Grade 1 Science Unit Test: Push and Pull (16 Marks)

Question Types & Suggested Use

Exit tickets in each lesson. Observation during sorting and investigations. Worksheet Parts A–E with the answer key. Quick Quiz (6 marks) after lesson 2. Unit Test (16 marks) at the end (picture-based). Performance task (rubric): "Playground Forces" — show and say 4 pushes and pulls.

Skills Assessed

• Explain that a push moves something away and a pull moves it closer.
• Sort everyday actions into pushes and pulls.
• Show that forces can make things start, stop, speed up, slow down and change direction.
• Show that a force can change the shape of soft things (squash, stretch, twist).
• Find out that a bigger push makes a toy go farther, and that heavy things need a bigger force.

How to Administer

• Give at the end of the unit (or as a pre-test before teaching).
• Allow about 25 minutes (teacher reads each question). Students work alone.
• Mark with the answer key; use the score guide to decide who needs re-teaching or a challenge.

Differentiation

Support: Use actions and real objects for every word. Challenge: Find something that needs both a push and a pull (a swing, a zipper). English language learners: Teach push/pull with whole-body actions every lesson.

Follow-Up Activities

• Push and Pull Moves (5 minutes, Whole class): Call an action: "Open a door!", "Pull a rope!", "Kick a ball!" Children act it out.
• Car Ramp Race (15 minutes, Groups of 4): Let a car roll down the ramp onto a smooth floor; mark where it stops. Now put the carpet square at the bottom; mark again.
• Sorting Relay (10 minutes, Two teams): A child takes a card. They run and put it in the PUSH or PULL hoop.

Teacher Tips

Lots of movement: children learn forces with their bodies. Use the same two hand signs (palm out = push, fist pulling back = pull) all unit.

What's Included

• 16-mark unit test (PDF + editable DOCX)
• Part A: Push or Pull? (8 marks)
• Part B: What Did the Force Do? (4 marks)
• Part C: Think (4 marks)
• Answer key with marking notes and a score guide (PDF)

Additional Files

• Grade 1 Science Unit Test: Push and Pull (16 Marks) (DOCX)
• Answer Key (PDF)

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