Fields and Poles Magnets Worksheet

This fields and poles magnets worksheet gives third graders the vocabulary and the reasoning they need to explain what a magnet actually does. Every magnet has two ends, called poles, and an invisible region of force around it, called its magnetic field. Earth behaves like an enormous bar magnet with poles of its own, which is why a compass needle swings around and settles pointing north instead of stopping anywhere it likes. Once students can name the poles and the field, the pushes and pulls they see on the desk stop looking like magic and start looking like a rule they can predict.

The page opens with a word box and five sentences to complete, so students practice the terms in context rather than memorizing a list. Next come three short notes about magnets held near each other, where students decide whether the magnets pull together, push apart, or do nothing at all. The last question asks for a written explanation of why a compass needle points north. Read the word box first, finish the sentences, then work down through the notes. The answer key at the back shows every answer, including a model response for the written question.

What’s Included

• A six-word vocabulary box covering poles, field, attract, repel, compass and magnetize
• Five fill-in-the-blank sentences, each with exactly one correct word
• Three multiple-choice notes that ask students to predict a push, a pull or neither
• One written-response question about how a compass works
• A full answer key, including a model written answer, on the second page

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• Naming poles and fields gives students the exact words their science standards and tests use.
• Predicting whether two poles pull or push turns a memorized fact into a rule students can apply.
• The plastic spoon question checks that students know magnets act on some materials and not others.

Ideas for Teachers and Parents

Hand out two bar magnets before the page and let students feel the push and the pull for themselves, then use this 3rd grade magnets worksheet to put words to what they felt. Afterward, set out a tray of small objects, some steel and some plastic, and ask students to sort them by prediction before testing each one. A magnetized needle taped to a cork and floated in a bowl of water turns the last question into a hands-on demonstration. This fields and poles magnets worksheet also makes a clean review page before a unit test on forces.

Related Resources

• Fun with Magnets Science Activity
• Magnetism Experiment Worksheet
• Labeling Force and Motion Worksheet
• Science Songs