Push and Pull Activities: Help Children Explain What Makes Things Move

When deciding how to teach push and pull, begin with the interaction rather than the direction an object travels. Ask what is touching the object, how that contact acts, and what motion was observed. An object moving to the right is not automatically being pushed to the right; a drawing or record must tell you more.

A useful first activity needs only a full sheet of paper and a pencil. Draw a hand contacting one edge of a rectangle, then a separate arrow showing the rectangle’s reported movement. Give the arrows different labels: “force on the object” and “observed motion.” The labels prevent two different ideas from collapsing into one picture.

This guide uses original paper examples and fictional records. Optional gentle observations are not needed to complete the reasoning. Avoid strings, weights, loose wheels, magnets, throwing or force contests; none of those additions is required to discuss contact actions clearly.

Name the interaction before describing the result

A push or pull describes a force interaction. Motion describes what an object does over time. They are related, but they are not interchangeable labels. A still picture may show contact without establishing whether the object moved, and a movement record may show a change without identifying every force involved.

NASA’s introduction to force and motion describes force as having direction and magnitude. Its Newton’s laws overview explains that changes in motion depend on the forces acting on an object. Those principles support the distinction used here; the fictional examples below are not NASA experiment results.

Use three separate prompts: “What is interacting?” “Which way is the stated force acting on the object?” and “What happened to the object’s position?” A child can answer one of these while the other two remain uncertain. That is more informative than asking for a single label before the evidence is clear.

Resource preview: Push and Pull Worksheets: Connect Contact Actions and Motion provides practice with contact diagrams, fictional motion records and comparison plans.

Be precise about whose direction you mean

“Toward me” and “away from me” depend on where the speaker is standing. For a simple hand-and-object example, describe the object and the actor first. A hand on the left side of a paper rectangle presses it toward the right. That is a push on the rectangle to the right in the diagram.

Now imagine a second diagram in which a hand is in contact with the right edge and draws the rectangle toward the hand. The rectangle can again move right, but the contact action is a pull. The same reported movement direction does not determine which action occurred.

Keep the examples drawn on paper rather than introducing a physical tugging arrangement. Label the positions clearly. If a child explains the scene from a different viewpoint, ask them to name that viewpoint before correcting the answer. Their words may be consistent with a perspective you did not intend.

You can also rotate the page. The labels “left” and “right” in the original picture need a reference direction to remain meaningful. Put a small orientation arrow at the top if you want to compare several records using the same directions.

Use force arrows and motion arrows for different purposes

A force arrow should identify the object the force acts on and the direction of that force. If arrow length represents strength, state that convention. Otherwise, a long decorative arrow does not establish a larger force merely because it was drawn longer.

A motion arrow can show a reported direction of travel, but it should not silently replace a force arrow. Label it “motion during this interval” if that is what the record supplies. If speed information is not supplied, do not infer speed from an arrow that only shows direction.

Try an invented diagram with a rightward force arrow labeled “hand force” and a leftward arrow labeled “motion before contact.” Ask whether the labels necessarily contradict each other. They do not: a rightward force can act on an object already moving left. Additional information is needed to describe how its motion changes over the interval.

For an introductory conversation, you do not need equations of motion. The useful question is whether the drawing distinguishes the action from the observation. A diagram with fewer clearly labeled arrows can explain more than a crowded picture with several meanings attached to the same symbol.

Read a simple contact record carefully

Consider this fictional record: “A hand contacted the left edge of a full paper sheet and pressed toward the right. The sheet’s marked corner was later farther right on the page diagram.” The contact description supports identifying a rightward push. The position record supports a rightward displacement between the recorded positions.

What does the record not establish? It does not give the force magnitude, the exact speed at every moment or all the other interactions. It does not prove that a stronger push would always produce a particular distance in another setting. Those are different questions requiring additional information.

Now remove the contact sentence and leave only the two positions. The child can still describe a change in position, but cannot determine whether the cause was a push or a pull from that record alone. Ask them to write the missing question rather than guess an action.

Finally, remove the second position. The contact action is still described, but the outcome is not recorded. This exercise shows how conclusions change when evidence is removed. It can be completed entirely through reading and drawing.

Do not use “it moved” as proof that only one force acted

An object can interact with more than one thing at a time. A paper sheet resting on a surface is not isolated simply because the picture shows one hand. The surface and Earth also matter to a full physical account. Introductory diagrams often simplify that account deliberately.

Tell the child which parts the diagram is intended to represent. “This picture highlights the horizontal contact from the hand” is more accurate than “this is the only force.” If a question concerns horizontal motion, make clear that leaving other interactions out of the picture is a modeling choice.

Likewise, an object that is not moving can still have forces acting on it. Do not define force as something that must produce visible movement every time. A record of no visible movement describes the observation; it does not prove the absence of interactions.

There is no need to demonstrate this through pushing harder against furniture or people. Use a written case with the stated forces and ask whether the information is sufficient. Physical effort contests add risk and do not make the reasoning more precise.

Compare trials without changing several things at once

Imagine two invented tests of a paper object. In Case A, the surface is smooth, the starting position is marked and a gentle push is described. In Case B, the surface is different, the starting position is not recorded and a longer push is described. The reported travel distances differ.

Can the difference be attributed only to push strength? No. Several relevant conditions changed or were not documented. Ask the child to circle the differences and separate them from the intended question. “Different distance” is an observation; “because of greater force” is a causal claim that needs a suitable comparison.

A clearer paper plan could specify the same object, surface, starting position and observation method, while changing one intended condition. Even then, a vague label such as “strong push” is not an exact force measurement. The explanation should retain that limitation.

Try writing the conclusion in two versions. Too broad: “Hard pushes always go farther.” More careful: “In these fictional records, the case labeled with the stronger push traveled farther, but the changed surface prevents us from isolating the reason.” The second version makes the record usable without pretending it answers more than it does.

Read positions taken at equal time intervals

For a paper-only example, list positions along a straight track at times zero, one, two and three seconds: 0, 2, 4 and 6 distance units. Each one-second interval shows a two-unit change. The record represents equal displacement over equal intervals in the stated direction.

Now compare a second invented sequence: 0, 1, 3 and 6 units at the same times. Its successive interval changes are one, two and three units. The spacing increases. This record supports saying that the average speed over those intervals increased, assuming the positions follow the same one-direction track as stated.

Do not read the final position alone as a speed. Both examples end at six units after three seconds, but their interval patterns differ. The intermediate positions matter when describing how motion changed.

Also keep the observations separate from the cause. A position sequence does not, by itself, tell you the exact force history. You can identify the recorded pattern without inventing measurements of the push, friction or other conditions.

Resource preview: Wind Powered Car STEM Challenge: Explain Forces and Motion Evidence is a paper-only evidence lab with supplied force diagrams and fictional position records. Despite its title, it is not car-building instructions and does not include fans, balloons, loose wheels or physical testing supplies.

Introduce an ideal force model only when its assumptions are stated

A later paper question might state that a model car has a horizontal rightward force of five units and a leftward force of three units, with no other horizontal forces included. The net horizontal force in that specified model is two units to the right. The subtraction compares opposing contributions, not the total number of arrows.

Keep “force units” separate from distance or speed units. A net force of two units does not mean the car travels two centimeters or has a speed of two meters per second. Those claims require additional quantities and conditions not supplied by the example.

If the model instead states equal opposing horizontal forces, their net horizontal force is zero. That does not automatically mean the object is at rest. Under the idealized conditions, an object already moving can maintain its motion; the initial motion matters. Do not turn “balanced” into a synonym for “not moving.”

This level of explanation is optional. A child working on contact descriptions does not need to move immediately to numerical force combinations. Keep the more abstract example separate so it does not overwhelm the original question.

Keep wheel-and-axle reasoning separate from a basic push label

A wheel-and-axle diagram can introduce rotation, radius and force direction. Those ideas are more specific than deciding whether a hand pushes or pulls. A force directed through an axis and a tangential force at a rim have different roles in a rotation question, so a generic arrow is not enough.

The Wheel and Axle Worksheets: Explain Turns, Distance and Ideal Force resource uses stated ideal assumptions, paper diagrams and explanatory answers. Its saved description excludes assembling axles, skewers, wheels or loads. It is not a load-rating guide or a real vehicle travel experiment.

Treat it as a later resource for a distinct question, not a required extension for every family. If the child is still separating force arrows from motion arrows, stay with that task. More equipment and more terminology do not automatically make an explanation clearer.

All three resources are English-language US Letter printable PDFs. They are not physical STEM kits, interactive apps or digitally fillable forms. Compare the actual included contents and any bundle overlap before selecting a resource.

Turn an observation into a careful explanation

A useful explanation can name four things: the object, the stated interaction, the observed change and the remaining uncertainty. For example: “The hand pushed the sheet rightward. The second recorded position is farther right. We did not measure the force, so we cannot state its magnitude.”

Ask the child to improve one sentence at a time. “It went fast” can become “The recorded positions are farther apart during equal time intervals.” “The pull made it move” can become “The record shows a pull and a position change, but it does not isolate every other condition.”

This is not a demand for technical language in every response. A child can point to the contact, draw the observed positions or dictate the uncertainty. The important distinction is between what the case states and what the reader adds.

The printable science and STEM activities collection brings together related science topics.

Common questions about pushes and pulls

Is every movement away from a person a push?

No. Movement direction alone does not identify the interaction. You need to know what acted on the object and how. A diagram can show an object moving away while the relevant force points differently, or provide too little information to identify the cause at all.

Does a force always make an object start moving?

No. Other forces and the object’s existing motion matter. An observation of no movement does not establish that no forces acted. Use the stated conditions of a model and avoid inventing unrecorded information from a single picture.

Can we use paper cases instead of practical demonstrations?

Yes. The push-and-pull resource permits printed cases to replace practical work, and the wind-car and wheel-and-axle resources are paper-only. Reading contact diagrams and checking fictional records can address the reasoning questions without assembling or testing equipment.

What does a longer arrow mean?

Only what the diagram key says it means. If the key defines length as force magnitude, compare arrows using that convention. If the arrow indicates direction alone, its length may be decorative. Ask for the missing key rather than assuming a numerical meaning.

Why are equal time intervals important in a position record?

They make successive displacement comparisons easier to interpret. A larger distance covered over a much longer interval does not automatically indicate a greater average speed. Always read both the position changes and the time intervals before describing the motion pattern.

Is the wind-powered car PDF a building project?

No. Its saved listing describes a paper evidence lab, not instructions to build a car. It uses idealized forces and fictional records, and it does not establish real vehicle performance. No fans, blowing, balloons, loose wheels or physical tests are part of that resource.

Keep the final claim the same size as the evidence

A successful discussion may end with a simple distinction: “I can tell which way it moved, but I cannot tell whether it was pushed or pulled from these positions alone.” That answer notices exactly what the record contains. From there, you can choose the next drawing or question without replacing uncertainty with a guess.