Lesson Summary In Lesson 4, students learned about controlled experiments or “fair tests” and one way to measure magnetic force.  In Lesson 8, they learned about electromagnets.  Lesson 9 will give them a chance to plan a controlled experiment that will investigate how changes in some variables affect electromagnetic force.  Students work in teams to design the experiment they will conduct in Lesson 10. Teacher Background This is the beginning of a series of lessons in which the students plan, conduct, and report the results of a controlled experiment involving the effect of different variables on the strength of an electromagnet.  The activities in these lessons contain many opportunities for spontaneous departures from the written lesson plan. Such departures are often very fruitful for students, so you may want to build some extra time, if available into these lessons. Set-up/Management Tips Copy Activity Sheet 3 (one for each student) and Activity Sheet 4 (one for each group of four students). Cut colored constructions paper into “cards” for each team.  For example, for each team, create six yellow cards for the variables, one pink card for the variable to be investigated and one larger blue card for the description of what the students will do. Students will be part of a four-person team. Give students time to decide which variable they want to test. Make sure you go over what a “fair test” is again and which variables might be changed and which variables should be kept the same. Gluing the cards on the planning boards can be optional (you could just have students write on the planning boards). Also, make sure that students don’t design an experiment using materials you are unable to obtain Literacy Support Students will be writing out their plans for the experiment using Activity Sheets 3 and 4.  Read page 63 “Who Is This Story About?” Scientific Vocabulary The following words are key vocabulary words that will be introduced in this lesson and reinforced throughout the unit: No new vocabulary introduced this lesson.