Content Area(s): Science, Language Arts
Grade(s): 1, 2

Invitation
How can a teacher incorporate technology into an investigation of magnetism? This hands-on activity gives second grade students the opportunity to test what magnets will do and then guides them to record their findings using word processing.

Tools
Computers, printer, word processing software; Template: Magnets; magnetic bars, magnetic wands, paper clips, graph paper, fishing poles, small steel washers, Mickey’s Magnet by Ruth Krauss

Situations
This activity occurs in classroom and requires two or three one-hour class periods.

Interactions
The students listen to Mickey's Magnet and brainstorm what they know about magnets. The teacher organizes students into four groups. Each group works on a different activity for testing magnets, or at the computers writing about magnets. Students interact with the teacher and classmates during each activity.

Standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills)
The student investigates and collects information using tools. The student classifies and identifies properties of objects. The student compiles, analyzes, graphs, displays and communicates data. The student communicates explanations about investigations using word processing skills.

Tasks
The class brainstorms what they know about magnets. The students test magnets and determine what items a magnet attracts and through what media (water, sand, glass, wood, plastic) magnetic force will travel. They graph the number of paper clips a magnet will attract (in a chain). As a culminating activity, the students use the computer as a journal to define magnetism and to record the findings of their experiments.

Assessment
The teacher assesses how well the students wrote their individual paragraphs. She looks for a main idea supported by details and accurate spelling and punctuation. She also evaluates the graphs for accurate construction.