The Digestive System - Teacher Explanation

Welcome to lesson 4.1 on the digestive system, tailored for Year 4 pupils studying animals, including humans. This lesson aligns with the National Curriculum, aiming to impart knowledge on the basic functions of the human digestive system, with a particular emphasis on health and safety. Teachers are reminded to be vigilant about potential allergies, ensuring that any food spills are promptly cleaned to prevent any slipping hazards, and to handle hot water themselves, not allowing pupils to do so. The lesson also offers opportunities for cross-curricular learning, with art activities involving anatomical drawings, English tasks that could include writing anatomical reports, and historical exploration of embalming in ancient Egypt.

The lesson plan includes a two-part activity. The first part requires pupils to research and label a diagram of the digestive system, identifying and colouring each part. The second part focuses on understanding the function of each part of the system, such as the role of the mouth, stomach, and intestines. A hands-on activity showcases the impressive length of the intestines, using string to visualise the 10-meter length of an adult's intestines. Moreover, the lesson includes an experiment demonstrating that digestion begins in the mouth, using iodine solution to test the presence of starch before and after chewing. This practical approach helps pupils understand the chemical processes involved in digestion, such as the role of enzymes like amylase in breaking down starch into sugars. The lesson concludes with a dynamic model of food movement through the digestive system, engaging students in a tactile exploration of digestion from ingestion to egestion, reinforcing the mechanical and chemical aspects of the process.