Virginia SOL K.2.c

ScienceKindergartenForce, Motion, and Energy

The Standard

changes in motion are related to the strength of the push or pull.

Virginia Standards of Learning for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students compare gentle and strong pushes or pulls on an object. They observe whether the object starts moving, moves faster, or travels farther.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can test the same object on the same surface using different force strengths. The student can describe and predict how each force affects movement.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think a heavier object always moves farther or that the surface does not matter. They may also confuse force strength with the direction of movement.
How to Assess It: Have students give a toy car one gentle push and one strong push from the same line. Ask them to mark which travels farther and explain why.

Lesson moves

Push the same toy car gently and strongly from a tape line, then mark and compare its stopping points.
Ask students to draw a gentle push and a strong push, then explain how each changes a ball's movement.
Play a tabletop target game where students use gentle, medium, and strong pushes to move a bottle cap into marked zones.
Observe a playground swing and discuss how gentle and strong pushes affect its speed and height.

Keep exploring

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