Group Activities
The following activities are to be completed in your group of 3-4 students. A lot of them are very hands-on: prepare to get messy! It is fun to do hands-on activities in groups because it allows us to work together and discuss the results. Some of the activities that are not hands-on involve lots of work. Be sure to split up the work evenly between group members.
These four activities are required. Please complete the following:
1) Your Amazing Mouth
Have a representative from your group come up to the front of the classroom and get one Saltine cracker per group member. Take a small bite of the cracker, holding it in your mouth without chewing or swallowing. After two minutes, discuss the following questions with your group members, and write your answers down in your science journal.
After you have answered all of these questions, read the following as a group:
The sweet taste means an enzyme in their saliva had started to break down the starch to sugar. This is one of the first steps in digestion!
2) Small Intestine Simulation
Send a representative up to the front of the room to get a tube of cut panty hose, a cup of cooked instant oatmeal, and some newspaper. Lay the newspaper on your table, you’re going to get messy!
The oatmeal is going to be food that is being digested. Pack the oatmeal into one end of the pantyhose, which will act as your small intestine. Take turns squeezing the oatmeal from one end to the other end. The hose is porous (it has tiny holes) that let the oatmeal escape. Just like the hose, your small intestine is also porous. The water that comes out of the oatmeal is the nutrients that are being distributed to the rest of your body.
When your oatmeal reaches the end of the pantyhose, there is just a small amount left. Why do you think that is? What does this represent? Discuss this as a group.
3) Mapping the Digestive System
Click HERE and begin by reading the descriptions of different parts of the digestive system on page 1. Then follow the directions on pages 2 and 3. All materials you will need are located in bags in the front of the room. You are going to be making a model of the digestive system using household items. As you use a new item, discuss as a group why this item is being used. Does it look like the organ it represents? Do you think it behaves in the same way?
You will present your final “map” to the class when you are done.
4) Organ Glogster
Your group will be assigned an individual organ. It is your job to make an informational Glogster all about that organ. Visit Glogster.com to set up an account. Your Glogster must have the following information:
There are seven activities listed below. Please complete four of the following:
Stomach Model
Have a representative from your group come up to the front of the classroom to get Ziplock bags, lemon juice, and Saltine crackers. Follow the procedure HERE to complete the simulation. Record your observations in your science journal.
Procedure:
1. Pour some lemon juice into the plastic bag. The juice will be the "strong
liquid" that breaks down the food. It is an acid that works like the acids we
have in our real stomachs. You'll need enough to cover the cracker. About a
half cup should do it.
2. Break the cracker into a few pieces. This is sort of like chewing it.
3. Put the cracker into the bag and zip it up, while pushing out excess air.
4. Now shake the cracker in the lemon juice. You can use your hands to
squeeze it, too. This is like the action of the muscles that cause our stomachs
to squeeze food during digestion.
5. Describe what's happening to the cracker as your "stomach" digests it.
Peristalsis I
Have you ever laughed so hard that you had milk come out of you nose? Have you ever swallowed something quickly and then had to cough it up because "it went down the wrong pipe?" This usually doesn't happen because under normal circumstances after you swallow your food, your epiglottis closes up over your windpipe/trachea that leads down to your lungs and your soft palate lifts up to block the way to your nose. Your tongue pushes your food back to your pharynx and then down your esophagus.
How does food travel down through your esophagus? It's not gravity. Go to the drinking fountain and get a mouthful of water. When you return to your seat, bend down and touch your toes, and swallow the water. Why do you think you can still swallow the water when you are upside down? Discuss as a group, and write down your thoughts in your science journal.
Peristalsis II
You can still swallow when you're upside-down! Food travels through your digestive system by peristalsis, which is wave-like muscle contractions. Have one representative from your group come to the front of the room to get pantyhose and some balls.
Put the balls in the pantyhose and see what happens if you hold it up. Can the balls move through without your help? Now push them through together using your hands. You are simulating peristalsis! The waves that the balls are making are similar to the muscle contractions in your throat when you swallowed the water upside down. Record your observations in your science journal.
Small Intestine Length
In the small intestine, the food is completely digested and passes through the villi in its walls into the blood stream where it is carried to all the cells in your body. Your small intestine is 18-23 feet long. Send a representative up to the front of the room to get a piece of string, scissors, and a ruler. Cut a piece of string that is about 20 feet long. Have two people hold each end and see how far it stretches.
How can something that long fit inside your body? Grab a piece of paper and a glue stick and try to glue the string down in a single layer.
Investigate Your KidneysYour kidneys filter impurities out of your blood and help pass them out of the body as urine. This activity will help us investigate how that happens. Click HERE and print out the handout on page 19. All materials you will need are at the front of the room.
1. Put some sand in a glass of water and mix it up. Put a coffee filter over a jar. Pour the water through the filter into the glass. Describe what happens to the sand.
2. Look at the water in the glass now. What has happened to it? In much the same way, the kidneys clean impurities from the blood.
Once the kidneys have filtered the blood, the waste is passed out of the body through the excretory system.
Jeopardy
Split up your group into two teams and all gather comfortable around one computer. Click HERE and play Jeopardy. Let the teacher know which team wins, and the members will get one point of extra credit.
DIGESTION SONG
As a group, prepare a presentation of the following song. Be sure to incorporate a tune and some sweet dance moves. Present your song to at least two other groups and the teacher.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
These are my teeth now my sister dear.
For biting and chewing the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my saliva now my sister dear.
For moistening and breaking down the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my esophagus my sister dear.
Pushing from the mouth to the stomach the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my liver now my sister dear.
It makes bile to break up the fat that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my stomach now my sister dear.
For mashing and squashing the food that we eat.
That’s we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my small intestine my sister dear.
For digesting and giving cells the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my large intestine my sister dear.
It gets rid of what’s left of the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
These four activities are required. Please complete the following:
1) Your Amazing Mouth
Have a representative from your group come up to the front of the classroom and get one Saltine cracker per group member. Take a small bite of the cracker, holding it in your mouth without chewing or swallowing. After two minutes, discuss the following questions with your group members, and write your answers down in your science journal.
- What happened to the cracker when it was in your mouth?
- Why did it start to get softer?
- What did you taste?
- After a few minutes, did the taste change? Did it become sweet?
- Did the cracker get soft in your mouth even if you were not chewing?
After you have answered all of these questions, read the following as a group:
The sweet taste means an enzyme in their saliva had started to break down the starch to sugar. This is one of the first steps in digestion!
2) Small Intestine Simulation
Send a representative up to the front of the room to get a tube of cut panty hose, a cup of cooked instant oatmeal, and some newspaper. Lay the newspaper on your table, you’re going to get messy!
The oatmeal is going to be food that is being digested. Pack the oatmeal into one end of the pantyhose, which will act as your small intestine. Take turns squeezing the oatmeal from one end to the other end. The hose is porous (it has tiny holes) that let the oatmeal escape. Just like the hose, your small intestine is also porous. The water that comes out of the oatmeal is the nutrients that are being distributed to the rest of your body.
When your oatmeal reaches the end of the pantyhose, there is just a small amount left. Why do you think that is? What does this represent? Discuss this as a group.
3) Mapping the Digestive System
Click HERE and begin by reading the descriptions of different parts of the digestive system on page 1. Then follow the directions on pages 2 and 3. All materials you will need are located in bags in the front of the room. You are going to be making a model of the digestive system using household items. As you use a new item, discuss as a group why this item is being used. Does it look like the organ it represents? Do you think it behaves in the same way?
You will present your final “map” to the class when you are done.
4) Organ Glogster
Your group will be assigned an individual organ. It is your job to make an informational Glogster all about that organ. Visit Glogster.com to set up an account. Your Glogster must have the following information:
- A picture of your organ
- A description of what your organ does
- Other organs associated with your organ
- What happens if your organ stops working/is not working right
- Three interesting facts about your organ
There are seven activities listed below. Please complete four of the following:
Stomach Model
Have a representative from your group come up to the front of the classroom to get Ziplock bags, lemon juice, and Saltine crackers. Follow the procedure HERE to complete the simulation. Record your observations in your science journal.
Procedure:
1. Pour some lemon juice into the plastic bag. The juice will be the "strong
liquid" that breaks down the food. It is an acid that works like the acids we
have in our real stomachs. You'll need enough to cover the cracker. About a
half cup should do it.
2. Break the cracker into a few pieces. This is sort of like chewing it.
3. Put the cracker into the bag and zip it up, while pushing out excess air.
4. Now shake the cracker in the lemon juice. You can use your hands to
squeeze it, too. This is like the action of the muscles that cause our stomachs
to squeeze food during digestion.
5. Describe what's happening to the cracker as your "stomach" digests it.
Peristalsis I
Have you ever laughed so hard that you had milk come out of you nose? Have you ever swallowed something quickly and then had to cough it up because "it went down the wrong pipe?" This usually doesn't happen because under normal circumstances after you swallow your food, your epiglottis closes up over your windpipe/trachea that leads down to your lungs and your soft palate lifts up to block the way to your nose. Your tongue pushes your food back to your pharynx and then down your esophagus.
How does food travel down through your esophagus? It's not gravity. Go to the drinking fountain and get a mouthful of water. When you return to your seat, bend down and touch your toes, and swallow the water. Why do you think you can still swallow the water when you are upside down? Discuss as a group, and write down your thoughts in your science journal.
Peristalsis II
You can still swallow when you're upside-down! Food travels through your digestive system by peristalsis, which is wave-like muscle contractions. Have one representative from your group come to the front of the room to get pantyhose and some balls.
Put the balls in the pantyhose and see what happens if you hold it up. Can the balls move through without your help? Now push them through together using your hands. You are simulating peristalsis! The waves that the balls are making are similar to the muscle contractions in your throat when you swallowed the water upside down. Record your observations in your science journal.
Small Intestine Length
In the small intestine, the food is completely digested and passes through the villi in its walls into the blood stream where it is carried to all the cells in your body. Your small intestine is 18-23 feet long. Send a representative up to the front of the room to get a piece of string, scissors, and a ruler. Cut a piece of string that is about 20 feet long. Have two people hold each end and see how far it stretches.
How can something that long fit inside your body? Grab a piece of paper and a glue stick and try to glue the string down in a single layer.
Investigate Your KidneysYour kidneys filter impurities out of your blood and help pass them out of the body as urine. This activity will help us investigate how that happens. Click HERE and print out the handout on page 19. All materials you will need are at the front of the room.
1. Put some sand in a glass of water and mix it up. Put a coffee filter over a jar. Pour the water through the filter into the glass. Describe what happens to the sand.
2. Look at the water in the glass now. What has happened to it? In much the same way, the kidneys clean impurities from the blood.
Once the kidneys have filtered the blood, the waste is passed out of the body through the excretory system.
Jeopardy
Split up your group into two teams and all gather comfortable around one computer. Click HERE and play Jeopardy. Let the teacher know which team wins, and the members will get one point of extra credit.
DIGESTION SONG
As a group, prepare a presentation of the following song. Be sure to incorporate a tune and some sweet dance moves. Present your song to at least two other groups and the teacher.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
These are my teeth now my sister dear.
For biting and chewing the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my saliva now my sister dear.
For moistening and breaking down the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my esophagus my sister dear.
Pushing from the mouth to the stomach the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my liver now my sister dear.
It makes bile to break up the fat that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my stomach now my sister dear.
For mashing and squashing the food that we eat.
That’s we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my small intestine my sister dear.
For digesting and giving cells the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.
With my head on my shoulders now what have we here?
This is my large intestine my sister dear.
It gets rid of what’s left of the food that we eat.
That’s what we learn in our school.