My name is Ryan Regan and I am excited to share with you what our Wellness Team designed for Force In Action stations for our K-2 students. We were approached by our Kindergarten team asking us to help them with their Science Unit on Force in action. We thought it would be a great connection to help support key vocabulary words and some fun activities too!
Grade Level: K-2; as with any activity, variations can be made to suit other grade levels
Skills: Teamwork & communication skills, pushing and pulling
Equipment:
- Station 1: Wall Push
- 1 scooter per student, 1 poly spot
- Station 2: Partner Pull
- 1 scooter, poly spot & long jump rope per group
- Station 3: Scooter Push
- 3 scooters, 3 milk crates, various weights (we used dumbbells), 3 poly spots
- Station 4: Partner Pull Around Cones
Set-up:
For this activity we divided our space into 4 station areas. We decided to have 2 pulling and 2 pushing stations to give students plenty of practice and also plenty of space to practice those skills. We started each class with the introduction of the vocabulary words/concepts and a demonstration of each station. We then divided the class into 4 groups and gave each station about 4-5 minutes for valuable practice repetitions.
Video:
Our Ks had so much fun with our force and action stations today. Who doesn't like pushing and pulling a scooter, right?! #physed #crosscurricular #lb65 #kindergartenfun pic.twitter.com/1wWRBKKUkQ
— Ryan Regan (@MrRLBES) December 5, 2019
Guiding Questions for Introduction and Closing of Each Class
What is a force? (A push or a pull)
How do forces change the motion of an object?
How can you change the speed of an object?
How can you change the direction of an object?
Station 1: Wall Push – Students would sit on their scooter with the poly spot either in their lap or sitting on it. They then would push off the wall with both feet and mark their distance with the poly spot. They would repeat trying to push farther.
Station 2: Partner Pull – 1 student is standing on a poly spot holding the long jump rope. The 2nd student is sitting criss-cross on a scooter holding the other end of the long jump rope. Student 1 pulls 2nd student all the way to them. Switch positions.
Station 3: Scooter Push – Students try to push scooters with various weights in a milk crate and try to have them stop at a poly spot. Choose another scooter.
Station 4: Partner Pull Around Cones – Pull your partner on a scooter, using a jump rope, around each cone in the line. Use enough force so that your partner does not touch a cone and stays on the scooter. After one lap, switch jobs with your partner.
Student Reaction
The students really enjoyed these stations! They loved pushing and pulling their friends and trying the different scooter challenges. These stations made it very easy for them to practice the concepts of force, like a bigger push or pull makes things go faster.
About the Author
Ryan Regan is in his 21st year of teaching K-5 Wellness at Lake Bluff Elementary School in Lake Bluff, IL. He graduated from Northern Illinois University with his Bachelor and Master degrees. Ryan loves to learn new creative ways to present engaging lessons to his students. He gets many of these ideas from other PE teachers on Twitter, chat groups, websites, and YouTube channels. Twitter: @MrRLBES
