Forces and Magnets - Lesson Plan

Wells Hall Primary School's Year 3 curriculum on Forces and Magnets delves into the fascinating world of physics, where pupils explore the fundamentals of forces and the intriguing properties of magnets. Prior to this unit, students should have a basic understanding of how forces such as stretching, twisting, bending, and squashing can alter the shape of materials. They should also be familiar with the movement of different toys, the concept of force as a push or pull, and the effect of force strength on an object's movement. The unit aims to deepen their knowledge by involving them in practical investigations to discover how friction varies across different surfaces, the behaviour of magnetic fields with iron filings, and the role of magnets in everyday life. Students will also sort materials based on their magnetic properties and examine if the size of a magnet influences its strength.

Throughout the unit, students will expand their vocabulary with terms such as 'attract', 'friction', 'magnetic field', and 'non-magnetic', among others. By the end of the unit, they will understand that forces are responsible for changes in an object's motion, that friction can slow down movement depending on the surface, and that gravity is the force pulling objects towards the ground. They will have investigated how magnets work, learned that magnets have north and south poles with opposite poles attracting and like poles repelling, and identified which materials are magnetic. Assessments at the start and end of the unit will measure their grasp of these concepts, including understanding motion, the effects of different surfaces on friction, and how to conduct fair tests to evaluate magnetic strength and material properties.