Push And Pull Sorting Activity for Third Grade Science Force and Motion

Teach students about Force and Motion with a SORT about Push and Pull Forces aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards for Third Grade. This NGSS science station has students sort push-and-pull examples into two categories. Students also answer questions about push and pull forces in their science journals or with the worksheets provided in the Force and Motion Sort.

What is Included in the Push Versus Pull Sort Station

Included in the Sort about Force and Motion is:

• an Informational text that gives a short description of force and motion, as well as the differences between push and pull movements.
• Differentiated questions in short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple-choice formats. Worksheet and task cards are included for some options.
• Larger table-group color sort
• Smaller cut and paste sort for individual students
• Answer key

Informational Article about PUsh or Pull Forces

The Force and Motion Sort includes an informational article about the different push and pull movements. The text uses a familiar tug-of-war game to describe how force changes between a push and a pull motion.

Also included are differentiated responses. What you see below is the short answer page. There are also fill-in-the-blank and short answer questions. Use the differentiated questions to scaffold learning for your students. Give students who need extra support a fill-in-the-blank page, and give students who need more of a challenge the short answer form.

The Force and Motion sort comes in two formats: a larger color version and a black-and-white version.

Force and Motion Sort for Table Groups – Push and Pull Examples

There are two ways to do this sort. One way is in table groups where students collaboratively look at the picture and determine the type of motion it depicts, push or pull force. This sort has an image of push or pull movement on each card. Images are kid-friendly clipart that clearly shows a specific type of motion.

Here are examples of several of the images on cut and paste sort above:

• One child pushing another child on a swing.
• A horse pulling a carriage.

Students analyze the picture and then sort the card into the correct category (push or pull).

Some forces, like a boy throwing a baseball or a girl stretching a rubber band, may be less apparent. These types of cards are great prompts for discussions. Have students sort the cards. Then, have a conversation about the more difficult ones to figure out.

Cut and Paste Option that can be completed individually

The second way to sort is a cut-and-paste option. Students can do both options: sort color pictures as a whole group and then do the cut-and-paste worksheet individually. Or you can choose to have students do only one option.

The cut-and-paste option is in black-and-white and in worksheet format. Students look at each image and then sort it into push or pull movements. This is also an excellent page to send home.

How to Purchase the Force and Motion Push Versus Pull Science Station

This Force and Motion: Push Versus Pull Sort Science Station can be purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers. It is sold individually and as part of a whole Force and Motion: Push Versus Pull set of stations. Also available is a Third Grade NGSS Science Station BUNDLE.

Also available is a 5E Unit all about Force and Motion. This 5E unit goes in-depth on Force and Motion, including Patterns in Motion, using the 5E process.