Pushes Make Motion

Overview

Students investigate how pushes change an object’s motion using toy cars and ramps. They observe, compare, count, and record results while connecting the investigation to kindergarten expectations for direct comparison, shape language, and decomposing numbers to 10.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Describe a push as a force that can make an object move.
• Compare how far two objects travel using “farther,” “shorter,” “more,” or “less.”
• Identify and describe shapes used in the investigation.
• Record a number up to 10 as two parts in more than one way.

Success criteria

• I can show a push and describe what happened.
• I can compare two distances and say which is farther or shorter.
• I can use words such as roll, stop, fast, slow, push, and force.
• I can show one number as two parts, such as 6 = 2 + 4 and 6 = 5 + 1.

Curriculum links

• Operations and Algebraic Thinking — decompose numbers up to 10 into pairs in more than one way and record the decompositions.
• Measurement and Data — directly compare objects or distances and describe which has more or less of an attribute.
• Geometry — compare two- and three-dimensional shapes using informal language about sides, corners, and other attributes.
• The force-and-motion investigation provides an age-appropriate science context for these Common Core mathematics connections.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook. Open with the opening motion question and roll a toy car gently across the floor, then give it a stronger push. Ask, “What changed?” Students turn and talk, then share observations using words such as farther, faster, slower, or stopped.

2. 5–12 min · Model the investigation. Use the force-and-motion teaching slides to introduce force as a push or pull, focusing on pushes today. Demonstrate a ramp, a toy car, a starting line, and a finish line; model pushing from the same starting point and comparing which car travels farther. Students practice the sentence frame, “I pushed the car ____, and it ____.”

3. 12–28 min · Partner investigation. Organize 25 students into pairs, with one group of three, and provide each group with a toy car, a short ramp, a flat surface, a starting line, and linking cubes or floor markers. Display the investigation directions while students test three gentle pushes and three stronger pushes. Students take turns pushing, watching, and measuring each travel distance with cubes or markers without moving the starting line. They record whether each result was shorter, longer, or about the same on the push-and-motion recording sheet.

4. 28–36 min · Compare and describe. Pause the investigation and return to the comparison discussion slides. Invite pairs to compare one gentle push with one stronger push and explain what they noticed. Students use “more/less,” “farther/shorter,” and “faster/slower” in partner sentences. Check that students understand that a stronger push often makes the car travel farther, but that results may vary if the push or ramp changes.

5. 36–44 min · Math connection. Ask students to count the linking cubes used for one travel distance, choosing a result from 4 to 10. Model decomposing the distance: “6 cubes can be 2 and 4. Can we make 6 another way?” Students show a second decomposition with cubes and record two equations on the push-and-motion recording sheet, such as 6 = 2 + 4 and 6 = 5 + 1. Briefly ask students to describe the shapes of the car and ramp, including any flat faces, curved surfaces, sides, or corners.

6. 44–50 min · Share and assess. Display the closing prompts and invite two or three pairs to share one observation and one comparison. Students complete the worksheet exit prompt: “A push can make an object ______. I know because ______.” Collect the worksheets and ask students to show one number up to 10 as two parts using fingers or cubes.

Resources

• the force-and-motion slide deck
• the push-and-motion recording sheet
• Toy cars or other small rolling objects
• Short ramps made from cardboard or blocks
• Linking cubes, floor markers, or craft sticks for measuring
• Painter’s tape for starting and finish lines
• Flat floor or table surfaces
• Pencils and crayons

Assessment

• During the hook and modeling, listen for students using push, move, stop, farther, and shorter accurately.
• During partner work, check that students begin from the same line, compare distances directly, and record observations on the worksheet.
• Use the final written sentence and number decomposition to identify students who can connect an observation to evidence and represent a number as two parts.

Differentiation

• Support students with gestures, picture cues, repeated modeling, and sentence starters: “The car went ___,” “This distance is ___ than that distance,” and “I pushed it ___.”
• Pair students strategically and assign rotating roles: pusher, observer, and recorder. The group of three can rotate all three roles.
• Provide larger cars, a wider ramp, and pre-marked measuring spaces for students with motor or vision needs; allow students to give an oral response while an adult records.
• Extend ready students by asking them to find three different decompositions for the same distance or explain why two trials may not match exactly.
• For multilingual learners, preview the words push, pull, roll, stop, farther, shorter, fast, and slow with gestures and real objects.