Investigating pushes and pulls

We began a new science unit exploring forces and motion! Our essential question is "What makes things move?" We shared thoughts on how to make an object move, by picking it up, blowing on it, pushing it, throwing it, kicking it. We ultimately decided that all these options were a form of pushing and pulling. The students found something in the room that they could use to demonstrate pushing or pulling.

We then drew a model of ourselves pushing or pulling an item in our science notebooks and used a label to write "push" or "pull."

The next day, we brought an item from home to demonstrate pushes and pulls! It was super fun to see what the students thought to bring.

Then we sorted our items by whether or not we pushed or pulled them, and then sorted them in a Venn diagram.

The next day we talked about larger items you can push or pull, like doors and chairs, and then sorted them as a group and later independently.

We'll continue our investigation next week, where our essential question will be "How can I make a ball move the way I want it to move?"