STAGING
What's the biggest excavator?

What's the biggest excavator?
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What`do`you`think:
how`long`would`it
take`to`dig`a`hole
for`a`pool?

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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration you just completed.
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# Read-aloud books

These picture books are all about pushes, pulls, and other work words.

Construction by Sally Sutton. With rhythmic text, basic vocabulary, and bright pictures, this book is great to read aloud. Can your students find the work words?

And Everyone Shouted, “Pull!” A First Look at Forces and Motion by Claire Llewellyn. A farmer and his animals figure out how pushes and pulls will help them get their goods to market.

Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborough: Duck’s truck gets stuck in some muck. Can he get unstuck with the help of a frog, a sheep in a jeep, and a goat in a boat?

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# Videos

These excavators are just amazing to watch.

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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

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

Extend this lesson

Reading

Drawing Prompt

Videos

Transcripts

Download this Lesson to your device so you can play it offline: