The Power of Pushes and Pulls

Active learning works for this topic because forces are abstract until students physically experience pushes and pulls in real time. Children in second year learn best when they connect textbook ideas to tangible outcomes, making these activities essential for deep understanding.

• 2nd Year
• Young Explorers: Investigating Our World
• 4 activities
• 25 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Classify everyday actions as either a push or a pull force.
2. Analyze how ramp angle and surface texture affect the acceleration and deceleration of a toy car.
3. Predict the outcome of attempting to move an object of significant mass without applying sufficient force.
4. Explain the role of friction in slowing down moving objects on different surfaces.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Ramp Challenges: Toy Car Races

Provide toy cars, ramps, and varied surfaces like carpet, sandpaper, and smooth boards. Students predict and test how incline and texture affect speed, measure distances rolled, and discuss results. Record findings on simple charts.

Prepare & details

Differentiate between a push and a pull force in everyday actions.

Facilitation Tip: During Ramp Challenges: Toy Car Races, set up multiple ramps with different textures in advance so students can rotate through trials without delays.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Push-Pull Scavenger Hunt

Give pairs checklists of classroom and outdoor pushes and pulls, such as opening drawers or kicking balls. Students photograph or sketch examples, categorize them, and share with the class. Extend by acting out predictions.

Prepare & details

Analyze the factors that cause a toy car to accelerate or decelerate.

Facilitation Tip: For Push-Pull Scavenger Hunt, provide clipboards and pencils for students to document their findings with sketches and labels.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Balloon Push Relay

Inflate balloons and have teams push them across the floor using only air from lungs or hand waves, without touching. Observe starts, stops, and direction changes, then discuss force strength. Repeat with heavier objects.

Prepare & details

Predict the outcome if an attempt were made to move a heavy box without applying any force.

Facilitation Tip: In Balloon Push Relay, assign roles clearly so every student participates, whether as a runner, timer, or recorder.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Friction Finders: Whole Class Demo

Demonstrate a sliding block on different fabrics while class predicts stopping distances. Students then test in pairs and vote on patterns. Compile class data on a shared graph.

Prepare & details

Differentiate between a push and a pull force in everyday actions.

Facilitation Tip: During Friction Finders: Whole Class Demo, use a spring scale to measure force when pulling objects so students see quantitative differences.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Start with concrete, observable actions before introducing vocabulary to avoid overwhelming students with terms they haven’t yet connected to experience. Avoid long lectures about forces; instead, use guided questioning during activities to prompt reasoning. Research shows that early years learners develop scientific concepts through repeated, varied experiences rather than abstract explanations.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students accurately identifying pushes and pulls in multiple contexts, explaining how forces affect motion, and applying these ideas to predict outcomes. They should use evidence from hands-on trials to justify their reasoning during discussions and recordings.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Balloon Push Relay, watch for students who assume only their hands apply force.

What to Teach Instead

Use the balloon race to redirect thinking: ask students to notice how air escaping the balloon pushes the car forward, demonstrating a non-living force in action.

Common Misconception

During Ramp Challenges: Toy Car Races, watch for students who believe motion continues indefinitely once started.

What to Teach Instead

Use the ramp surfaces to highlight friction: guide students to observe how carpet slows the car more than smooth tile, directly linking surface texture to stopping motion.

Common Misconception

During Push-Pull Scavenger Hunt, watch for students who claim pulling is always easier than pushing heavy objects.

What to Teach Instead

Have students test both actions with the same object during the hunt, then compare distances moved to challenge their initial assumption and refine their understanding.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After Push-Pull Scavenger Hunt, present students with pictures of actions like opening a door, kicking a ball, or pulling a wagon. Ask them to label each as a push or pull and justify their choice in one sentence.

Exit Ticket

During Ramp Challenges: Toy Car Races, give students a toy car, ramp, carpet, and smooth tile. Ask them to record two observations about how the car’s motion changes on each surface and explain which force primarily slows it down.

Discussion Prompt

After Friction Finders: Whole Class Demo, pose this question: ‘You’re moving a heavy box across a carpeted floor. What forces act on the box, and how does friction affect your effort?’ Facilitate a discussion using their demo observations to support reasoning.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to design their own ramp challenge using classroom materials, then test and compare results with peers.
• For students struggling, provide picture cards of pushes and pulls to sort before they complete the scavenger hunt.
• Deeper exploration: Introduce the concept of balanced forces by having students push identical toy cars on different surfaces and observe when motion stops or continues steadily.

Key Vocabulary

Force	A push or a pull that can make an object move, stop moving, or change direction.
Push	A force that moves something away from you.
Pull	A force that moves something toward you.
Motion	The process of moving or being moved.
Friction	A force that opposes motion when two surfaces rub against each other, often causing things to slow down.