Activity: Cut & Stick Magnetism

Objective: The students will create a visual representation of magnetic attraction by cutting out rectangles and circles of different demagnetized items and sticking the magnets to those items.

Materials: -Demagnetized paper clips -Sheets of paper, rectangular and circular shapes -Magnets -Glue or tape

Time Frame: 30 minutes

Instructions: 1. Provide the students with a sheet of paper, rectangular and circular cardstock shapes and magnets.
2. Explain to the students that the idea of this activity is to demonstrate how magnets are attracted to certain items. 3. Ask the students to cut out and demagnetized paper clips and attach magnets to some, but not all, of them. 4. Demonstrate how to take the rectangular and circular paper shapes and attach the clip and magnet to them. 5. Have the students work in pairs, with each pair taking a different amount of clipped paper clips (although each clip should still have one magnet). 6. Have the students strategically place the paper shapes and clips so the magnets are attracted to each other.
7. Ask the students to review their work and discuss their findings.

Rubric:

-Accurate Anatomy: 4 points- Student accurately places magnets and paper clips according to the instructions

-Accurate Spacing: 4 points- Student accurately places magnets and paper clips in appropriate distances

-Creativity and Variety: 2 points- Student demonstrates creativity in the placement and design of the magnets and paper clips

Exemplar:

In this example, the student has accurately placed both magnets and paper clips so that they are attracted to each other. They’ve also made sure to keep the magnets and paper clips spaced out in an interesting and creative way so that it looks visually appealing. They get full marks for Accuracy of Anatomy, Accuracy of Spacing and Creativity and Variety according to the rubric.