Sliding and Colliding into Physics: Examining Force and Motion with Kindergarteners

The "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) encourages educators to help kindergarteners formalize a big idea in physics: A push or pull can cause an object to begin moving, speed up, slow down, stop, or change the direction it is going (NGSS Lead States 2013). In this article, the authors share an exciting, classroom-tested interactive 45-minute 5E lesson that helps kindergarteners begin to investigate this big idea using simple materials. After the authors' literacy-based engagement, students explored, explained, and extended their learning with respect to objects that slide and collide. This article describes each of these lesson components and the authors' evaluation and concludes with tips for teaching motion and force in the kindergarten classroom.