Pushes and Pulls

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Away is a push, toward is a pull

A box sitting still. Nothing is touching it, so nothing happens.

Two things people get wrong

People often think…

A ball rolling on the floor stops by itself.

People often think…

You can only push or pull something you are touching.

Push or pull — which one

Watch one

A kid moves a wagon. Push or pull?

Find the kid, and find the wagon.
Ask: is the wagon going away from the kid, or toward the kid?
The handle is behind the wagon and the wagon follows. It comes toward the kid.
Toward means pull. ✓

One sentence, then you move on

How do you know a ball does not stop by itself?

Your sentence

Where this goes

Where this lives

Doors, swings, wagons, shopping carts. Every one of them moves because somebody pushed it or pulled it.

What this feeds

Next unit is the sun, the moon and the sky — things that move on their own schedule.

Name one push and one pull you did today.

Your answer

Next: Sun, Moon and Sky →

Helpful Hints

🪜 Push, pull, go — the ladder

A push goes away, a pull comes toward → a push or pull makes a thing start, stop or turn → a big push goes far, a small push goes a little → ramps, wind and magnets push and pull too → find the push in everything that moves.

Away, toward, start, stop, turn, big, small.

🤝 The whole idea

Nothing moves by itself. When you see something move, something pushed it or pulled it — a hand, the wind, a ramp, a magnet, a bump.

Find the push.

⚠️ Tricky ones

Opening a door is a PULL from one side and a PUSH from the other.
A bump is a push. A magnet is a pull. Wind is a push.
A ball doesn’t stop by itself — the floor or your hand pushes it to a stop.
Higher ramp = faster ball. Lower ramp = slower ball.
Change only ONE thing when you test.

👉 Push or pull? — the chart

You…	It goes	Push or pull?
kick a ball	away	push
drag a wagon	toward	pull
close a drawer	away	push
open a drawer	toward	pull
hold a magnet near a clip	the clip comes toward	pull

Away = push. Toward = pull.

🎯 How the test will ask

A picture of a kid and a wagon — “push or pull?” (which way is it going?).
Two ramps, one taller — “which ball goes faster?” (the tall one).
A ball rolling toward a block — “what happens?” (the ball pushes the block, the block moves).
“How can you make it go farther?” (a bigger push or a higher ramp).

✅ Can you…

Show a push and a pull with your hands?
Say what makes a ball start, stop and turn?
Tell which push makes a car go farther?
Name a push you can’t see?
Build a ramp and make a ball roll farther?

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Supported: 0 of 0
Hints used: 0
Cards studied: 0
Lab: —
Traps met: 0
Explained in own words: 0
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