The Digestive System and How it Works

1. The Digestive System and How it Works Ms. Braxton Science Webquest Grade 4; Room 1 Leonard V. Moore School

2. Student PagesIntroduction This webquest integrates the health and biology curriculums as students embark on an exciting learning adventure within the digestive system!     When you are sitting at lunch, do you think about the extensive journey that your food will take? Well, get ready for an experience of a lifetime. You will now experience the journey yourself. You have just become a  piece of food that is about to enter the human digestive system. Enjoy your remarkable trip!

3. Task • First, the students will become a piece of food that is traveling through each part of the human digestive system. They will keep a journal about their adventures as a piece of food in each part of the human digestive system. • After the students complete this journey, they will label a diagram of the human digestive system. • Then, the students will complete a group project. They will collect research and pictures to create a flow chart poster about the steps involved in digestion. They will include all organs and processes that breakdown food into nutrients and waste.  • Finally, the students will take a test on the digestive system.

4. ProcessPart 1: Follow the directions for your interactive journey within the digestive system. As you travel throughout the digestive system, identify where you are and describe what you are going through in your Human Digestion Journey: Science Journal.  Your mission is to be able to name, define, describe, and explain the five main parts of the human digestive system and how your nutrients are supplied to the body. Have fun!

5. 1. Enter the digestive system through the mouth. Click on some of the sites below and discover the jobs of the teeth, tongue, and saliva as you meet up with them.  Be sure to write this information in your science journal!  http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.htmlhttp://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000126.html http://www.innerbody.com/text/skel08-new.html http://www.innerbody.com/text/dige29-new.html

6. 2. Once you are swallowed, prepare to go down into the esophagus. Click on some of the sites below to continue your journey. Make sure to include what happens to you in the esophagus in your science journal! http://hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/digestive_system.html http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html http://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000126.html http://www.innerbody.com/image/digeov.html

7. 3. You have reached the entrance to the stomach. Now that you have reached the stomach, plan to spend a little more time here because this is a major stop in digestion. Write the definition of stomach, describe how it works and explain the stomach's responsibilities in your science journal. What did it do to you?  http://www.mamashealth.com/organs/stomach.asp http://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000126.html http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html http://hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/digestive_system.html#What%20about%20the%20stomach Also, answer this question in your journal. Why does the human's stomach gurgle? http://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/yuckystuff/gurgle/js.index.html#

8. 4. Once you have passed into the duodenum,  prepare to spend up to 4 hours in the small intestine. Use these websites to answer these questions in your science journal. Why are you in the small intestine for so long? How long is the small intestine? What is happening to you in the small intestine? Explain.  What are villi? Explain their job. http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html http://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000126.html http://hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/digestive_system.html#What%20about%20the%20stomach How do the liver, the pancreas, and the gall bladder play a part in the digestive system? http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html

9. 5. Your digestion is not done yet. You are about to enter the large intestine. Continue investigating. Use the websites below to answer these questions in your science journal. Why is this last stop so important? Explain. What is the appendix? Where is it located? How does the colon prepare you for dismissal? Explain. How are you expelled from the human body? Explain the roles of the rectum and the anus. Create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast your appearance before beginning the digestive process and your appearance after the digestive process. (Use scientific and appropriate language!)  http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html http://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000126.html http://www.innerbody.com/image/digeov.html Which is longer, the small intestine or the large intestine? Why are they called small and large intestine? Explain. http://hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/digestive_system.html#So%20what%20does%20the%20large%20intestin

10. Part 2: Print out the digestive system diagram from this website. Use the definitions to help you complete the diagram. • http://www.zunal.com/myaccount/uploads/digestive_system_-_label_the_parts.pdf Also, you may use the diagrams on the following websites to help you. • http://www.mamashealth.com/organs/dsystem.asp • http://www.hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/review_digestion.html • http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html

11. Part 3: Cooperative Learning Project (science groups): Create a flow chart poster. Your poster must include: • all steps in the human digestive system in sequence order. • all organs and processes that breakdown food into nutrients and waste. • labeled pictures, descriptions, and explanations for each step. • a creative title. • your names and group number. You may use the following resources: • your human digestion science journal • human digestion diagrams • websites from part one  • library books on human digestion • science textbook  

12. Part 4: Complete the test on human digestion (2 parts). 1. Print this test and rewrite the steps in correct order. Hand in when completed. • http://www.zunal.com/myaccount/uploads/digestive_system_-_pathway_quiz(1).pdf 2. Print this page and complete the test. Hand in when completed. • http://hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/digestivequiz.html

13. EvaluationRubrics

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17. EvaluationTest Scores • Combination of both test parts for one test score

18. Conclusion     Congratulations! You have completed your learning journey within the digestive system. You have traveled throughout the entire human digestive system, visited the five major parts, and read about additional digestive parts too. Your acquired knowledge will be reflected in your human digestion science journals, diagrams, posters, and tests.        You now have a science journey, complete with all the information on the digestive system. In addition, you have participated in an unforgettable learning experience.        From your experience, you should be able to understand your own digestive system and how it works. The next time you sit down to eat, you'll know where your food goes from start to finish! Without your digestive system, you couldn't get the nutrients you need to grow properly and stay healthy.

19. Credits • From Morsel to Mush; by: Kimberly Cabral, Michelle Dean, Julie Flis, Tannisha Gentry • http://www.zunal.com/webquest.php?user=594 • Hillendale Health Website • http://hes.ucf.k12.pa.us/gclaypo/digestive_system.html • Kids Health Website • http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/digest_noSW.html • Discovery Kids Website • http://yucky.discovery.com/noflash/body/pg000126.html • Human Anatomy Online • www.innerbody.com • Mama's Health Website • http://www.mamashealth.com/organs/stomach.asp PermissionsWe all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is granted for others to use and modify this WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. See the Creative Commons Attribution • Non-Commercial • Share-Alike license for details. This WebQuest was created in QuestGarden