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Topic 3 "How magnets push and pull" — your read (2 October 2026)

Skim first

The lessons in teaching order, each with its one rule sentence; then the intro script; then the question types. The review page follows.

The lessons and their rules

LessonAtomRule sentence
L01 What a magnet pullsFOR4-010A magnet pulls steel and iron. Without touching them. Not copper, aluminum or brass. Even though they are metals.
L02 A magnet has two polesFOR4-011Each end of a magnet is a pole. A north pole and a south pole.
L03 Pull together or push apart?FOR4-012Two different poles attract. They pull together. Two of the same pole repel. They push apart.
L04 Closer magnet, stronger pullFOR4-013The closer the magnet. The stronger its pull. A big magnet is not always strong.
L05 Make a paperclip floatFOR4-014A magnet's pull works without touching. It works through cardboard and air. Ruler and magnet first, then the thread.

The intro script (117 words, about 58 s)

A steel paperclip lies on Teddy's desk in Miss Okafor's class, and nobody is touching it. Then the paperclip slides across the desk by itself. Under the desk, Miss Okafor is sliding a magnet. But when the magnet passes under Teddy's eraser, the eraser does not move at all. And when Thea brings her own magnet close, Miss Okafor's magnet pushes Thea's magnet away. So how does a magnet choose what to pull, and when does it push instead? To find out, we will look at what a magnet pulls, the two ends of a magnet, and how close a magnet has to be. Okay, so are you ready to find out how magnets push and pull?

The question types (from TYPES_G4T03.md)

  1. Type 1 (FOR4-010): Which of these four things does a magnet pull? · four things, each named with its stuff · FOR4-010
  2. Type 2 (FOR4-010): A magnet did / did not pull X — what is X made of? · four stuffs · FOR4-010
  3. Type 3 (FOR4-011): A pole fact: how many poles, what an end is called, the name of the end marked N / S, where a bent magnet's poles are · four labels · FOR4-011
  4. Type 4 (FOR4-012): Two named facing poles (or a turn) → what the magnets do · the fixed set They attract / They repel / They stay still / One attracts and the other repels · FOR4-012
  5. Type 5 (FOR4-012): Hidden-pole deduction: the result and one facing pole are given, name the other · a north pole / a south pole / either pole / no pole · FOR4-012
  6. Type 6 (FOR4-013): Closer-stronger prediction: a magnet moves, or three distances are given · stronger / weaker / the same, or the distances · FOR4-013
  7. Type 7 (FOR4-010, 011, 012, 013): Which sentence is true? · four statements, the misconceptions (MAG-01, 04, 05, 06, 07) as the distractors; never a verdict + reason in one option · FOR4-010, 011, 012, 013
  8. Type 8 (FOR4-014): The model: what pulls the floating paperclip up / down, what the model shows, what it leaves out, a transfer through card, plastic, water · four labels or statements · FOR4-014
  9. Type 9 (FOR4-014): The build steps as an ORDER item · three or four steps tapped in order, each step needing the one before (v2: ruler and magnet first, then the thread taped UNDER the magnet) · FOR4-014
  10. Type 10 (FOR4-010 (steel / iron), 011 (pole), 012 (attract, repel)): Typed recall of a term from a plain description · the stem says "Type the science word" (v2); text entry, accept list with article, plural, -ing form and child spellings · FOR4-010 (steel / iron), 011 (pole), 012 (attract, repel)

Five lessons: a magnet pulls steel and iron, not every metal; a magnet has two poles, north and south; two different poles attract and two of the same repel (both words coined here, after the plain words); the closer the magnet, the stronger its pull; build and explain a paperclip that floats on its thread under a hidden magnet. Every key agreed by two cold readers and every changed item re-read. The figure review caught the one serious defect no text read could see: the drawer that labels the pole pairs had its letters swapped, so six figures showed the opposite poles to their words and the two hidden-pole items contradicted their stems. Fixed in two lines, every letter re-read by eye. Pictures are placeholders until you answer.

1. Does Grade 4 say "stronger than Earth's pull on the paperclip", keeping Grade 3's "beat Earth's pull" only in the one recall line?

Grade 3 Topic 3's sentence is kept word for word where L04 recalls it. In Grade 4's own sentences "stronger than Earth's pull on the paperclip" is exact at the instant the clip leaves the desk and matches Topic 9's balanced-forces language. The video says it once.

Recommendation: yes.

Yes / "beat Earth's pull" everywhere

2. May the four children each be a headache child in one lesson and a claim-maker in another's quiz?

The only vault rule is one topic per name across the course. One child is wrong twice in the topic, which is tolerable.

Recommendation: yes, keep the row at four.

Yes / widen the row

The lessons

3. L01 What a magnet pulls — Thea's tray: the steel paperclip jumps; the penny, the can tab, the brass key and the button stay. "Metal" is not the rule; steel and iron are. page

4. L02 A magnet has two poles — a hanging magnet swings toward one end of a second magnet and away from the other. Each end is a pole, north or south. page

5. L03 Attract or repel? — north facing south slides together, north facing north slides apart. Two different poles attract; two of the same repel. page

6. L04 Closer magnet, stronger pull — the clip jumps only when the magnet comes close: the pull is stronger than Earth's pull on the clip. A small magnet that lifts more clips than a big one. page

7. L05 Make a paperclip float — ruler across two book stacks, magnet taped under it, thread taped to the desk under the magnet, lift the clip and let go. The magnet's pull up and the thread's and Earth's pulls down are balanced. page

Applied without asking

"Cardboard" for "card"; the build-order item's steps re-ordered so the dependence is real; the drawn positions labelled 1, 2, 3 (never letters that clash with options); the typed term stems say "type the science word" and accept "attracting" / "repelling"; force arrows start on the objects; the clip drawn with daylight under the magnet; nickel and cobalt named in the record as also pulled, not taught; 51 items, 9 to 12 per atom; summary before practice; twelve picture placeholders with briefs.

Also on the site

Topic intro and poll · summary and three questions · mixed practice · the PP100 bank · the blueprint · the type sheet

After you answer

Nothing on the page changes if you keep both; the picture pass starts, and the seven-video batch goes with Topic 1's on your word.