback:
“This work is quite good and hit all the marks but it is about your unit. We have changed
gears with the LARP milestones and are now focusing on the lesson you will teach. I
can’t enter this as a grade until you submit your lesson goals and two tiered assessment
for the lesson you will teach”

“In its truest form, your pre-assessment is not a two tiered assessment. For the assessment
to fall into that category, there needs to be some sort of scenario that students explain
using their scientific understandings of the topic. They usually have to apply several of
those concepts to come up with a successful explanation. The format you are using does
uncover student understanding but it is not a performance or two tiered assessment. You
can go back and reread the article to help with this clarification.”

“One other thing to consider about your assessment is that the grouping of the vocab
should uncover the relationship between three of the words thus the odd one out should
be identifiable. If students don’t see a relationship they may not have much to write
about. Just keep that in mind.”

Learning Goals Revision:

1. Students will be able to identify magnetic elements and which elements cause
Earth’s magnetic field.
2. Students will be able to draw and describe magnetic field lines between two
attracting and two repelling magnetic poles.
 3. Students will be able to explain why the Auroras are only visible at certain
regions due to the Earth’s magnetism patterns in the typical auroral zones.

(2) Identify a core task you would like to use in your LARP lesson that aligns with your
learning goals. Please provide a copy of the main task statement that you will ask
students to work on in during your LARP lesson. (In other words, a copy of the handout
you will give students.) The task should EITHER be of high cognitive demand (according
to the TAG or TAGS framework) OR meet the PBI gold standard (see attached rubric).

Core Task: Students will be arranged in groups of three to complete a two-part magnetic
field activity (copy of the handout on the next page) with a compass (Day1), iron fillings
(Day2), and a magnet to see how multiple magnetic lines converge at the “north and
south” poles.

Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8XNHlV6Qxg
http://web.csulb.edu/~lhenriqu/Magnets.pdf
NAMES: DATE:

MAGNETIC FIELDS
MATERIALS:
1- large piece of paper
1- bar magnet
1- compass

PROCEDURE: COMPASS ACTIVITY

1. Place the bar magnet in the middle of the paper (next page). Trace the outline of the
magnet. (That way, if it gets bumped, you can put it back in its original position.)
2. Place the compass at the end of the magnet and make a dot where the compass arrow
points. This will be your original point.

3. Move the compass so that the bottom of the arrow is at the dot you just made. Make a
NEW dot where the tip of the arrow points.

Repeat this procedure until you reach the

other end of the magnet.

4. Connect the dots, marking the path the compass took around the magnet.

5. Begin again, this time starting approximately 1 cm from your original point.

6. Repeat this process until you have mapped at least 5 lines above and 5 lines below your
magnet.

COMPASS ACTIVITY SKETCH:

Directions: Explore different ways that the iron fillings respond without the bar magnet,
with the bar magnet placed on top, and with two magnets.

Sketch of Iron Fillings Sketch of Iron Fillings

Without Bar Magnet Placed on top of Bar Magnet

Sketch of Iron Fillings Sketch of Iron Fillings

Like Poles Unlike Poles

1. How does the pattern of the iron fillings relate to the magnetic field of the bar
Magnet?

2. What happens to the magnetic field lines when two like poles are placed next to
each other?

3. What happens to the magnetic field lines when opposite poles are placed next to
each other?

4. Can you tell by the patterns where the force of magnetic field is strongest? weakest?
5. How many pieces of paper can you place between a magnet and a
paper clip? Why was the magnet still able to attract the paper clip with that many sheets of
paper?

6. What happened when you used more sheets of paper between the magnet and
paperclip than the quantity indicated in question 5? Why do you think this happened?

7. How do your sketches of the iron fillings relate to your sketch of the lines created by using a
compass? Why do they look similar or different?

8. Sketch what you think Earth’s magnetic field looks like in the space below:

9. Does Earth’s magnetic field protect us from anything outside of Earth’s atmosphere? Is there
anything strong enough to pass through earth’s magnetic field? Explain your reasoning in 2-3
sentences.
(3) Provide a detailed description of the work that you will have students engage in and any
important information students will need to know in order to successfully participate in this task.
Please explain briefly how this task is aligned with the goals of the lesson (highlighted in green).
Also, please discuss what it is that students are intended to figure out and develop an
understanding by engaging in the task in this two-day lesson (highlighted in yellow), and what
resources they have to draw on to do so (e.g. are you providing them with some data, or with a
simulation, or with a way of testing their idea?)

Information students will need to know in order to engage in the task:

1. Prior to this lesson, students should have some understanding that magnets
interact (attract and repel) each other and objects.
2. Prior to this lesson, students should have a general understanding of the
relationship between the sun and the earth (rotation, tilt, solar winds, etc)

Lesson Description: Introduction before the task

Provide each student group a kit of miscellaneous materials which include both
ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic materials: plastic cup, styrofoam cup,
aluminum foil, paper, felt, wood blocks, paper clips, staples, copper penny, brass brad
(paper fastener) and bobby pins. Ask students to take a few minutes to explore the
materials.

Ask: What items do you think will be attracted to the magnets? What items do you think
will not be attracted to the magnets? Why do you think so? After you have made your
predictions go ahead and test them. At this point, give each student a magnet to carry out
the investigation.

After students have categorized the materials into those that the magnet attracts and those
that do not, ask students to share findings with the class. Explain to students that magnets
only attract (or “stick”) to other magnets and objects that are made of iron, nickel and
cobalt (like the bobby pin and paper clip). Objects that are not affected by the magnet’s
field are called non-magnetic (such as the fabric, paper, glass, penny, and plastic).

What do you notice when the two magnets are placed next to each other? Do they attract
or repel? Does it depend on the position of the magnet? At this point, give each student
their second magnet so that they can explore.

Discuss with students that magnets have two poles, north and south. Like or similar poles
repel each other while opposite poles attract. Students should have noticed that when the
magnets are placed next to each other they either attract or repel. Even if they don’t know
which is “north” and “south” they should be able to figure out if they have two of the
same or different poles.

Ask: Can you identify which side of the magnets has the same poles? What evidence are
you using to support your claim about which sides are the same?

Students will complete the “Magnetic Fields” compass activity sheet in order to
determine the direction of the invisible magnetic forces. Students will share their findings
and enter into a class discussion.
Lesson Description: Core Task

Students will complete the “Magnetic Fields” compass activity sheet in order to
determine the direction of the invisible magnetic forces. Students will share their findings
and enter into a class discussion. Further investigation will be completed on the second
teach day.

Provide students with the “Magnetic Fields” iron fillings activity sheet, a sandwich bag
and a
3x5-inch index card. They should already have a bar magnet from the previous activity.

Ask students to place the index card in the sandwich bag. Meanwhile, walk around to
each student group and pour a teaspoon of iron fillings into the bag. Make sure students
keep the magnet away from the naked iron fillings. Note: by placing the iron fillings in
the plastic bag the magnet does not come in direct contact with the fillings. It is very
difficult to remove iron fillings from a magnet. Have students gently shake the bag back
and forth so that there is a thin layer of iron fillings on the index card. Have them sketch
what they see. Then ask students to place the sandwich bag on top of the bar magnet.
Again, have them sketch what they see.

Ask: What do you think is causing the iron fillings to form the pattern that you notice?
(Learning Goal: Students will be able to identify magnetic elements and which elements
cause Earth’s magnetic field; Students are exploring the underlying concept of the flow
of liquid iron generating electric currents, which in turn produce magnetic fields in
Earth’s atmosphere)

The iron fillings display the magnetic field lines of the bar magnet. Have students place
the second bar magnet underneath the sandwich bag, lining up two like poles. Then have
students flip the second bar magnet so opposite poles are facing each other (see pictures
below). Have them draw the magnetic field lines of both pictures. (Learning Goal:
Students will be able to draw and describe magnetic field lines between two attracting
and two repelling magnetic poles)

Ask: How would you explain the pattern of iron fillings we see? What does the
pattern reveal about attraction and repulsion between the magnets?

The final portion of this activity asks students to explore the strength of the magnetic
field. Explain to students that the magnet can exert a force on the paperclip even when an
insulator, like paper, is between the two objects. Ask students to place the magnet on a
piece of paper. Ask them to place the paper clip below the piece of paper. They should
notice that the magnet attracts the paper clip regardless of the piece of paper placed
between them. Explain to students that they are going to record how many pieces of
paper can be placed between the magnet and the paperclip and still have the magnet exert
a force on the paper clip.

Ask: After analyzing the pattern of the iron fillings, do you think the strength of the
magnet is equal throughout the magnetic field, or are there areas where the magnet is the
strongest? Where do you think are the strongest points of the magnetic field? How does
this play a role for Earth’s magnetism. Are there parts of the Earth that are affected by the
Earth's magnetism more than other parts of the Earth? How would we know?

Extra Resources for Student Understanding

1. Simulation: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/magnet-and-compass
2. Explanation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFAOXdXZ5TM

(4) An explanation for why you think this task is of high cognitive demand OR how it
meets the PBI gold standard. If you choose to focus on cognitive demand, use the TAG
(Smith & Stein, 1998) for mathematics or the TAGS (Tekkumru-Kisa, Schunn, & Stein,
in press) for science, and provide a detailed explanation for why you categorize the task
the way you did.

Implementing TAGS framework:

 ● Guided Integration (GI): Guidance for working with practices tied to a
particular content. (Tekkumru-Kisa, Schunn, & Stein, 2015)
● Students follow a guide to help them understand how magnets work and to
visualize a magnetic field. They are not told that they are exploring
magnetic fields, this is what we want them to discover on their own.

Please make sure that you review the instructions and the rubric on the next page carefully. Submit
your assignment by uploading it to your Weebly site under the Sample Lesson Plan tab.
 Rubric
Requirements Score

Fails to meet Partially Meets Meets

Expectations Expectations Expectations

1. Appropriate learning goals for the lesson are 0 1 2

included.

2. The main task identified for the LARP lesson 0 1 2

is of high cognitive demand OR meets the PBI
gold standard.

3. Appropriate, detailed explanations 0 1 2

identifying the cognitive demand of the task(s)
or justifying the components of the PBI gold
standard are provided.

4. Appropriate, detailed explanation(s) of how 0 1 2

the task(s) align with the learning goal(s) are
provided.

5. A description of what students are intended 0 1 2

to figure out and develop an understanding of
by working on the task as well as resources that
will help them do so is included.

Recommendations
Score: / 10
 Evaluation Categories and Criteria Comments

Challenge A problem for students to

investigate and solve, or question
Problem
to explore and answer. Challenge
problems range from well-
structured(static/simple) to
ill-structured(complex/dynamic).

Sustained An iterative process involving

seeking and investing information
Inquiry
about the challenge problem.

Authenticity The context in which the challenge

problem is framed is relevant to the
students’ prior knowledge and
personal experiences.

Student Voice Students have an active role in the

designing a solution to the
challenge problem.

Reflection Students’ reflect on their actions

and outcomes during the process
of designing a solution to the
challenge problem.

Revision Revision of solution to challenge

problems is facilitated by informal
and formal feedback and critique.

Product Students produce a product that

serves as a viable solution to the
challenge problem.