The Magic of Magnetism and Integrative Learning

By Naomi Fredman, Director of Educational Technology

Teamwork is always encouraged among the students at NSHA; what makes us even more special is how well our faculty work together as a team to integrate our curricula!  Utilizing Integrative learning methods, we reinforced with our students that the knowledge and experiences they acquire in school can be applied and expounded upon in different ways.  Each grade participates in several STEM (Science – Technology – Engineering – Math) units throughout the school year.  Our Third Grade recently completed a STEM unit focusing on magnetism which combined the cross-curricular talents of several of our teachers. The unit began under the instruction of Ms. Nira Colon in our science lab.  Students learned about how magnets work and their applied use in engineering.  Our students were amazed to learn how rollercoasters, manufacturing plants, computers, refrigerators and many everyday items incorporate magnetism.  They performed experiments, testing objects to determine their magnetism.

Once we understood magnets in action and practical use, we applied this knowledge to conduct research in both our library and computer science classes.  Working in pairs students studied the history of magnetism through a variety of sources including Brain Pop and howmagentswork.com. Using Google Slides students practiced good note-taking techniques including using highlighting tools, selecting relevant information and listing key facts.  Once research was complete, each pair presented their work to the class.

We’ll finish our unit with a creative application.  Using Google Draw, students will select a variety of lines to draw unique mazes.  Each maze will be brought to the science lab. Using two magnets, students will “push” or “pull” a magnet through the twists and turns of his/her maze to test the repel and attract of the magnet.  We love seeing the excitement of our students over the magic of magnetism.  As faculty members, we enjoyed the opportunity to work together to create a cross curricular experience.  Enjoy our Magic of Magnetism video to learn more!