SCIENCE 6

Activity#1: "Digestive System Journey" (Individual)

Objective:
To reinforce the student's understanding of the digestive system by having them create a detailed,
written account of the food's journey through the digestive process.

Materials Needed:

• Paper

• Pencil/Ballpen

• Ruler (optional, for neatness)

Instructions:

Step 1: Write the Journey of Food

• Ask students to imagine they are a piece of food traveling through the digestive system. Have
them write a narrative description of their journey from the moment they enter the mouth to
the moment they are eliminated from the body.

• The goal is for students to describe each stage of the digestive process in detail, showing an
understanding of both the physical and chemical processes involved.

Students should cover these stages:

1. Mouth:

o What happens to food when it first enters the mouth?

o What processes are involved (chewing, saliva, enzymes)?

o How is the food prepared for the next stage?

2. Esophagus:

o How does the food move down to the stomach?

o Describe the process of peristalsis (the wave-like muscle contractions).

3. Stomach:

o What happens when food reaches the stomach?

o How does stomach acid and digestive enzymes break down food?

o How is food turned into chyme?

 4. Small Intestine:

o How does the food move into the small intestine?

o What happens in the small intestine? How are nutrients absorbed?

o Describe the role of enzymes and bile.

5. Large Intestine:

o What happens to the remaining food in the large intestine?

o How is water absorbed and waste compacted?

6. Rectum/Anus:

o How is waste stored and eventually eliminated from the body?

Step 2: Incorporate Key Terms

• Ask students to use key terms from the digestive process such as enzymes, peristalsis, chyme,
villi, nutrient absorption, stomach acid, and bile in their narrative. This will ensure they
understand and can properly identify the scientific concepts involved in digestion.

Step 3: Creative Element

• To make the activity more engaging, encourage students to write their journey in a creative way.
For example, they could:

o Write it as a diary entry from the perspective of the "food."

o Create a letter or a story about what the food “experiences” as it travels through the
digestive system.

o Use humor or personification (e.g., "I feel the acids in the stomach getting stronger as I
travel deeper into the digestive abyss!").

Step 4: Reflection

• After completing the narrative, have students reflect on how the digestive system functions as a
whole:

o What role does each organ play?

o Why is each part of the digestive system important?

o What might happen if one part of the system doesn't work properly (e.g., what happens
if the stomach can't produce enough acid or if the intestines are blocked)?

Step 5: Optional: Add Illustrations

• For students who enjoy drawing, encourage them to add simple illustrations of the digestive
organs (e.g., a basic diagram of the mouth, stomach, intestines, etc.) in the margins of their
paper, labeling each organ.
Example of What the Narrative Might Look Like:

"A Day in the Life of a Cracker"

Mouth:
I enter the mouth and immediately feel the warm, wet environment. My journey begins as I’m chewed
by the teeth, breaking me into smaller pieces. The saliva in the mouth contains enzymes, especially
amylase, which begins to break down my starches into simpler sugars. I'm then swallowed by the throat
and make my way to the esophagus.

Esophagus:
I feel the muscles of the esophagus push me down in rhythmic waves—this is called peristalsis. It’s a bit
like being squeezed through a tunnel as I travel toward the stomach.

Stomach:
I land in a large, acidic chamber—the stomach. It’s warm and a little scary! The stomach acids and
digestive enzymes start to break me down even more. I feel my texture changing as the stomach turns
me into a soupy mixture called chyme. I stay here for a while, mixing around, being broken into smaller
and smaller pieces.

Small Intestine:
Finally, I’m ready to move on to the small intestine, where things really start to get interesting. The
pancreas releases enzymes that help me break down proteins and fats, while the liver sends bile to help
with fat digestion. The walls of the small intestine are lined with tiny finger-like structures called villi,
which absorb all the nutrients from me and send them into the bloodstream. I'm starting to feel a bit
less like food and more like energy for the body!

Large Intestine:
Now, I enter the large intestine. Here, most of the water is absorbed, and I start to dry out and become
waste. The walls of the large intestine squeeze me along until I’m ready to exit.

Rectum/Anus:
At last, I’m ready to leave the body. I am stored in the rectum until the body is ready to eliminate me.
Finally, I make my exit through the anus, completing my journey.
Rubric for "Digestive System Journey" Activity

Total Points: 25

Needs
Satisfactory (3
Criteria Excellent (5 points) Good (4 points) Improvement (1-2
points)
points)

All stages of digestion

are clearly explained, Most stages are Some stages are
Major inaccuracies
Content accurate, and accurate with only inaccurate or
or missing critical
Accuracy complete, from minor omissions or missing key
stages of digestion.
ingestion to errors. details.
elimination.

Highly creative and

Some effort to be
engaging, with an Good level of
creative, but the Little to no
imaginative approach creativity, with some
Creativity & activity lacks creativity; activity
(e.g., storytelling, imaginative
Engagement originality or feels monotonous
personification, etc.) elements; mostly
doesn’t hold or unengaging.
that holds the engaging.
attention.
audience’s attention.

Shows a deep Basic Lacks

Shows a solid
understanding of the understanding understanding or
Understanding understanding, with
digestive process, with some gaps or provides incorrect
of Digestive clear explanations of
providing insightful confusion about information about
Process the digestive
details about each part the digestive the digestive
process.
of the digestive system. system. system.

Clear and well- Somewhat

Organized with a
organized journey; organized, but Disorganized or
clear structure,
Organization & each part of the lacks clarity or has unclear, with little
though may have
Structure digestive process is several transitions structure or logical
minor lapses in the
presented in a logical, that confuse the progression.
flow of the journey.
chronological order. flow.

Presentation is clear, Somewhat difficult

Mostly clear and
with excellent use of to follow due to Difficult to follow
understandable;
Clarity & language and unclear language due to poor
minor issues with
Communication communication. or poorly communication or
clarity or
Information is easy to structured unclear language.
communication.
follow. explanation.