Y10 very low ability Polymers: we made a poly-pupil by having 8 separate pupils linking arms up front. Sounds crap and only lasted 5 minutes but it got the restless ones out of their seats legitimately for those 5 minutes. To start off, I linked a couple of paper clips together to demonstrate monomers polymerising. Easy peasy. Then, in true Blue Peter styley, produced one I had made earlier - a whole 900 paperclips long, to represent a poly(ethene) chain, which was then strung up around the room. I used coloured paperclips, which make for a more attractive model.
Y10 very low ability Polymers: we made a poly-pupil by having 8 separate pupils linking arms up front. Sounds crap and only lasted 5 minutes but it got the restless ones out of their seats legitimately for those 5 minutes. To start off, I linked a couple of paper clips together to demonstrate monomers polymerising. Easy peasy. Then, in true Blue Peter styley, produced one I had made earlier - a whole 900 paperclips long, to represent a poly(ethene) chain, which was then strung up around the room. I used coloured paperclips, which make for a more attractive model.
This week for my crit lesson we were doing thermosetting vs thermoplastics and I re-introduced the paperclip theme with cross linked chains and unlinked ones to demonstrate freedom of movement(or lack of) with the addition of heat (I had volunteers hold up the chains and I blew on them). Not only did the kids 'get' it, but my tutor got very exited and now intends to reproduce this when he goes back to teaching in 2 yrs time. Despite what you think, stringing together 900 paperclips does not take that long. What does take time though is untangling them! In the end I cellotaped the ends in and that took a VERY long time, but I'll be able to use it time after time.
xplaining long and short chain hydrocarbons by modelling the VdW forces with velcro. Velcro runs along the length of the "molecule" (which are just black cushions I made of different lengths - I suppose socks would work too). The long molecules obviously stick to each other more strongly when you add heat energy by shaking them whilst the shorter molecules "evaporate" (go flying off into the room) with less heat energy .. the kids can use this to help them remember volatility, flammability, viscosity (the longer chains can't slide over each other as easily as the smaller ones) etc.