Modeling Magnetism With the Floating Paper Clip: Supporting Diverse Learners With Visual and Linguistic Scaffolds

To enact modeling as a process of developing an explanation that attends to students' needs for scaffolding to support their visual literacy and language development, we developed the framework and scaffolds outlined in Figure 2 (informed by Passmore, Schwarz, and Mankowski 2017; Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug 2008). By combining best practices for modeling instruction, which includes a strategic approach to drawing and redrawing ideas, with language scaffolds we demonstrate how teachers might leverage visual literacy and talk moves to equitably engage students in the NGSS practice of modeling. Teachers whose curriculums include magnetism are likely to have many of the necessary materials on hand; specialty items include iron filings and magnetic viewers. Teachers may plan to have students rotate to different stations in their groups to maintain four students per station at a time, or to put the station materials on trays that can be rotated to groups by designated student assistants.