Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 45 minutes
The digestive system
Human body and health
CCSS NGSS.MS-LS1-3England: KS2 Y4 Animals, including humansEngland: KS3 Biology: Nutrition and digestion
Objective and success criteria
Students will: The digestive system.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Food groups and a balanced diet
Leads to: Types of teeth and their jobs; Trace a meal through the digestive system
Materials: Stopwatches, Body diagrams, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Food groups and a balanced diet). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which nutrient is broccoli a good source of? (carbohydrates (for energy) / protein (for growth and repair) / fats (stored energy) / vitamins and minerals (to stay healthy)) → vitamins and minerals (to stay healthy)Prompt: Is it a starchy food, a meat or bean, an oil, or a fruit or vegetable?
- Why do we need fibre? (to keep our digestive system working well / to build muscles / to see in the dark / to grow hair) → to keep our digestive system working wellPrompt: Fibre helps food move through the gut.
- Which food is a good source of fats (stored energy)? (butter / chicken / carrots / lentils) → butterPrompt: Think about which group each food belongs to.
Hook · 5 min
- Ask everyone to find their pulse, then jump for 30 seconds and find it again.
- Share the objective: The digestive system. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: What does saliva do?
- Step 1: Saliva moistens food and contains an enzyme (amylase) that begins breaking down starch.
- Step 2: So the answer is: wets food and starts to digest starch
- Answer: wets food and starts to digest starch
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- What does saliva do? (wets food and starts to digest starch / kills all bacteria in food / absorbs nutrients / digests fat completely) → wets food and starts to digest starchPrompt: Chew bread for a long time and it starts to taste sweet.
- In the path of a bite of apple, what comes straight after "churned with acid in the stomach"? (teeth chew it / nutrients absorbed in the small intestine / water absorbed in the large intestine / swallowed down the oesophagus (esophagus)) → nutrients absorbed in the small intestinePrompt: Picture food travelling from top to bottom.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- In the journey of food through the digestive system, what comes straight after "oesophagus (esophagus)"? (mouth / rectum / small intestine / stomach) → stomachPrompt: Food is chewed first.
- What is the main job of the large intestine? (to pump blood / to chew food / to make saliva / to absorb water) → to absorb waterPrompt: What is left after the nutrients are taken out?
Watch out for
- Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
- Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Food groups and a balanced diet.
- Use concrete materials: stopwatches.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Types of teeth and their jobs; Trace a meal through the digestive system.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-4.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder