Virginia SOL K.2

ScienceKindergartenForce, Motion, and Energy

SOL Standard (Key Ideas Cluster)

The student will investigate and understand that pushes and pulls affect the motion of objects. Key ideas include

Virginia Standards of Learning for Science

Cluster contents

K.2 is a Standards of Learning science standard. These are the key ideas and practices under it.

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students use their hands or a string to make an object start moving and send it in a new direction. They compare gentle and stronger actions, then describe how the object moves differently.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can push a toy car away, pull it closer with a string, and redirect it toward a target. Using the same car and surface, the student can show that a stronger push sends the car farther.
Common Misconceptions: Children may call every action a push, even when they use a string to bring an object closer. They may think an action can only start motion, not change direction. They may compare different objects or surfaces without noticing that more than the strength changed.
How to Assess It: Give each student a toy car with a string attached. Ask the student to make it move, change its direction, and show the difference between a gentle and strong action.

Lesson moves

Attach yarn to toy cars, then have students push them away, pull them back, and compare gentle and strong actions on a taped path.
Roll a ball toward a wall, then have students draw what changed its direction and dictate one sentence explaining why.
Play Motion Target by pushing foam balls toward taped targets and adjusting direction and strength after each try.
Test a classroom door, chair, and drawer, then name when people push or pull each object during daily routines.

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