Explore push and pull forces in your science classroom with printable worksheets, science experiment guides and more teaching resources created by teachers for teachers and their lesson planning needs! This science resource collection is NGSS curriculum-aligned, and each resource has been carefully reviewed and chosen by an expert teacher on our teaching team to ensure it's ready for your classroom and lesson plans! That's our way of saving you time on planning so you can spend more time making "aha" moments happen in the classroom!

New to teaching this section of elementary science or just looking for fresh ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!

What Are Push and Pull Forces? A Kid-Friendly Definition

If your students have ever pushed or pulled on a door to open it, they have experienced push and pull forces but might not have known it! So how do you explain the meaning of this science concept to your class? Let's start with a kid-friendly definition! Push and pull refer to two basic forces that can affect the motion of objects.

Push

The force that causes an object to move away from the person applying the force is called push.

Pull

The force that causes an object to move toward the person applying the force is called pull. Understanding what it means to push and pull helps us understand how things move in the world all around us!

Forces That Push and Pull — Examples for the Classroom

Need more examples of forces that push and pull to help your students better understand this concept? Here are some real-world examples of forces that push objects that may resonate with your students:

When you push your friend on the swing, your hands push against the seat to make it move forward and higher.
You might use your hands to push a heavy box across the floor, providing force with your hands in order to move the box without having to pick it up.
If you are playing soccer with your friends and you kick the ball, your foot is using force to push the ball away from you.

an illustration of a woman showing the push force beside text that reads A pushing force moves an object away.

Here are some real-world examples of forces that pull objects that kids may recognze:

If you have a wagon behind you, you may pull on the handle to make the wagon move along with you as you walk.
When you pull on the string of a kite, you are using force to bring the kite closer to you.
If you use a magnet to attract a metal object, the magnet pulls the object towards it.

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Which Force Is That? Worksheet

Push and Pull Sorting Worksheet