One Stop Shop For Educators The following instructional plan is part of a GaDOE collection of Unit Frameworks, Performance Tasks, examples of Student Work, and
Teacher Commentary. Many more GaDOE approved instructional plans are available by using the Search Standards feature located on
GeorgiaStandards.Org.
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
Unit: Energy in Our Life
Sternberg Task
Magnetism for Me
Subject Area: Physical Science
Grade: 8
Standards (Content and Characteristics):
S8P5. Students will recognize characteristics of gravity, electricity, and magnetism as major kinds
of forces acting in nature.
c. Investigate and explain that electric currents and magnets can exert force on each other.
S8CS1. Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in
science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.
a. Understand the importance of—and keep—honest, clear, and accurate records in science.
b. Understand that hypotheses can be valuable even if they turn out not to be completely accurate.
S8CS2. Students will use standard safety practices for all classroom laboratory and field
investigations.
a. Follow correct procedures for use of scientific apparatus.
b. Demonstrate appropriate techniques in all laboratory situations.
c. Follow correct protocol for identifying and reporting safety problems and violations.
S8CS5. Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and
technological matters.
a. Observe and explain how parts can be related to other parts in a system such as the role of simple
machines in complex machines.
b. Understand that different models (such as physical replicas, pictures, and analogies) can be used to
represent the same thing.
S8CS8. Students will be familiar with the characteristics of scientific knowledge and how it is
achieved.
Students will apply the following to scientific concepts:
a. When similar investigations give different results, the scientific challenge is to judge whether the
differences are trivial or significant, which often requires further study. Even with similar results,
scientists may wait until an investigation has been repeated many times before accepting the
results as meaningful.
S8CS9. Students will understand the features of the process of scientific inquiry.
Students will apply the following to inquiry learning practices:
a. Investigations are conducted for different reasons, which include exploring new phenomena,
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07y Page 1 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
confirming previous results, testing how well a theory predicts, and comparing different theories.
Scientific investigations usually involve collecting evidence, reasoning, devising hypotheses, and
formulating explanations to make sense of collected evidence.
b. Scientific investigations usually involve collecting evidence, reasoning, devising hypotheses, and
formulating explanations to make sense of collected evidence.
c. Scientific experiments investigate the effect of one variable on another. All other variables are kept
constant.
d. Scientists often collaborate to design research. To prevent this bias, scientists conduct independent
studies of the same questions.
Enduring Understandings:
•
•
Energy appears in different forms such as:
o mechanical energy,
o gravitational energy,
o heat energy, and
o electric and magnetic energy.
Magnetic forces arise from the movement of electric charge.
Essential Questions:
•
•
•
Scientists tell us that energy can’t be created or destroyed. If this is true, where does it come from
when we notice it and where does it go to when we don’t see any evidence of it?
What’s the easiest or best way to describe or illustrate the kind of energy present in a magnet?
If you met someone who had never seen or heard a speaker and had no idea of what energy is,
how would you explain the way it works?
Pre-Assessment:
Placing a CD-player or speaker in front of students, ask them to explain what is necessary for the device
to work. Listen for any mention of the word magnet or magnetism. Encourage students to draw pictures
explaining their ideas. Consider using a concept mapping tool such as those listed below to create a mind
map of what the students know about the topic.
• FreeMind at http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
• Mindomo at http://www.mindomo.com/
• CMap Tools at http://cmap.ihmc.us/download/free_client.php
Ask students to pick a question from those listed below and be prepared to make their best guess as to
answer. Allow the class to pick the most interesting question and have them write a short answer on a
sticky note. Afterwards, collect the stick notes and compare and categorize them by their similarities.
• How do magnets do all the crazy things they do?
• How is it that sometimes they get stuck to each other and other times they push away from one
another?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 2 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
•
•
•
•
•
What makes magnetism possible in our world?
Would magnets work the same way in outer space, on the moon, or another planet? Why or why
not?
Is there any way to make a magnet more powerful than it already is? If so, how. If not, why not?
Is there a way to turn a magnet’s power “off” if you decided to something like that? If so, why or
why not?
Is it possible to create a magnet out of something that isn’t currently acting like a magnet? If so,
how?
Ask students to list the 10 most important words necessary for describing magnets and magnetism.
Have students create a “most wanted” poster for a “Mr. Magnet.” Ask that students supply:
• distinguishing characteristics/behaviors
• his haunts (where he can be found)
• any aliases (i.e., lodestone)
• his atomic “fingerprints”—what he’s made of
• disguises (what he might be hiding in—i.e., a speaker, a microphone, et cetera)
Ask students to choose one of the following questions to answer in their science journals:
• How serious would it be if we created a machine that could instantly destroy all magnets or
magnetic objects on the earth? What kinds of things might be affected?
• In comic books and movies, there are often villains and heroes with magnetic powers? What kinds
of things could these fanciful individuals do it they really existed? How could they use their
abilities for good (or ill)?Just for reference, and the sake of being knowledgeable about this topic,
here are a few such individuals in case students ask for specifics:
o Marvel Comic’s ™’ evil mutant, Magneto™’ http://www.marvel.com/universe/Magneto
o DC Comic’s™’ villainous Dr. Polaris™’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Polaris, the
crime fighting teen from the 31st Century and member of the Legion of Super Heroes,
Cosmic Boy™’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Boy
• We often see science fiction movies and books that mention force fields. Do magnets have a force
field? If so, how might one look if we could see it?
ANALYTICAL
Outcome/
Performance
Expectations
Students will diagram
magnetic field lines.
Students will analyze
how a speaker works
and the role a magnet
plays in producing
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
Students will create a
“how to” guide for
making a compass with
common items. The
guide, when
successfully created
can be sent home with
Students will draw
magnetic field lines
around different kinds
of magnets and use
their diagrams in a
short skit or
demonstration in which
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 3 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
ANALYTICAL
sound.
Students will create a
motor and observe how
forces of repulsion and
attraction cause the
rotary movement of the
motor.
Students will describe
the relationship
between magnetism
and electricity.
Students will play
Hangman to review the
concepts of electricity
and magnetism. Links
to these sites at the end
of the document.
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
students for storage in a
car’s glove
compartment (the idea
being that, in the event
a compass is needed,
the instructions may
prove useful).
magnetism is discussed
and explained.
Students will create
slideshow presentation
explaining where the
magnetic field lines for
a variety of magnets are
located. The finished
product will be made
available to other
classrooms/schools for
use when teaching
concepts related to
magnetism. Encourage
other classrooms and
schools to return
feedback about the
accuracy and
usefulness of the
resource. The final
product should be open
to refinement.
Students will observe
speakers and figure out
how they work.
Disassemble a speaker
to figure out how it
works.
Students will create a
motor and observe how
forces of repulsion and
attraction cause the
rotary movement of the
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 4 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
Students will analyze,
explain, and depict the
role magnets play in
producing sound
through speakers. They
will use their
knowledge to design a
speaker.
Students will create a
motor and observe how
forces of repulsion and
attraction cause the
rotary movement of the
motor.
Students will
participate in a creative
computer generated
tutorial to learn about
the relationship
between electricity and
magnetism. Links…..
Students will play (or,
better yet, use a free
version of GameMaker
software at
http://www.yoyogame
s.com/gamemaker/ to
create) computer games
in order to learn about
magnetism and
electricity.
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
ANALYTICAL
PRACTICAL
motor.
Students will play
Magnetism 2, a
computer generated
game, to discover the
behavior of magnets.
http://gprime.net/game.
php/magnetism2
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 5 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
CREATIVE
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
ANALYTICAL
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
Performance Task:
(Detailed Description)
See attached document
at the end of this task.
See attached document
at the end of this task.
See attached document
at the end of this task.
Teacher role?
The teacher will have
to give instructions and
assist with information.
He/She will also have
to provide feedback
along the way to insure
students are on the right
track and keeping pace.
The teacher will have
to give instructions and
assist with information.
He/She will also have
to provide feedback
along the way to insure
students are on the right
track and keeping pace.
The teacher will have
to give instructions and
assist with information.
He/She will also have
to provide feedback
along the way to insure
students are on the right
track and keeping pace.
Students must take an
active role in learning
the material and
seeking information
beyond the information
provided if needed.
Students may want to
do additional research
in order to gain a
deeper understanding
of the concepts and to
include greater detail in
their explanations.
Students must take an
active role in learning
the material and
seeking information
beyond the information
provided if needed.
Students may want to
do additional research
in order to show how
magnets are used in
their daily lives.
Students must take an
active role in learning
the material and
seeking information
beyond the information
provided if needed.
Students may want to
do additional research
to find out how they are
used and what types of
uses magnets may have
in the future.
Student role?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 6 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
Resources
Homework/Extension
ANALYTICAL
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
See attached document
at the end of this task,
Magnetism for Me.
See attached document
at the end of this task,
Magnetism for Me.
See attached document
at the end of this task,
Magnetism for Me.
United Streaming:
http://gpb.unitedstreami
ng.com/index.cfm
Electricity and
Magnetism: The Magic
of Magnets
and
Physical Science:
Magnetism
United Streaming:
http://gpb.unitedstreami
ng.com/index.cfm
Electricity and
Magnetism: The Magic
of Magnets
and
Physical Science:
Magnetism
United Streaming:
http://gpb.unitedstreami
ng.com/index.cfm
Electricity and
Magnetism: The Magic
of Magnets
and
Physical Science:
Magnetism
BrainPop:
http://www.brainpop.co
m/
BrainPop:
http://www.brainpop.co
m/
BrainPop:
http://www.brainpop.co
m/
or, use a freely
accessible web-based
alternative explanation
and hands-on site
located at
http://micro.magnet.fsu.
edu/electromag/java/ma
gneticlines/index.html
Magnetism
Magnetic Poles
or, use a freely
accessible web-based
alternative explanation
and hands-on site
located at
http://micro.magnet.fsu
.edu/electromag/java/m
agneticlines/index.html
Magnetism
Magnetic Poles
or, use a freely
accessible web-based
alternative explanation
and hands-on site
located at
http://micro.magnet.fsu.
edu/electromag/java/ma
gneticlines/index.html
Magnetism
Magnetic Poles
How could magnets be
used to make
something, such as a
machine, more
efficient?
How could you use a
magnet to help you in
your everyday life to be
more efficient?
Design an invention
that uses magnets to
make a task more
efficient.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 7 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
ANALYTICAL
Instructional Tasks Accommodations for ELL
Students
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
Teachers should consider using the "print screen"
key on a computer to take screen pictures of pages
on the internet activities. Once the "print screen"
key is pressed, the internet page being viewed is
saved onto the clipboard. Open a power point or
word document and paste the internet page into
it.
Clarifiers can be written on each internet page of
this activity and given to students, ahead of time if
necessary. Teachers should consider using the
free services of http://picasa.google.com/ for
more extensive editing of screen shots, such as
cropping, enlarging, highlighting, etc.
Also, migrant.org and visionlearning.org are free
resources for teachers to incorporate into plans
involving internet sites.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 8 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
ANALYTICAL
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
Instructional Tasks Accommodations for
Students with Disabilities
Students with reading disabilities and/or visual
impairments may need to make use of the free
services of readplease.com for help navigating
through this internet site. Teachers should
consider using the "print screen" key on a
computer to take screen pictures of each page of
this activity. Once the "print screen" key is
pressed, the internet page being viewed is saved
onto the clipboard. Open a Power Point, Word, or
other multimedia document and paste the internet
page into it. Clarifiers can be written on each
internet page of this activity and given to students,
ahead of time if necessary The activity can be
accommodated in this manner so that the student
clicks only on the buttons that the teacher has
highlighted on the hard copy. Teachers should
consider using the free services of
http://picasa.google.com/ for more extensive
editing of screen shots, such as cropping,
enlarging, highlighting, etc.
Instructional Tasks Accommodations for
Gifted Students
Instead of doing this lab assignment, gifted
students can research and present multimedia
presentations on how an electromagnet works and
the applications of electromagnets. Students need
to emphasize the applications of magnetism
and/or its relationship to the movement of
electrical change as it relates to electromagnets.
Safety Accommodations: Iron filings are used in this lab activity. The iron filings should never come
into direct contact with the magnets. Iron filings are to be used only on the transparency placed over the
magnets. Safety glasses are to be worn so that iron filings cannot accidentally get into an eye. Settings on
the frequency generator at Station 2 for the speaker are not to be touched by students. Follow the
directions at the station only. At station 3 is a power supply. Students are not to change the settings, nor
plug the wires into anything except the correct terminals on the power supply. If you have questions,
please ask your teacher. Follow the instructions carefully at your lab station, and remember to never go
over the Voltage setting requested in the lab. Be very careful with screw drivers. “Poking” others and/or
playing with them are lab safety violations. They are to be used for lab purposes only. Only visit approved
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 9 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
internet websites for the lab. Limit computer time to details of the assigned tasks. Follow all safety
guidelines all the time. Lab time is very valuable, so use lab time wisely and safely so that learning can be
fun for all.
Magnetism for Me
Have you ever played with magnets? Try putting the two North poles together. What happens? Try
putting the two South poles together. Does the same thing happen? Why?
What happens when you put the North and South poles together? How close do the magnets need to be
together before you see something happen? What determines this distance?
These are a lot of questions that you can answer simply by playing with magnets. Magnets come in all
kinds of shapes and sizes. There are many uses for magnets besides just playing with them. Did you have
some games that you played with as a child that used magnets? Name a few toys that you remember
playing with as a child that used magnets.
Station 1: Different shapes of magnets and iron filings
Examples could be a bar magnet, horseshoe magnet, and a round magnet.
Students should place a transparency over the magnet and sprinkle the iron filings over the transparency
to see the force field lines. These lines are similar to electric field lines that surround a point charge.
Students should draw explanatory the force field lines they see.
Station 2: How does a speaker work?
Electromagnetic Speaker
*Note to the Teacher: Hook up a speaker for students to be able to see when a sound or frequency is
produced. The speaker can be connected to a frequency (wave form or signal) generator for specific
pulses to be seen. Set the generator on a low frequency so that the motion of the speaker can be seen (you
will see the speaker pulsating). The magnet is the center at the back of the speaker and is surrounded by a
coil of wire that is not visible that becomes magnetized when a current passed through the coil.
Watch the video on How Stuff Works
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/speaker.htm
For the diagram of a speaker cone, visit:
http://www.scienceyear.com/outthere/sound_check/images/techno/speaker.gif
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 10 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
After watching the video, explain in a paragraph how magnetism and electricity are related to produce
sound. At this point students might create speaker models as part of the performance task.
Teacher Information:
A speaker has a permanent magnet (visible) behind a coil of wire (not visible). Note the magnet at the
back of the speaker. The coil in front of the magnet becomes an electromagnet when an electric current
goes through the coil. The electromagnet then attracts to the permanent magnet and moves toward it.
What you see is the speaker membrane (attached to the coil) moving toward the magnet. When the current
to the coil stops, it is no longer an electromagnet, and the coil moves back to its original position (you see
the membrane moving forward again). When the speaker creates a sound, electrical pulses of up to
thousands of times per second are sent to the coil, causing the speaker membrane to vibrate that quickly.
Station 3: Make an electric motor with an electromagnet
Materials: http://www.hb.quik.com/~norm/motor/
If you order the materials off the website, a complete explanation comes with the materials.
This electric motor explores and explains the magnetic and electromagnetic principals used to create the
motion of an electric motor.
1. Observe how forces of repulsion and attraction cause the rotary movement of the motor
(the coil should be turning.) How do you get the coiled wire to spin? What role do the
magnets play in getting the coil to spin? How Stuff Works:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor4.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor1.htm
2. How is energy conserved in this process? What energy transformations take place?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 11 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Teachers
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Physical Science – GRADE 8
Station 4: Electricity and Magnetism Tutorial
http://ippex.pppl.gov/interactive/electricity/
Answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What are ‘charged’ particles, and why do you get shocked by a doorknob?
What is electrical current?
Describe resistance and voltage.
What is a circuit?
What is magnetism?
What is the relationship between magnetism and charged particles?
Station 5: Games
Magnetism 2: Discover the Properties of Magnetism:
Note: This is a fun game and could be played for a long time. Some questions are provided for the first
games, but many more could be added depending on the amount of time devoted to this station.
http://gprime.net/game.php/magnetism2
Game A, Set A
1. Describe the interaction of two like poles.
2. Describe the interaction of two unlike poles.
Game A, Set B.
3. Describe the magnetic field of a round magnet.
4. How does an environment without gravity affect motion?
5. How does electricity affect the motion of the ball?
6. What does 'polarity' mean?
7. How does changing the polarity of the electromagnetic affect the motion of the ball?
Game B, Set A
8. What happens when two magnets are present? Why is one green and one red? What is the difference in
their magnetic fields?
9. What did you learn about the distance in relationship to the strength of the magnet?
Review the concepts of magnetism and electricity: Hangman
If the main page comes up, click the box beside Electricity and Magnetism under Force, Motion and
Energy, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on I'm Ready! Let's Start!
http://education.jlab.org/vocabhangman/electricity_02/7.html
Students can make flashcards out of these words, or make cards for a game of concentration.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Physical Science y GRADE 8 y Energy in our Life
7-30-07 y Page 12 of 12
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved