Is it Magnetic Worksheet

Magnets are one of the first invisible forces a child can actually watch at work, and this Is it Magnetic Worksheet gives third graders a clear way to figure out the rule behind them. A magnet does not pull on everything it touches. It pulls on objects made of iron and steel, and it leaves wood, plastic, rubber, and glass exactly where they are. Learning to predict which objects a magnet will attract teaches students to reason from what an object is made of instead of guessing, which is the heart of the third grade physical science standard on magnetic force.

This magnetic objects worksheet is built in two parts. First, students read six familiar classroom objects out of the word box — an iron nail, a plastic ruler, a rubber eraser, a steel paper clip, a steel screw, and a wooden pencil — and write each one into the correct column: a magnet attracts it or a magnet does not attract it. Because every object names its own material, students have to apply the rule rather than recall a memorized list. Then two short constructed-response questions ask them to explain their thinking in complete sentences: why a magnet leaves a plastic ruler sitting still, and which of two objects a magnet will pull and how they know. Illustrated examples under each column model the sort, so students can see a paper clip snapping to a magnet and a pencil staying put.

What’s Included

• A six-word object box naming both the object and the material it is made from
• A two-column sorting chart with roomy solid writing lines
• Two written explanation questions that ask students to justify a prediction
• Illustrated magnet examples showing one object from each category
• A complete answer key on the final page
• A print-ready PDF for classroom, homeschool, or center use

This Is it Magnetic Worksheet helps students in three ways. It moves them past trial-and-error toward a testable rule, so they can predict a result before they touch a magnet. It builds science vocabulary — iron, steel, attract, material — in the sentence where each word is actually used. And the written questions give students practice defending an answer with evidence, the skill every science assessment asks for.

Teachers and parents can hand each student a small magnet and the six real objects and let them test their predictions before checking the key, which turns the page into a quick lab sheet. Try a follow-up hunt where students walk the room and list five more objects a magnet grabs, then sort those by material too. At home, the refrigerator door, a soup can, a wooden spoon, and a plastic lid make an easy kitchen version of the same chart.

Related Resources

• Fields and Poles Magnets Worksheet
• Classroom Objects Magnet Attraction Worksheet
• Fun with Magnets Science Activity
• Matter Song (Have Fun Teaching Video)