NGSS K–1 Physical Science: Pushes, Pulls, Light and Sound
NGSS K–1 Physical Science: Pushes, Pulls, Light and Sound
Young children are already physicists. They push, pull, roll, drop, tap and shine things all day. A good K–1 physical science unit takes that and adds two habits: noticing what changed and saying why. The two units on this page each run ten lessons, and every lesson includes a test. In Kindergarten students push a ball harder and compare what happens. In Grade 1 they hold clear, cloudy and opaque materials in front of a light and sort them by what they see. In both units most of the time goes into the investigation.
See Pushes and Pulls →Resources that fit
Two science units and two reading links
Pushes and Pulls and Light and Sound are the core units. The nonfiction pack and the community unit extend the same investigative habits into reading and social studies.
Pushes and Pulls | Forces, Fair Tests & a Design Challenge | Kindergarten
Ten Kindergarten lessons on forces, fair tests on a ramp and a design-a-turn task.
Light and Sound | Vibrations, Materials, Shadows & Signals | Grade 1
Ten Grade 1 investigations from vibration to light and sound messages.
Nonfiction Text Features | Original Science Passages & Diagram Workshop | Grade 2
Grade 2 nonfiction passages, including A fair test and Night and light.
My Community: Helpers, Maps and Rules | Community Helpers, Map Skills & Rules | Grades K–2
K–2 community unit with maps from above and a field visit inquiry.
Lesson overview
The two units side by side
| Lessons | Pushes and Pulls (K) | Light and Sound (Grade 1) |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Push or pull; start moving; stop moving | Feel a gentle vibration; a ruler makes sound; sound moves a light object |
| 4 | Change direction | Seeing in a dark box |
| 5–6 | Gentle and stronger; pull comparison | Clear material; cloudy material |
| 7–8 | Ramp release; surface test | Opaque material; shadow investigation |
| 9–10 | Design a turn; improve the solution | Send a light message; send a sound message |
Pushes and Pulls sits closest to NGSS K-PS2-1 and K-PS2-2, with the design lessons touching K-2-ETS1. Light and Sound sits closest to 1-PS4-1 to 1-PS4-4. No alignment is claimed; each teacher guide includes its own mapping and assessment notes.
Kindergarten
Pushes and pulls: one simple idea, tested ten ways
The core idea is short enough for five-year-olds: a push or a pull can start something moving, stop it or change its direction. The first four lessons cover exactly those cases. From Lesson 5 the focus shifts to strength, comparing a gentle push with a stronger one and pulls with each other. With a ramp and different surfaces students run fair tests, changing only one thing while everything else stays the same. Yes, Kindergarten students can do that in a simple form. The guide sets out the NGSS boundaries, including what Kindergarten students are not expected to do, so you do not push beyond the grade. The last two lessons are a small engineering task: design a way to make a rolling object change direction, then improve it based on what happened.
Grade 1
Light and sound: from what you feel to what you send
The sound lessons start with what students can feel, a gentle vibration, then a ruler sound that shows vibration and sound go together. In Lesson 3 sound moves a light object. The light lessons begin with a dark box: students find they can only see inside when light gets in. They then test materials. Light passes through clear material, only partly through cloudy material and not at all through opaque material, and the shadow investigation builds on this. The unit ends with two design tasks where students send a message across a distance with light and then with sound. For bilingual and CLIL classes, our page on science in English for bilingual classes shows how to use it.
In practice
Running investigations with young children
- Collect simple materialsObjects to push, pull and roll, a ramp and a few surfaces; a ruler, a box, clear, cloudy and opaque materials and a light object.
- Use the same routineBoth units introduce one learning routine on the opening page and use it every lesson.
- Test before you explainLet students try first, then name what happened. Students explain with evidence from their own tests, not from a reading passage.
- Read prompts aloudThe written parts ask students to record and explain. Accept drawings and short answers.
- Keep the learning recordBoth units end with a learning record of what each student has done.
Questions teachers ask
Frequently asked questions
Do Kindergarten students really run fair tests?
Yes, in a simple form. In the ramp and surface lessons they change one thing and keep the rest the same. The guide notes where the NGSS boundaries lie.
Are these units reading-heavy?
No. Students spend most of the time testing and observing. You can read the written prompts aloud.
What materials do I need?
Everyday classroom items: objects to push and roll, a ramp, a few surfaces, a ruler, a box for the dark-box test, materials of different clarity and a light object. Check each lesson in the guide before setup.
How do I assess the units?
Each teacher guide includes notes on assessment with its NGSS section, answers for each lesson and an observation section.
Can Grade 2 use Light and Sound?
The product notes list Grade 2 review as a use. Pre-K and Grade 1 classes looking for simple forces lessons can use Pushes and Pulls.
Which files are included?
Classroom material and teacher guide PDFs, an editable DOCX text version and an editable PowerPoint for each unit.
Test it, then say what happened
Two ten-lesson physical science units for Kindergarten and Grade 1.
Browse the science collection →