A Matching Game of Push and Pull Examples

One of the best ways of making science concepts stick for younger learners is to provide concrete examples of the topic being taught. Are you ready to make learning about push and pull forces a breeze for your students? Our matching card game has been designed by our expert teacher team to enhance your students’ understanding of these fundamental physics concepts.

This matching game of push and pull examples contains 18 picture cards and 18 sentence cards. Students are required to make matches by finding a picture and a sentence that belong together. Some of the push and pull examples included in the resource are:

• She is pushing the curtains open.
• He is pulling up his friend.
• She is pulling her shoes on.
• He is pushing the bell to make it ring.
• The dogs are pulling on the leash.

This resource downloads as a full-color PDF or editable Google Slides file. It is recommended that you print the resource on cardstock as this will enhance the durability of the resource. The download also includes instructions and answers. 

Place the cards into a large envelope or ziplock bag and hey, presto! You have a fully prepared, hands-on science activity for your next lesson on push and pull forces!

Multiple Uses for These Examples of Push and Pull

There are many engaging ways these push and pull example cards can be used in your forces and motion science lessons. Here are a few suggestions you might like to try:

1. Introduction to the Topic – Begin your push and pull forces unit with a simple matching card game. Allow students to explore the example cards and attempt to make matches. This serves as a fun pre-assessment, providing teachers with valuable insights into how much students already know about the topic.
2. Interactive Bulletin Board – Use the push and pull example matching cards to create an interactive bulletin board display. Place the picture cards on one side of the board and the sentence cards on the other. Students can take turns using string and push pins to make matches.
3. Peer Review – Have students exchange their matched cards with a partner or another group. The reviewing group can evaluate the accuracy of the matches made by their peers, promoting critical thinking and discussion.

By incorporating these ideas, you can make the learning experience around push and pull forces more interactive, engaging and effective for your students. Matching cards add an element of fun and variety to your teaching methods.

Download and Print These Pushing and Pulling Examples

Use the download button above to access the easy-print PDF of the editable Google Slides version of this push and pull matching game. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template on your personal drive before accessing it.)

As this resource contains an answer sheet, you may wish to print one copy only, then remove the answer sheet before making further copies.

This resource was created by Lisamarie Del Valle, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Examples of Push and Pull Are a Click Away!

Are you looking for more push and pull examples to complement your science planning? Click below for a great sample of teacher-made resources!

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Push or Pull? Interactive Sorting Activity

Explore push and pull forces with your students by playing this interactive sorting game for lower elementary students.

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Use this engaging friction experiment when teaching your students about sliding friction and the effect it has on the movement of objects.