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Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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.
  1. Which nutrient is eggs a good source of? (carbohydrates (for energy) / protein (for growth and repair) / fats (stored energy) / vitamins and minerals (to stay healthy)) → protein (for growth and repair)Prompt: Is it a starchy food, a meat or bean, an oil, or a fruit or vegetable?
  2. Why should we eat only small amounts of sugary foods? (Sugar has no energy. / Too much sugar can harm teeth and health. / Sugar is a protein. / Sugar makes bones stronger.) → Too much sugar can harm teeth and health.Prompt: Think about what a dentist would say.
  3. Which food is a good source of fats (stored energy)? (lentils / porridge oats / lard / strawberries) → lardPrompt: Think about which group each food belongs to.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Where are most nutrients absorbed into the blood? (the mouth / the small intestine / the large intestine / the stomach) → the small intestinePrompt: It is a very long, folded tube.
  2. In the journey of food through the digestive system, what comes straight after "mouth"? (oesophagus (esophagus) / large intestine / rectum / stomach) → oesophagus (esophagus)Prompt: Food is chewed first.

You do: independent practice · 17 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 · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. In the journey of food through the digestive system, what comes straight after "mouth"? (stomach / oesophagus (esophagus) / rectum / small intestine) → oesophagus (esophagus)Prompt: Food is chewed first.
  2. What does saliva do? (wets food and starts to digest starch / digests fat completely / absorbs nutrients / kills all bacteria in food) → wets food and starts to digest starchPrompt: Chew bread for a long time and it starts to taste sweet.

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

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The digestive system

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    In the journey of food through the digestive system, what comes straight after "large intestine"?

    • A. small intestine
    • B. rectum
    • C. oesophagus (esophagus)
    • D. stomach

  2. Question 2

    What is the main job of the large intestine?

    • A. to pump blood
    • B. to chew food
    • C. to absorb water
    • D. to make saliva

  3. Question 3

    Where are most nutrients absorbed into the blood?

    • A. the mouth
    • B. the large intestine
    • C. the small intestine
    • D. the stomach

  4. Question 4

    What does the stomach do?

    • A. filters the blood
    • B. churns food with acid and enzymes
    • C. absorbs most of the water
    • D. chews food

  5. Question 5

    In the path of a bite of apple, what comes straight after "teeth chew it"?

    • A. water absorbed in the large intestine
    • B. churned with acid in the stomach
    • C. swallowed down the oesophagus (esophagus)
    • D. nutrients absorbed in the small intestine

  6. Question 6

    In the journey of food through the digestive system, what comes straight after "stomach"?

    • A. oesophagus (esophagus)
    • B. small intestine
    • C. rectum
    • D. mouth

  7. Question 7

    What does saliva do?

    • A. digests fat completely
    • B. kills all bacteria in food
    • C. wets food and starts to digest starch
    • D. absorbs nutrients

  8. Question 8

    In the journey of food through the digestive system, what comes straight after "small intestine"?

    • A. mouth
    • B. large intestine
    • C. oesophagus (esophagus)
    • D. stomach

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Answer key: The digestive system

  1. 1. B. rectum

  2. 2. C. to absorb water

  3. 3. C. the small intestine

  4. 4. B. churns food with acid and enzymes

  5. 5. C. swallowed down the oesophagus (esophagus)

  6. 6. B. small intestine

  7. 7. C. wets food and starts to digest starch

  8. 8. B. large intestine