We’ve got a variety of resources here for teaching this topic, from worksheets to ideas for demonstrations, to posters.
Thermal Conductivity
Most students will tell you that heat energy travels along the heating pathway from a high thermal store to a low thermal store. This simple yet profound demonstration will challenge them to think more deeply about this simple concept since the block that feels colder melts the ice more quickly.
This demonstration is a good opportunity for teachers to use plenty of open questions to guide students' thinking and to develop scientific vocabulary.
Hot and Cold: Exploring Temperature Changes Using Thermocolour Film
Thermal conduction involves energy flowing from a higher temperature to a lower temperature, and as a result the temperatures tend to become equal. Because thermocolour film makes variation in temperature visible, it is ideal for showing how energy moves along a conductor due to a temperature difference.
You could set up the most appropriate of these quick and visual demonstrations around the room for students to try. Recommended are the activities which show conduction, insulation, feeling hot and cold, and radiation.
Non-specialists or those teaching the topic for the first time will appreciate the background science provided for each activity.
I Wouldn’t Send a Dog Out on a Night Like This!
This activity challenges students to apply their understanding of heat transfer to the context of designing insulation for the Beagle 2 Lander.
The lander relies on batteries to carry out experiments, but the batteries' ability to supply energy is severely impaired by low temperatures.
The challenge can be differentiated to suit the ability of the students by adapting the criteria: “The temperature of the space probe should not drop below X degrees over a period of Y minutes.”
Career Clips: Energy Efficiency and Architecture
This inspiring careers clip is an ideal introduction to the topic of heat transfers and thermal insulation, showing the application of these concepts in building design.
In addition to illustrating the careers in which physics plays a part, the film also explains concepts such as heat transfer, conduction, convection, radiation, and thermal conductivity.
Key Stage Three posters
There is a good poster about temperature in this resource, but it's the poster on the difference between accuracy and precision that is really useful here! It's a difficult concept for students to grasp, so this visual representation will help students to start to use the terms appropriately.
Harnessing Energy: Practicals
This resource has two useful sets of worksheets to support students when investigating heat transfer:
Temperature and heat
Activities using a liquid crystal film to clarify students' understanding of the distinction between the terms hot, cold, thermal energy and temperature.
Thermal insulation
A set of short activities which continue to explore the scientific ideas behind thermal insulation and to distinguish between heat and temperature. An extension activity allows students to investigate the idea of work done against friction transferring heat energy.