COMPASSES IN CLIC!

We have been studying map skills in social studies. To enhance our learning experience, we went to the CLIC Lab to learn more about how compasses work. Mrs. LaRussa designed five experiments to help us explore how compasses work. These activities helped us integrate  some important social studies and science concepts. The five experiments we did showed us:

• that magnets have two poles,
• that compasses point north and south,
• that the Earth is a giant magnet 

The essential questions we focused on are:

1. How does a compass work?

2. How is the Earth like a giant magnet?

Max and Max investigate how a compass works.

Kaylie and Lilly look on as Sarah makes a temporary magnet out of a needle just by rubbing it on a magnet.

We made temporary magnets and floated them on cork in water to show how compasses work.

Emily and Katrina work on making their temporary magnet float.

Jack and Brady work on the last challenge to make a south facing magnet.

The state standards we are enriching with this activity are:

Social Studies

1. Use map and globe skills to determine absolute locations (latitude and longitude) of

 2. Interpret a map using information from its title, compass rose, scale, and legend. (G)

Science

9. Recognize that magnets have poles that repel and attract each other.

 10. Identify and classify objects and materials that a magnet will attract and objects and materials that a magnet will not attract.