National Curriculum Objectives - Magnets and Forces - Year 3

In the Year 3 science curriculum, pupils delve into the intriguing world of magnets and forces, exploring the fundamental principles of physics that govern the movement and interaction of objects. The national curriculum sets specific objectives for students to achieve a clear understanding of these concepts. Firstly, they are expected to compare the movement of objects across various surfaces, gaining insight into the effects of friction. They also learn about the nature of forces, distinguishing between those that require direct contact, such as pushing and pulling, and those that can act over a distance, such as magnetic forces.

Students are encouraged to conduct hands-on experiments to observe the behavior of magnets, noting their ability to attract or repel each other, as well as their effect on different materials. This leads to the classification and grouping of everyday materials based on their magnetic properties. Furthermore, the curriculum teaches pupils about the two poles of a magnet, the north and south poles, and how these poles interact with one another to either attract or repel. Through prediction and experimentation, children learn to anticipate the outcomes when different poles of magnets are brought close together. This module not only imparts substantive knowledge about the movement of objects and the use of simple machines like pulleys but also fosters a deeper understanding of the invisible forces at play in our daily lives.