Magnet
Electricity and Magnetism

Things you'll need to decide on as you plan: Exploring Magnets

Teaching Guidance for 11-14 Supporting Physics Teaching

Bringing together two sets of constraints

Focusing on the learners:

Distinguishing–eliciting–connecting. How to:

  • connect magnetic effects to permanent magnets
  • show pupils how to see fields
  • keep magnetic effects separate from gravitational effects
  • distinguish action at a distance from action by contact

Teacher Tip: These are all related to findings about children's ideas from research. The teaching activities will provide some suggestions. So will colleagues, near and far.

Focusing on the physics:

Representing–noticing–recording. How to:

  • introduce, discuss and use the idea of a field
  • represent a pole
  • account for north and south poles
  • build a way of thinking about permanent magnets that supports pupils being able to make predictions

Teacher Tip: Connecting what is experienced with what is written and drawn is essential to making sense of the connections between the theoretical world of physics and the lived-in world of the children. Don't forget to exemplify this action.

Magnet
can be analysed using Magnetic Field
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