Pre-K Earth Science Lesson: Exploring Forces with Pushes and Pulls

Forces | Standard Lesson

Pre-K Earth Science Forces Standard Lesson Medium Professional 5 Views

Professional Lesson Plan

Pre-K Earth Science Lesson: Exploring Forces with Pushes and Pulls

Forces | Standard Lesson

GradePre-K

SubjectEarth Science

TopicForces

Duration45 Minutes

Lesson TypeStandard Lesson

DifficultyMedium

Lesson Overview

Students will explore the basic idea of forces by using their bodies and simple classroom objects to push, pull, lift, and move items. Through hands-on play, they will notice that forces can make things start, stop, move faster, move slower, or change direction.

Learning Objectives

Students will identify a force as a push or a pull.
Students will use their bodies and simple objects to demonstrate pushing and pulling.
Students will describe how a force can move or change an object.
Students will connect force to everyday actions in the classroom and outdoors.

Materials Needed

Toy cars or balls
Lightweight classroom objects such as blocks, bins, or baskets
String or ribbon
Masking tape
Open floor space
Picture cards showing pushing and pulling actions
Chart paper and marker

Vocabulary

Term	Definition
force	A push or a pull that makes something move or change.
push	To move something away from you.
pull	To bring something closer to you.
move	To go from one place to another.

Lesson Sequence

Warm-Up: What Can We Do with Our Bodies?5 minutes

Teacher Actions

Invite children to show actions like pushing a door, pulling a wagon, or rolling a ball. Say the words push and pull as you model each action.

Student Actions

Children copy the actions, watch the teacher, and name what they notice.

Direct Teaching: Introducing Force8 minutes

Teacher Actions

Explain that a force is a push or a pull. Use simple examples and picture cards. Write the words push and pull on chart paper and point to them as you act them out.

Student Actions

Children repeat the words, point to matching pictures, and answer yes/no questions about whether an action is a push or a pull.

Guided Practice: Move It!12 minutes

Teacher Actions

Set out toy cars, balls, blocks, and baskets. Demonstrate how to push a car, pull a basket with ribbon, and gently move a ball. Encourage safe, controlled movement.

Student Actions

In small groups or pairs, children take turns pushing and pulling objects and observing how the objects move.

Exploration: What Changes?10 minutes

Teacher Actions

Ask children to try different amounts of force: a gentle push, a stronger push, a short pull, and a longer pull. Prompt them to notice speed, direction, and distance.

Student Actions

Children experiment and describe what happened using simple language such as fast, slow, far, near, and stop.

Review and Share7 minutes

Teacher Actions

Gather students back together and revisit the vocabulary. Use the chart paper to review examples of push, pull, and force. Ask children to show one motion with their hands.

Student Actions

Children share one thing they learned and demonstrate a push or pull with their hands or body.

Closure: Force in Our World3 minutes

Teacher Actions

Summarize that forces help things move. Connect the lesson to real life by naming examples like opening a door, dragging a backpack, or kicking a ball.

Student Actions

Children repeat the key idea: A force is a push or a pull.

Support

Use gestures, pictures, and modeling for all vocabulary.
Offer one-step directions and repeat them slowly.
Allow students to work with a partner or adult support.
Use larger, easier-to-move objects for children who need extra success.
Provide sentence stems such as 'I pushed the __' and 'I pulled the __.'

Challenge

Ask students to describe whether an object moved faster or slower.
Invite students to compare a gentle push and a strong push.
Have students find a force example in the classroom without using their hands to act it out first.
Encourage children to explain how they know something was a push or a pull.

Checks for Understanding

Observe whether students can show a push and a pull correctly.
Listen for use of vocabulary during partner work and discussion.
Ask simple oral questions such as 'Is this a push or a pull?'
Watch whether students can describe an object moving after a force is applied.

Closure

End by having the class say together: 'A force is a push or a pull.' Then ask each child to show one push or pull motion before transitioning to the next activity.