Forces | Independent Practice
Students explore how pushes and pulls are forces that make a robot move. Through teacher modeling and independent practice, students test simple robot movements, describe what caused the movement, and record what they observe.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| force | A push or a pull that makes something move or change. |
| push | To move something away from your body. |
| pull | To move something toward your body. |
| move | To go from one place to another. |
| direction | The way something goes. |
Show a robot or toy car. Ask, “How can we make it move?” Model one push and one pull. Say the vocabulary words clearly and have students repeat them.
Watch, repeat the words, and show with hands how to push and pull.
Demonstrate with the robot: gentle push, stronger push, and pull back. Point out that forces can start movement and change direction. Keep language simple and connect each action to the result.
Observe and answer quick questions such as “Was that a push or a pull?”
Set up 3–4 force challenges at tables or floor spots: push the robot to a target, pull the toy back to the start, move the robot around a marker, and stop it at a line. Circulate, prompt, and support as needed without doing the task for students.
Work independently to move the robot through each challenge, then draw or mark what force they used on the recording sheet.
Invite a few students to show one challenge and explain the force used. Ask, “What happened when you pushed/pulled?” Check for correct vocabulary use.
Share one observation using words, gestures, or a drawing.
Review: “A push moves something away. A pull moves something toward us. Forces help robots move.” End with a quick whole-group call and response.
Repeat the key idea and give a thumbs-up if they can show a push and a pull.
Students restate the lesson idea: forces are pushes and pulls that help robots move. The class quickly demonstrates one push and one pull together.
Formative assessment comes from teacher observation during independent practice and the student recording sheet. Students are assessed on identifying push/pull, completing a movement task, and describing the force used.
At home, students find one example of a push and one example of a pull in daily life and draw both on a half-sheet or tell a family member about them.