Investigating Magnetism: What are Magnets and Why Do They Attract or Repel? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom lab in which students observe and investigate how magnets interact with each other and the objects around them.

Investigating with magnets: attraction and repelling part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a classroom activity where students create magnetic cats and see what occurs when the cats are placed next to each other. Students will be informally investigating magnetic attraction and repelling.

Introduction to Open and Closed Electrical Circuits part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will act out open and closed circuits and is followed by individual journal writing and a class discussion.

Investigating The Magnetic Force Field: Calculating the magnetic pull of a magnet by varying distances. part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom investigation of the magnetic force of a bar magnet where students conduct an experiment, collect the data, and make interpretations of that data (conclusions).

Electric Circuits - Guided Inquiry part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This is a series of lab activities where students complete experiments for open, closed, series and parallel circuits.

Exploring Magnetism: Investigating the forces of magnets part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a classroom and lab investigation of magnetism. Students gather results of experiments involving the forces of magnets. They use this data to develop their own experiments to test properties of magnets.

Investigating How to Create a Stronger Electromagnet part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a guided inquiry investigation where students will propose a question on what makes an electromagnet stronger. They will conduct a controlled experiment to answer their own question.

4th Grade Students Investigate Electric Circuits Through Construction and Illustration part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
As an activity related to FOSS unit Magnetism and Electricity, 4th grade science students use a computer download to explore electrical circuits and to generate illustrations of electrical circuits for physical models built in class

Why Placing Wires Correctly on a Light Bulb Is Important for the Successful Lighting of the Bulb part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a lab investigation/teacher directed inquiry, in which a student discovers the pathway of an electric current from a battery source, through a light bulb's inner structure, and then back to the battery source to complete a simple circuit.

Investigating Magnetism part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a lab investigation where students work in groups to develop their own electromagnets.

Investigating Static Electricity: Creating Lightning on a much smaller scale part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a guided exploration of how static electricity works and how it relates to lightning.

Iron in my cereal part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a hands on activity where students will gather information on their findings about iron in different cereals. Then use their finding and give reasonings of the differences and similarities.

Getting the Lightbulb to Light Up part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a lab where the students try to make a lightbulb light up using two wires, a battery and a lightbulb.

Magnet Attraction part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity is a magnet science center. Young students learn about magnets through safe, hands on experiences.

Conductor or Insulator? part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This activity involves an investigation into whether items in a classroom are conductors or insulators. The students predict and then test the items using a complete circuit they have built.

Discovering the "Hidden" Properties of Magnets part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Students will become familiar with the properties of magnets. They will design a data collection sheet to show where magnets are hidden in a closed box with their explanation of their findings. They will also design a game or activity using magnets and present their activity to the class.

Conductivity of water part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
It this exercise the students will discover that pure water does not conduct electricity and that dissolving different substances in water may or may not cause it to conduct electricity.

Lighting the Way: Electrical Circuits and Lamp Wiring part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
This self-paced unit for students in grades 6-9 provides an opportunity to explore basic electrical circuits and demonstrate the new knowledge by wiring a lamp, explaining the components of the lamp that are important for the flow of electricity, and completing a schematic of the lamp circuitry.

Magnetism and Sound: Creating Your Own Headphones part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
After the unit on Electricity and Magnetism, students are given the opportunity to experience practical applications of the concept as they construct their own headphones and listen to music from their I-pods.

Mother Nature's Funnest Play Things: Magnets part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
These two activities are just a small part of overall fun students will have in discovering the wonders of magnets and how they apply to us every day.