Suggested sequence: 60 minutes, split across sessions as needed. Use this introduction within your wider learning plan. Print sheets to record learner work; this page does not save learner responses.
Lesson plan
Materials
One large intact encased classroom bar magnet; oversized steel washer, aluminium strip, wooden block and plastic block; tray; paper; pencil. An adult selects and checks all items. Use a second large magnet only for an adult demonstration.
Safety
Keep small powerful magnets and swallowable objects out of this activity. The adult checks cases and edges, supervises throughout and stores the magnets away afterwards. Keep magnets away from sensitive electronics and follow any medical-device guidance relevant to the learner. Suspected magnet swallowing requires immediate medical help.
Teaching Sequence
| Find out first | 5 minutes | Ask which objects will fall and which will respond to a magnet. Keep the initial ideas for comparison. |
|---|---|---|
| Read the story | 10 minutes | Read pages 1–20 and pause after pages 9 and 13. Ask which observation changed Balloon Bear’s explanation. |
| Teach explicitly | 10 minutes | Separate falling due to gravity from a sideways magnetic pull. Model a prediction and observation table. Explain unlike-pole attraction and like-pole repulsion. |
| Investigate and practise | 25 minutes | Complete the material test below, then repeat one surprising result. The adult demonstrates poles using restrained magnets. |
| Review and extend | 10 minutes | Ask for an oral or written explanation referring to two actual observations. Later compare distance using a separate controlled test. |
Timing is a suggested introductory sequence, not a legally required duration. Split it across sessions as needed.
Story teaching stops
Open a page below, then use Lesson & Guide in the book to return here.
Page 03 — Predictions before testing
Page 04 — Falling objects and gravity
Page 09 — Steel and aluminium: pause and discuss
Page 12 — Unlike poles attract
Educator guide
Primary Subject
Science
Secondary Connections
Oral explanation, observation recording and simple data tables
Curriculum Connection
Alberta Grade 4 science highlights include non-contact forces, including gravity and magnetism. This guide develops selected observations and explanations within that topic. The objectives below are publisher-created, not a claim to assess every official force outcome.
Scope
Introduced: gravity, magnetic attraction and repulsion. Developed and assessed: predictions, material tests, accurate observations and an explanation distinguishing the two forces. Still needed: further force applications and the remaining chosen Grade 4 science outcomes.
Prerequisites
Understand a prediction versus an observation; compare object materials; describe up, down, near and far. Read aloud if needed. Balloon Bear is a fictional character whose balloon does not explain the physics.
Publisher Learning Objectives
1. Distinguish Earth’s gravitational pull from the magnetic response of tested objects.
2. Test selected materials with a classroom magnet and record predictions separately from observations.
3. Use observations to explain why the test does not show that every metal is strongly attracted.
Vocabulary
Gravity: attraction between objects with mass. Magnetic force: an interaction that can attract or repel. Prediction: an expectation before a test. Observation: what was noticed during a test. Pole: one of a magnet’s two ends, conventionally called north and south.
Educator discussion questions and answer guidance
1. What did you predict?
Answer guidance: The answer should state an expectation made before the test, even if it was later disproved.
2. Which observation made you reconsider?
Answer guidance: Accept a specific recorded observation and a sensible explanation of how it changed the learner’s idea.
3. How is gravity different from the magnetic effect tested here?
Answer guidance: Earth attracts the falling wood and steel objects. The classroom magnet strongly attracts selected materials, and two magnets can also repel.
Illustrative explanation, not a supplied experimental result: “Our steel washer moved towards the magnet. Our aluminium sample did not show the same clear attraction. These results show that the tested metals did not behave alike.” Do not mark an unexpected result wrong before checking the material and method.
Adaptations And Extension
Offer four object pictures and let the learner dictate observations. Extend by measuring the largest separation that produces clear movement with this apparatus; do not present it as a universal magnet range.
Next Lesson
Teach further applications of non-contact forces. Keep regular language arts and mathematics practice and the other subject lessons in the annual plan.
Canadian Home Education Use
Canada has provincial and territorial home-education frameworks rather than one national required subject list. These pilots retain the report’s Alberta-first planning approach. Families elsewhere can reuse the stories while matching the guides to their own approved or parent-selected plan and local requirements. In Alberta, parents choose resources consistent with the Home Education Regulation and are responsible for planning and evaluating the program. Use these dated work samples within that wider plan.
Curriculum And Home Education References
Government of Alberta. Current science curriculum highlights. https://www.alberta.ca/curriculum-science
Government of Alberta. Home education. https://www.alberta.ca/home-education
Connection checked October 2 2026. Exact official outcome identifiers must be verified for the chosen pathway before any claim of complete alignment.
Activity sheets
Main Activity
Predict then test materials
Materials
One large intact encased classroom bar magnet; oversized steel washer, aluminium strip, wooden block and plastic block; tray; paper; pencil. An adult selects and checks all items. Use a second large magnet only for an adult demonstration.
Safety
Keep small powerful magnets and swallowable objects out of this activity. The adult checks cases and edges, supervises throughout and stores the magnets away afterwards. Keep magnets away from sensitive electronics and follow any medical-device guidance relevant to the learner. Suspected magnet swallowing requires immediate medical help.
Method
1. Name each object and its material, then record whether you expect a clear attraction.
2. Place one object on the tray. Bring the same magnet close from the side without hitting it. Record clear movement towards the magnet or no clear attraction.
3. Repeat three times for each object, keeping the magnet and starting distance the same. Record a disagreement rather than changing the observation to fit the prediction.
4. Group the objects by observed response. Explain the steel and aluminium comparison using the actual tested samples.
Learner recording sheet
Name: ________________________ Date: ______________
Our prediction and reason
Our magnet and starting distance
Conditions we keep the same
How we identify clear attraction
Sketch of the test setup
| Object and material | Prediction | Trial observations | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel washer | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Aluminium strip | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Wooden block | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| Plastic block | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Describe two actual observations from our material tests
Explain how gravity differs from the magnetic effects we tested
One limitation or question for another test
Assessment & progress
Evidence
Retain the dated prediction and observation table, a photograph or sketch, and a three-sentence or recorded oral explanation. Record whether the learner worked independently, with prompts or with adult modelling.
Success Criteria
Look for separate predictions and observations, consistent testing, two correctly cited observations and an accurate distinction between gravity and magnetism. Revisit the concept if the learner says every metal is strongly magnetic or that gravity acts only on metal.
Parent Progress Record
Portfolio record: learner name or initials; date; province or territory; chosen home-education pathway; parent-selected outcome; curriculum version if used; task evidence; assistance given; assessment judgement; next teaching step. Topic connections in these pilots are not exact official outcome-code mappings. Parents using provincial outcomes should add the verified identifiers from the chosen current program before recording full coverage.
Learner / date
Province or territory / home-education pathway
Selected outcome and curriculum version
Evidence retained
Assistance provided
Judgement: Developing / Secure for this task / Applying
Next teaching step