Description
In this third grade physical sciences unit, students explore the cause and effect relationships of magnetism. Students engage in several explorations of magnetic interactions while asking questions to stimulate their thinking. The major goals of the unit are to have students explain the causes and effects of magnetism by exploring magnetic objects, magnetic fields, the polarity of magnets, the attractive and repulsive properties of magnets, the magnetic properties of the earth, and the strength of different kinds of magnets. Students use prior knowledge of forces from previous unit experiences that explored balanced and unbalanced forces. Using their knowledge of the cause and effect of magnets, students create an arcade game with magnetism acting as an essential component of the game. After receiving feedback of their games from peer groups, students share these games with their first grade buddy class.