Magnets and Levitation in Fourth Grade Science

Written by Maciré Daffé, 4th grade teacher

In class we explore various topics across the science sphere. This includes physics, space, geology, engineering, and most recently magnetism. During the week, each grade has two periods. One period we spend time learning about the mechanics, or the overall topic chosen. During the next period we perform a lab to demonstrate the concepts learned in the previous class.

The class is student run, and they choose the topics we discuss (usually slime). As we studied magnetism, we learned what makes things magnetic; how it connects to electronics/electricity, and what a magnetic field looks like compared to a gravitational field. For this week’s lab we used a piece of string and suspended a magnet in the air to create a “levitation” device. This project was based on the properties of a magnetic field.

My goal is for the children to explore their scientific passion. I want their ideas to be heard and questions answered as we explore a variety of topics. Some of our topics are challenging, however; we learn together. Our goal is to host a science fair to show off their projects in a bigger way.

I look forward to exploring science with your children and seeing what they create.