Magnet Activities for 3rd Grade
Opposites attract! Polar opposites! Magnet puns are all over the place. And magnets are all over the place. Chances are, our students have seen magnets on their home refrigerators, in the classroom, holding signs up at some groceries stores…you name it. This is really attractive (see what I did there) for teaching about magnets because many students will have some previous knowledge to help them connect with the topic. There are so many fun and engaging activities that we can use to teach our students about magnets.
How do magnets work?
A magnet is a material that has a magnetic field. A magnetic field is an invisible force that draws objects to a magnet. Magnets pull things made of steel or iron toward them. A magnet has two ends. One end is called the north pole and the other end is called the south pole. There is a magnetic field around each pole.
Use paired passages about magnets
Informational text articles about Magnets - written at a 3rd grade level. See them here.
Paired passages are a great way to integrate literacy skills and science. I have my students read about magnetism (in general) and then I have them read about junkyard magnets. I find that this helps them get a more well-rounded understanding of magnets. They might not be able to go to the junkyard to see how electromagnets are used, but students can read about it (and then watch a youtube clip about it!) Integrating informational texts into science is a great way to help students develop their vocabulary and comprehension. It’s also good to have students read about a topic alongside doing hands-on activities.
Make a magnet maze
Speaking of, check out this fabulous hands-one magnet maze activity. In this open-ended STEM challenge, students used their creativity and their problem-solving skills to create a maze with a variety of materials. They test out ideas and theories about what will make an amazing maze. And be sure to give students time to test out each other’s mazes. You can grab the activity and lesson plan for this maze challenge here.
make some magnetic slime
How many of your students love slime? Did you know that you can make magnetic slime! It’s as fun as it is educational. You can peek the whole magnetic slime recipe here - it’s a great one for grabbing students’ interest!
magnetic scavenger hunt
Give out a magnet to each of your students and have them wander around the school (both inside and outside) to see how many magnetic objects they can locate. You’ll be surprised about how many things are magnetic: doors, door frames, metal poles, door knobs, fences….
While exploring, make sure that students are recording all the magnetic objects they find. When you return to the classroom, have a discussion about why the magnet stuck to some things and not to other things.
Magnet Videos
After doing some hands-on activities, your visual learners might want to sit and watch some clips about magnetism. Here are a few that I found useful. The first two clips are less than five minutes each and give a short introduction to magnets. The last video is a Bill Nye episode all about magnetism. While this show might be from my childhood, our students can still learn tons from Bill Nye!
You can also check out this clip from Dr. Bino’s Show all about magnets and this SciShow for kids episode!
Dr. Binos Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXCeuSiTOug
SciShow Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s236Q1nuWXg
Build a magnet car maze!
I love STEM challenges, especially when they’re open ended. In this magnet car challenge, students have to sketch and build a maze using the materials provided. Then, using only a magnet, they have to navigate a magnetic car through the maze. They cannot use their hands to touch the car! Before students start, have them record the materials they plan to use and the procedure they will use to construct their mazes. Afterwards, have students reflect on what went well and what could have gone better.
If you’re looking for lessons that are completely prepared for you, check out my Reading into Science: Magnets unit. This unit is designed to teach third grade students all about magnets and magnetism. What is a magnetic force? How are magnets used in everyday life? How can we use them to solve problems and have FUN?
Complete lessons plans mean you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Plan Your Magnets Lessons with One Click!
Looking for a FAST way to learn about magnets that already includes paired nonfiction passages? In just a few clicks you can grab all of the pieces you need: lesson plans, paired passages, reading comprehension, key reading skills, and the hands-on magnet maze. Click and print. Planning is really that easy.
