Where is the magnetic field the strongest??

Magnet investigations continued in second grade today! Students used a bar magnet and paperclips to measure where the strongest parts of the magnetic field are on the magnet. We placed paperclips on all parts of the magnet, and quickly realized that the north and south poles held the most paperclips (for some, up to 4 or 5 paperclips). Some magnets were stronger than others (which we noticed when we aligned the poles in the paper clips... investigation #2) but most of our observations support our prediction: The poles of the magnets (north and south) have the strongest magnetic power... indeed, that is where the magnetic field is the strongest.
We also enjoyed revisiting John, Steven Gurney's visit yesterday, and made some text-to-text connections with our Don and Audrey Wood collection of books! Nice!
Owen started our day with a great morning meeting, and Amanda lead a great math meeting as well.
After an introduction of double digit subtraction (with regrouping/borrowing), we practiced with unifix cubes. Tomorrow, we'll learn the steps in problem solving without the cubes... and boy, oh, boy... are we ready!!
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was as great as ever... and we can't wait until we celebrate Willy Wonka Day in second grade next week. Looks like Tuesday will be the big day! Come to school dressed as your favorite "Wonka" character, and let the fun begin!!