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What's the biggest excavator?
Force Olympics Unit | Lesson 1 of 6
Back > Share

What's the biggest excavator?

Force Olympics Unit | Lesson 1 of 6
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
Scroll for prep
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What`machines`help
people`in`your`home
or`school?
Suggestion: Act out what that machine does, and say the WORK WORDS it uses.

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What`do`you`think:
how`long`would`it
take`to`dig`a`hole
for`a`pool?

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Slide Image

push


1 of 4

to move an object away from you
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pull


2 of 4

to move an object toward you
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machine


3 of 4

a tool that uses pushes and pulls to do something
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Slide Image

invent


4 of 4

to create something new, often an object or a way of doing something
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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
school kid drawing by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: wavebreakmedia
doodle by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Nikolaeva
thought bubble by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Wenpei
futuristic home by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Esteban de Armas
chopping vegetables by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Nikodash
the world's first robotic kitchen by Moley Robotics
laundry pile by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: S.dungjaroen
messy room by Matt Grommes , used under CC BY-SA
1800s children by Lewis Hines , used under Public Domain
chocolate by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Picsfive
kids shoes by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Michael Dechev
small house by Andrew Ballet , used under CC BY-SA
grinding cacao by David Benjamin
washing clothes by hand by Alexa Weber Morales
hand saw by Work with Sounds , used under CC BY
washing machine by lexmarks567
kitchen by Riverview Homes, Inc. , used under CC BY-SA
toaster by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: trekandshoot
woman loading dishwasher by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Andrey_Popov
hand gesture by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: photka
washing machine closeup by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Serghei Starus
woman unloading dishwasher by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Andrey_Popov
inside of a dishwasher by Bito
hand mixer by Work with Sounds , used under CC BY
whipping cream by hand by CB99Videos
drilling through wood by Justin Depew
hand drill by Jason Stamper
swimming pool by ThomasLENNE
large hole in backyard by Triton Pools
Activity
kid digging a hole by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Catalin Petolea
shovel by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: markara
excavator by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Kokliang
hole in the ground by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Mr.adisorn khiaopo
shovel by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Zhukov Oleg
construction worker digging by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Aleksej Artiuch
kids standing by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Sergey Novikov
young boy standing by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Hogan Imaging
hand gesture by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: photka
Credits

Featured Reviews

“Students were engaged the whole time, and using movement with work words to build vocabulary development was awesome! The real world application of digging a pool (something all kids are interested in) was a great idea. Plus the questions were appropriate for 5 and 6 year olds. They were so engaged on talking with a partner, very inquiry based. The machine pictures were so interesting, especially the world's largest excavator. They were completely enthralled! Putting a man in front was great to show the how large it actually is. ”
· Angela · Teacher
“We loved acting like excavators! The lesson was very engaging, even for my kiddos who have a hard time focusing on learning.:)”
· Shannon · Teacher
“I loved how engaging it was for the students! They really got their whole bodies into the actions and they weren't just sitting on the rug watching a video!”
· Kristina · Teacher
“A complete science lesson without much prep or thought on my end. And my kids loved it and were fully engaged!”
· Rekha · Teacher
“Great 1st or 2nd lesson day activity. Got kids thinking about forces and motion but also OUT OF THEIR SEATS! YAY! Bonus is that their are no materials or set-up in this lesson, just "plug and play." Thanks!”
· David · Teacher
“Print is readable for Kindergarten. Love the movement incorporated in-- very easy to understand! Kids loved it!!! Easy prep for the teacher. Great job!”
· Andrea · Teacher
“They liked the get-up activities. I liked that there wasn't any preparation on my part!”
· Holly · Homeschooler
“Loved the visuals, turn and talk opportunities & the movement opportunities for kids!”
· Kara · Teacher
“The kindergarteners love learning while moving and acting. Their discussion included many comparisons!”
· Lisa · Teacher
“Pretending to dig like the machine and pausing to discuss their estimation of how much dirt they had dug as a shovel vs. the excavator before revealing the picture of the hole. My students were so engaged!”
· Mollie · Teacher
“watching the videos you showed & the online video links & my kids loved learning, dancing, drawing. it was a great morning learning activity to all learn together for all ages including for mom & dad! Thank you! I'm very excited about this website & what you are offering!”
· Suraya · Homeschooler
“Watching my five year old impersonating various machines and really *understanding* which forces were in play.”
· Amelia · Homeschooler
“The hands on comparison between the kids digging the hole and the machines doing the work!”
· Sara · Teacher
“The kids really got the understanding of how work happens and that different machines may do the same work, but the amount is different”
· Lisa-Beth · Teacher
“Seeing kids moving and beginning to understand that "work" is really just pushing and pulling!”
· Lynn · Teacher
“The kids loved the extra videos you included, especially the Excavator Song. They also had a lot of fun doing the movements of the shovel and excavator, great choice in getting kindergartners up and moving. They were very engaged!”
· Bethany · Teacher
“AWESOME! Students loved it, and it was engaging, easy, and an excellent way to teach vocabulary!”
· Kyle · Teacher
“It was great for the children to get up and move about to act out the movements made while digging with a shovel or how the excavator mimics these movements.”
· · Teacher
“We are really enjoying all of the lessons so far. It has been the enjoyable part of homeschool, so far.”
· Laura · Homeschooler
“Loved the kinesthetic movement incorporated into the younger student lesson! Very developmentally appropriate!”
· Misty · Teacher
“Kids had fun with the activity, which reinforced the lesson in a really enjoyable way. I can hear my son in the garden now still being an excavator!”
· Tami · Other
“The students loved acting out the steps - pacing was just perfect for them to follow along with repetition.”
· Virginia · Teacher
“It was fantastic we did the reading works exercises as well. My kids were really impressed, they particularly loved the push and pull exercises. Thank you!”
· Saadiqa · Homeschooler
“The best part was the activity of kids going through the motions of digging machines...helped some realize the motions (pushing,pulling, moving, dumping) that machines do for us. Looking forward to the Force Olympics......”
· Barb · Teacher
“Doing the activity was the most fun and relevant for my K-1 ELL students. To make it more real, I had them pick up paper plates and move them as if they were an excavator and then I had them build one with connecting blocks that required pushing and pulling. The first graders also wrote as many work words they could remember. ”
· Lucy · Teacher
“We loved the music video in the extras :-) Bringing the concept down to the kids by using a putting a pool in and how long it would take using a shovel vs. an excavator was excellent. I also appreciated the questions written in a way that is familiar with K - 1 kiddos - the highlighted words were a good tool to have the kiddos read aloud and concentrate on one word at a time.”
· Malinda · Homeschooler
“My students stayed attentive the whole time and was asking to see and hear it all again!”
· Stacie · Teacher
“The total body response to being a shovel and excavating so we can learn the work words. ”
· Wei · Teacher
“My students were engaged the whole time. We did the writing extension and the online read aloud. They loved the dance along excavator song as a closing. Perfect well rounded lesson for kindergarten!”
· Gillian · Teacher
“My kids loved the physical activities!”
· Brittany · Homeschooler
“My kids loved this science lesson. They especially loved the acting part (pretending that they were digging with a shovel and then with an excavator.) They also really loved the Excavator Song. We must have listed to the song 20 times. ”
· Ashley · Homeschooler
“The fact that they have to stand up and move like the excavator. Homeschool can be very static at times and moving away from the study table makes such a difference!”
· · Homeschooler
“No prep made me happy and the standing up and moving around kept my young kids engaged.”
· Andrea · Homeschooler
“Kids really enjoyed it and it was a great opening to the school year.”
· · Teacher
“This lesson was very clever and kept the attention of my kinder students. It was an excellent mix of passive and active learning activities. They especially enjoyed pretending to dig the swimming pool. Keep the K-1 lessons coming! ”
· Rachel · Homeschooler
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Grade K

Pushes & Pulls

Pushes & Pulls

K-PS2-1

Activity Prep

Print Prep
In this lesson, students discover that there are pushes and pulls involved in any kind of work, including the work done by machines. In the activity, Be a Digging Machine, students pretend to use shovels and excavators to dig a hole for a swimming pool.
Preview activity
Prep Instructions

This activity does not require supplies.

Make sure students have enough space to move around as they dig like a digging machine. No other preparation needed.

Exploration

15 mins

Hands-On Activity

15 mins

Grade K

Pushes & Pulls

Pushes & Pulls

K-PS2-1

Slow internet or video problems?
Credits
 
Pushes Lesson 1: What's the biggest excavator?

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