Push Pull Investigators

Overview

This six-week kindergarten science unit introduces pushes and pulls through movement, observation, and a simple investigation. Students build understanding over repeated hands-on experiences, then use drawings, labels, and a class graph to communicate what they observed.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Identify a push and a pull.
• Describe how a push or pull can change an object’s motion or direction.
• Follow picture-supported steps during a simple investigation.
• Record observations using drawings, words, numbers, or symbols.
• Explain what they learned from a class table or graph.

Success criteria

• I can show and name a push and a pull.
• I can make a prediction before testing.
• I can follow the investigation steps safely and carefully.
• I can record what happened and tell what the evidence shows.

Curriculum links

• Integrate information from spoken or written explanations with diagrams, tables, and graphs.
• Follow a multistep procedure while carrying out an investigation and making observations.
• Determine the main idea of a science experience and summarize it using drawings or words.
• Organize information with headings, pictures, labels, and a simple class data display.

Lesson structure (Six 30-minute sessions)

Week 1: What Are Pushes and Pulls?

1. 0–5 min · Hook. Open with the movement mystery hook showing a toy car moving away and a basket coming closer; students mime what the hands might do.
2. 5–12 min · Teach and model. Use the push-and-pull picture slides to define a push as moving something away and a pull as moving something closer; students practice the motions.
3. 12–22 min · Partner exploration. Pairs use classroom-safe objects such as a toy car, ball, block, and paper cup to try one push and one pull; students describe the action to a partner.
4. 22–27 min · Record. Distribute the push-and-pull drawing page; students draw one pushed object and one pulled object, with adult or peer labeling support.
5. 27–30 min · Share. Return to the push-or-pull review slide; students hold up one finger for push or two for pull as the teacher names actions.

Week 2: How Does a Push Change Motion?

1. 0–5 min · Recall. Revisit the motion photo prompt and ask, “What could make this object move?”
2. 5–10 min · Predict and demonstrate. Demonstrate a gentle and a stronger push on a toy car; students predict which will travel farther, without touching the materials yet.
3. 10–22 min · Investigation. Display the investigation steps and guide pairs through: place the car at the start line, give one gentle push, observe, and mark the stopping place with a cube or sticky note. Repeat with a stronger push.
4. 22–27 min · Record evidence. Students complete the push section of the investigation recording page, drawing the two trials and circling “farther” or “not farther.”
5. 27–30 min · Conclusion. Students complete the sentence, “A stronger push made the car…” Teacher records common observations.

Week 3: How Does a Pull Change Motion?

1. 0–5 min · Hook. Show the pull challenge image of a toy attached to a short string; students predict how it can move without being pushed.
2. 5–10 min · Model. Demonstrate pulling a toy or cup toward a taped target and discuss direction, distance, and safe handling.
3. 10–21 min · Partner investigation. Following the pull investigation steps, pairs pull a toy toward a target using a string or ribbon, first slowly and then more quickly, observing how the motion changes.
4. 21–26 min · Record. Students finish the pull section of the investigation recording page with a drawing and the prompt, “I noticed…”
5. 26–30 min · Discuss. Partners use the sentence frame “The pull changed the object by…” and share one observation.

Week 4: Direction and Motion

1. 0–5 min · Movement warm-up. Use the direction movement slides; students safely demonstrate forward, backward, left, and right movements with their hands.
2. 5–10 min · Teach through demonstration. Push a ball in two different directions and pull a cup toward two different targets; students identify what changed.
3. 10–22 min · Direction challenge. Pairs choose a target, predict the direction, then use a push or pull to move an object toward it. They reset and try again using a different direction.
4. 22–27 min · Draw and label. Students complete the direction drawing page by drawing the starting point, object, arrow, and target.
5. 27–30 min · Review. On the direction review slide, students explain how an arrow shows the direction of motion.

Week 5: Class Investigation and Data

1. 0–5 min · Question. Display the class investigation question: “Which object is easiest to move with a push?” Students observe the available ball, block, and toy car.
2. 5–10 min · Plan and predict. Model the picture-supported procedure: choose one object, use one gentle push, watch carefully, and record the result. Students predict which object will move most easily.
3. 10–20 min · Test safely. In pairs, students test each object once on the same floor area. One student pushes while the other observes; then they switch roles.
4. 20–26 min · Build the data display. Students add a drawing or mark to the class data recording page; the teacher transfers results to the matching class table or picture graph on the class graph slides.
5. 26–30 min · Interpret. Students answer, “Which object had the most marks?” and “What evidence supports your answer?”

Week 6: Explain and Apply

1. 0–5 min · Review game. Use the final picture review; students identify whether each action is a push, a pull, or both.
2. 5–12 min · Revisit evidence. Display the class table and graph from Week 5. Students compare their predictions with the results and discuss whether the evidence matched.
3. 12–22 min · Explain learning. Students complete the final science explanation page by drawing a push and pull, adding arrows, and completing “A push can…” and “A pull can…”
4. 22–27 min · Partner presentation. Students use their drawings to explain one investigation result to a partner. Partners ask, “What did you observe?”
5. 27–30 min · Exit check. Show the final exit prompt. Each student privately demonstrates or names a push and a pull and states one way forces can change motion.

Resources

• the six-week push-and-pull slide deck
• the six-week investigation worksheet
• Toy cars, balls, blocks, paper cups, and lightweight classroom objects
• Short strings or ribbons
• Tape for start lines and targets
• Sticky notes or linking cubes for marking distance
• Pencils, crayons, and clipboards
• Open floor space and a class chart or whiteboard

Assessment

• Listen for accurate use of “push,” “pull,” “direction,” and “motion” during partner talk and investigations.
• Check whether students follow the investigation sequence, make observations, and record evidence through drawings, marks, or words.
• Use the Week 6 drawing, oral explanation, and exit response to determine whether each student can identify pushes and pulls and describe an effect on motion.

Differentiation

• Provide picture directions, gestures, repeated modeling, and sentence frames such as “I pushed ___” and “The object moved ___.”
• Allow students to demonstrate answers orally or physically instead of writing; adults may scribe student words.
• Pair students strategically and assign clear roles: mover, observer, recorder, and switcher.
• For students ready for challenge, invite them to compare two pushes or pulls and explain which evidence supports their conclusion.
• Use large, lightweight objects, wide pathways, and extra processing time for students with motor, sensory, attention, or communication needs. Offer home-language labels or peer interpretation for multilingual learners.