Students investigate how push and pull forces make playground equipment move and how playground design can help more children play safely and successfully together. After a playground tour launch, they gather observations, measure movement, test force and direction, and use weekly reflection and feedback to improve their ideas. Working in teams, students create a model of one playground element that solves a real play need and show their learning at a final design expo. Formative assessments and the final product help track how students build science understanding, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving around the question, How do push and pull forces help people use playground equipment?

Students will investigate how stronger and weaker pushes and pulls change the speed or direction of playground objects, using simple measuring tools and observations during a playground tour and later testing. They will ask questions about how playground equipment can be safer and more inclusive, then sketch, build, and improve a model of one playground element based on weekly feedback. Students will work with partners to share ideas, listen closely, and explain their thinking through weekly reflection, formative check-ins, and a final design expo. They will use the question “How do push and pull forces help people use playground equipment?” to guide their decisions and evaluate whether their final product works as intended.

Students will create observation sketches, class charts, simple force-testing records, and weekly reflection pages after the playground tour and throughout each investigation. In teams, they will develop and revise a simple sketch and then a physical model of one playground element that shows how pushes and pulls change motion and how the design can be more inclusive. Formative assessment artifacts will include teacher conference notes, peer feedback from weekly critique sessions, and student explanations of measurements and test results. The final product will be the revised model and a child-friendly display for the final design expo that answers, “How do push and pull forces help people use playground equipment?”

Begin with a guided playground tour where students test swings, slides, ramps, and spinners by noticing where they push, pull, and measure movement with simple tools like tape lines, counting, or stopwatches. Invite them to look for equipment that is easy or hard for different children to use, then record observations with drawings, photos, and class charts. Back in the classroom, introduce the question, “How do push and pull forces help people use playground equipment?” and sort student wonderings into investigation and design ideas. End the launch with partners choosing one playground element they may later improve through a model, setting up the final design expo and ongoing weekly reflection and feedback routines.

Students will share their playground element models at a final design expo for families, classmates, and school staff, using simple demonstrations to show how pushes and pulls change motion and how their design supports inclusive play. Each team will display a sketch, measurement notes, testing photos, and one revision they made after weekly feedback so visitors can see their learning process. Students will practice short oral explanations connected to the question, “How do push and pull forces help people use playground equipment?” and visitors can respond with encouraging comments or questions.