Polarity of Magnets

Short explanation of the task at each of 4 tables (see below).

The teacher assigns each child to a group and table (4-5 children per group), and manages the rotations after periods of 5-10 minutes such that each group has visited each table in the end.

Table 1: Donut Magnet Activity (adapted from FOSS: Magnetism and Electricity Kit Investigation 1)

Each child has a set of colored donut magnets that they have to align on a pencil. Depending on the orientation of the magnets, they stick together or they levitate. Younger children create “necklaces” by putting together a nice combination of colors and spaces between them, and paint their choice on a blank sheet. Older children measure the distance between the magnets, depending on their orientation and number, and paint these distances on a worksheet. Children that finish early create another combination of colors and distances between magnets.

Table 2: Magnetic Toy Trains Activity

Each child has some vehicles of “Thomas the train” (train with magnets).  Click here for an example. Depending on the orientation of the train wagons, they stick together, or they push each other away. The children find a combination so that the train can run without losing a wagon and paint their train on a blank sheet. Older children try to find out which forms of magnets stick together, and which don't. Children that finish early paint a landscape surrounding the train.

Table 3: Colored bar magnet activity

Each child has 2 bar magnets with a red and black pole. Younger children have an instruction sheet (attached) showing 4 different possibilities of how these 2 magnets can be aligned with each other (black red – red black; red black – red black; red black – black red; black red – black red). Older children have to find these 4 possibilities themselves. The children try to hold together the magnets according to these combinations, and find out if they stick together. On the worksheet sheet (attached), they mark the combinations that stick with a smiling face (and the ones that do not stick with a sad face). Children that finish early try aligning the bar magnets on the long side and see which combinations stick.

Table 4: Magnet drop activity (see attached photo for details on setup)

Each child has one large magnetic wand and one small magnet lying on the table. Each magnet has one side marked with colored tape. Older children drop the small magnet 10 times on the table without the large magnet and children color the upside-lying color of the small magnetic on their worksheet (attached). It sometimes lands with the taped side up, sometimes with the taped side down.  Then, the small magnet is dropped 10 times on the large magnet and again, color in the upside-lying color of the small magnet on their worksheet (attached). It always lands with the taped side on top.  Thus, in the end the children have the “two magnets” side of their worksheet all painted with one color, the “one magnet” side with a random order of 2 colors, and have thus visualized in an intuitive way, the constant effect of magnets. Younger children repetitively drop the small magnet on the large magnetic wand. Depending on the upside color of the large magnetic wand, the small magnet always lands with the corresponding color up. This is visualized on a worksheet (modify attached worksheet). Older children that finish early turn around the magnetic wand and repeat the game on a new worksheet. This time, it’s the non-taped side that always lies upside.