Marie Wilhelm, 7th Grade Science Teacher, Middle School
If you walked into my classroom on any given day, you would notice that there is a question written on the front white board. We call these questions focus questions, and they drive the student’s learning for the day. This week, the focus question got students thinking about the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Their task was to create something brand new to them: an electromagnet. I challenged them to create this with no step by step directions. All they had at their disposal was a definition and supplies laid out on the back counter. There were moments of struggle for some, but slowly cheers were heard throughout the room as each group was able to pick up a chain of paperclips. By the end of class every group had successfully made a working electromagnet, and better yet, they created it all on their own.