2 ways you can encourage students to ask questions in your lesson plan?
Gathering-Ideas discussions (brainstorming webs)
to focus on finding out what the students already
know about magnets.
Discourse circles – at the end of the lesson and
students have had direct experience and reading,
I will give them a statement to consider. They will
work in groups to create arguments for and
against this statement. Then groups will present
their arguments in an effort to reach consensus or
an agreement to disagree.
Questions you can ask in each of the E's in your lesson plan.
Engage:
Give each student a magnet and a small piece of paper and ask them to hang it up anywhere in the
classroom. This will get the students up and moving as well as the chance to activate prior
knowledge on what they know about magnets. Give them about 5 minutes to find a place to put up
their paper.
Questions I can ask:
Have you ever used a magnet before?
What do you know about magnets?
What would happen if you put two magnets together?
Explore:
Hold up one of the magnets and ask the students what things in the classroom were the papers
and magnets able to stick to. Next pose the questions what other objects do you think will stick to
this magnet? Have the students get into pairs or groups and give them a set of objects and ask the
students to sort them into two groups according to their predictions on which ones will stick to
the magnet.
Questions I can ask:
What do you notice about the different objects?
Why are some objects reacting differently to the magnets?
What does this suggest about magnets?
What did you observe with each object?
Explain:
Ask each group why they sorted their objects into each of the piles, what was their reasoning.
Explain what a magnet it and what causes it to "stick" and that Iron is the only common metal that
magnets attract.
Questions I can ask:
Why do you think some objects were attracted to the magnet?
How is your claim supported by evidence?
Considering what happened with you experiment, how has your thinking about magnets changed?
Elaborate:
Now have the students take their piles and give them a magnet to use and to test out their sorted
objects and see if their predictions were correct. Casually go to each group and ask them which
ones did they think contained or were made of iron.
Questions I can ask:
Would you expect the same results if you used different materials or different types of magnets?
How would you use this method to explore more about other things around you?
What else could this help us explain?
Evaluate: Not Applicable for this assignment
Have each group of students fill out a T-chart on which of their items were attracted to the
magnet and then have them create a poster or powerpoint explaining why.