Digestive System

I taped a map of the heart and the digestive system to the floor. The kids could walk through the process for both. With the digestive system we put together a "ball" of food and at each new stage, what student standing at that location had to describe what they were doing to the food and then do it.

To determine the amount of time for something to pass through the digestive system:

1. Tell the students not to eat corn for several days.

2. Feed them about 1/2 cup of corn in class. Record the time and date.

3. Tell them to watch for the corn to "reappear" and to record the time and date.

4. Calculate the period of time for each individual and also a class average.

Hope you have fun with this.

John

Here's an activity I've used with 4-6 grade.

Teacher Demonstration (Messy but memorable):
Take some panty hose and cut off one leg, leaving an opening at each end.
Cook some instant oatmeal. I usually cook 3 - 4 cups. Set aside until demonstration. Lay newspaper and/or plastic on a table(I use the floor and have the kids sitting around).

Pack the oatmeat into one end and with the students watching, squeeze the oatmeal from one end to the other end. The porous hose will allow nutrients (LOL) to escape and by the time you've worked the oatmeal out the other end....it's just a small amount.

Sound effects (not in lesson plan): The students watch anxiously as you do the demonstration, laughing, oohing, aahing, until that "final moment" when it passes all the way through. Be prepared for the "Plop!" remark.

It's so much fun and the kids always remember it. The lesson plan calls for leaving the seat (for lack of a better term) part of the hose and work the oatmeal from one leg to the other to demonstrate the esophagus, stomach, intestines...But something about that "seat" part embarrasses me so I've never gone that far.

Give each child a zip loc bag and a couple of crackers or piece of bread. The bag is like the stomach - a muscle that squeezes the food. First have them pour a little orange juice or coke into the bag to act as the "digestive juices." Observe what begins to happen to the bread. Then have them squeeze the bag for two minutes. Note changes in the bread. I.e. it turns to liquid and is ready to be absorbed into the small intestine and into the blood stream. Of course it ends up being really gross, which the kids love. Just make sure the bags are really zipped.

Let them design the intestines out of play dough the way you would roll a snake.

Show the Magic School Bus video - The Magic School Bus For Lunch. This video describes what happens in the human digestive system.

After learning about how the digestive system works, have your students pretend that they are a piece of food (their choice) and write a story their journey through the digestive system.
Then they can illustrate the story and display them on the bulletin board.

Have students use pictures in their textbook or other sources to make their own drawing of the digestive system. They should label the important parts of the digestive system and color each part a different color. This is great for your visual learners.