Forces and Direction

Start with something students can look at or think about: a photo, a short video, a jar on the windowsill, or a question like "what do you already know about forces and direction?" Then let them work through the worksheet on their own or with a partner, keeping a word bank or anchor chart in view so the vocabulary stays available. When you review, ask students how they knew, and let them point to the part of the diagram or reading that told them. These forces and direction worksheets work well as a lead in before an investigation, as a way to capture what students noticed afterward, or as review before an assessment.

These forces and direction worksheets for 1st grade give students a clear, visual way to work through one of the big ideas in forces and machines. Students label diagrams, sort and classify examples, read short explanations, and answer questions that ask them to say why, not just what. Each page keeps the science vocabulary front and center so students leave with the words they need to talk about forces and direction accurately. Working through forces and direction on paper gives 1st grade students something concrete to hold onto before, during, or after the hands on part of a lesson.

This worksheet is designed for 1st Grade students (Ages 6-7), aligned to NGSS standard K-PS2-1. That standard sits in the kindergarten band, so treat this worksheet as an early introduction rather than standards practice for this grade. Pushes and pulls are a Kindergarten standard (K-PS2-1); this Grade 1 worksheet revisits it. It can also be used as review for early students at the next grade level or as an introduction for advanced students.

Yes. This worksheet works for homeschool, classroom, and tutoring settings. Print individual pages for targeted practice, or print the full set as a packet. Works great as a morning warm-up, independent center activity, or fast-finisher task.

First graders learn that a force always acts in a specific direction and that the direction of a force determines the direction of movement. They explore how pushing or pulling an object from different angles changes where it goes, building intuitive understanding of physics concepts like trajectory.

Forces and direction are typically taught in Grade 1 as part of a physical science unit on forces and motion, building on earlier lessons about push and pull. Teachers use balls, toy cars, and simple ramps to give students kinesthetic experience before introducing the worksheet-based activities.

Set up a simple experiment where your child pushes a toy car from different angles and observes where it rolls. Ask them to predict the direction before each push and compare their prediction to the result. Then complete the worksheet to connect their physical experience to the scientific vocabulary.