You need a strong magnet, some steel paperclips and some nails for this activity.

Place a nail on the paperclips and see if it will pick them up. It won't. The nail is not magnetic.

Now stroke the nail from one end to the other about twenty times with one end of the magnet. Always stroke in the same direction and lift the magnet away from the nail on the return path.

Now put the nail near to the paperclips and you will find they jump up to it – you have made a nail magnetic.