Magnetism Worksheet

Magnetism is one of the first invisible forces a child can test with their own hands, and this magnetism worksheet turns that test into something a student can write down. A magnet pulls on objects made of iron, steel, nickel and cobalt, and it does nothing at all to wood, glass, rubber, plastic or paper. Once a third grader knows that the pull depends on the material rather than on how shiny or how heavy something looks, the whole topic stops being guesswork and becomes a rule they can apply to any object on the desk.

This 3rd grade magnets worksheet is a two-page printable in two parts. Part A is a word box of eight everyday classroom objects that students sort into two columns, one for the things a magnet attracts and one for the things it does not. Part B gives four sentences, each naming one object a magnet would pull and one it would leave alone, and asks students to write both words on the labelled lines below. Print the sheet, read the directions aloud, and keep a real magnet on the table so a student can check any answer they are unsure about.

What is Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• 1 complete answer key
• An eight-word sort with two labelled columns
• 4 sentence items with a two-field answer row
• Written for 3rd grade physical science

There are three reasons this sheet helps children learn magnetism. First, the sort forces a decision about every single object instead of letting a student read past the idea, and the two columns make a wrong answer visible straight away. Second, the sentence items hide the answer inside ordinary language, so a student has to notice the material word in the sentence rather than hunt for a bold term. Third, each sentence pairs a magnetic object with a non-magnetic one, which builds the habit of comparing two materials instead of judging one object on its own. Working through this magnetism worksheet takes a third grader about fifteen minutes.

Teachers and parents can keep the investigation going after the page is finished. Hand a child a magnet and a tray of safe objects and let them sort the real things into the same two piles. Ask why a soda can lid behaves differently from a paper clip, and let the answer be about the metal rather than the shape. Try a magnet through a sheet of paper, a plastic lid and a glass of water to show the pull passing straight through. Sing the science song below on the way to school, and keep a small magnet in a pocket so the next question has an answer waiting.

Related Resources

• Is it Magnetic Worksheet
• Magnetic Objects Worksheet
• Magnet Attraction Worksheet
• Matter Song by Have Fun Teaching