ScienceMakers Toolkit Manual - The History Makers

Life Science
Lesson Plan:
1. Introduction
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What system is responsible for breaking down the foods and liquids that we consume? What does the
Digestive System do? What are the main parts, or organs, that make up the Digestive System? The students
may name organs such as stomach, esophagus, intestines, etc. After they have fi nished brainstorming, let
them know that they are going to be able to learn fi rst-hand what happens after a bit of food is swallowed.
2. Team Digestion
• The “piece of food” for this activity needs to be pre-made: 5 M&M’s should be placed in a Ziploc bag,
which should then be wrapped in paper and placed inside a small paper bag. This small paper bag should be
wrapped in more paper and placed inside a plastic bag. The plastic bag should be taped closed.
• Ask for 6 volunteers. Tell them that they are going to be able to work together to recreate the digestive
system. Tell the volunteers to stand in a line at the front of the room.
• Explain to the volunteers that each person will get a “Digestion Role” card to read out loud. The volunteer
will read what is written in red on the card and act out the parts written in blue.
• Ask each of the volunteers to select a “Digestion Role” card at random. When everyone has a card, instruct
the students to get into order of: Teeth/Saliva, Esophagus, Stomach/Gastric Juices, Small Intestine, Large
Intestine, and Rectum.
• Tell the students to leave some space between the Esophagus volunteer and the stomach/Gastric Juices
volunteer. The instructor should put on the “Bloodstream” sign at this point.
• When everyone is ready, tell the fi rst person in line (Teeth/Saliva) to begin reading. Remind them to speak
loudly!
Digestion Role Cards (spoken lines in bold, actions are in italics):
Teeth/Saliva – Pick up the piece of food and begin to tear the plastic bag. “Teeth chew up and crush the food
in our mouths, making smaller pieces for us to swallow.” Next, with a spray bottle, spray the piece of food
to moisten it well. “Saliva makes the food slimy and easier to swallow. It also contains chemicals, called
enzymes, that start to break down the food in our mouths.” Give the food to the esophagus.
Esophagus – Place the piece of food on the fl oor, and push the food slowly towards the stomach. “Food does
not just fall from our mouth into the stomach, but muscles in our esophagus push the food into our stomachs.
This process usually takes between 7 and 10 seconds.”
Stomach/Gastric Juices – Take the food and tear up the bags until you can see the small Ziploc bag with the
M&M’s in it. “The stomach muscles mix and smash up the food until it is a creamy liquid.” Then, using
a spray bottle, spray the food. “The stomach wall releases gastric juice that contains chemicals called
enzymes. Enzymes break down proteins from food.” Hand all the food to the small intestine.