Magnetic Fields
Your child can map the field around a magnet using a compass or iron filings. They know the Earth acts like a giant magnet, which is why a compass points north.
In curriculum terms
Describe magnetic poles (north and south), explain attraction and repulsion between poles, describe magnetic field lines plotted using a compass, and explain the Earth's magnetic field and its practical uses
Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →
How to tell they’ve got it
Tick these off as you see them — no test required.
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Try this together
If your child used a compass and iron filings to map the magnetic field around a bar magnet, could they describe what pattern the field lines make and explain why a compass needle always points roughly north?
Where this sits on the map
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Curriculum alignment
Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.
This skill sits outside the F–6 Australian Curriculum — no candidate code matched (v0.1). No NSW K–6 outcome code matched (v0.1). No Victorian Curriculum 2.0 code matched (v0.1).