Microteaching: Teaching Plan

“The Ins and Outs of Human Digestion”

Kassy Pointer
Subject Area Science Grade 8
Unit Human Body Systems Topic Human Digestion

Learning Objectives: Students will know the order of and role the 8 organs play in aiding digestion of food.
(what do you want
your students to
learn?)
Assessment: (How Students will indicate which organ(s) are most responsible/important for digestion by
will you know your discussing first with their group members, and then through a brief class discussion.
students have
learned?)
Materials: (What  A human-digestion apron with plush, removable organs.
resources will you  A large Ziploc bag, some orange juice, water, crackers and some fruit
need?)  A glass jar containing about 25 feet of string
 A glass jar containing a mixture of water and oil
 A glass jar containing a mixture of water and oil and lecithin powder (an emulsifier)
 Computer and access to a projector
 Some pens and some paper so students can write their responses
 A ball and a stocking

Introduction: (how 1. Ask the students if they have ever considered how the food that we eat gets turned
will you hook into energy and waste, as well as reasons as to why we eat
students?) 2. Then ask the students to list as many organs they think are directly involved with
food digestion, and the order in which they occur: they can talk amongst their group
Time: 3 minutes members. After 2 minutes of group discussion, we will discuss as a class which
organs are actually involved.

Body: (learning 1. After students agree that the first step of digestion is mastication by the mouth, a
activity or sequence demonstration is done where crackers and a piece of fruit are added to a Ziploc bag.
of activities) The bag is closed and passed to a volunteer who attempts to “crush up” the contents.
When the contents cannot be crushed up, a bit of water is added to the bag to mimic
Time: 10 minutes saliva. Then orange juice is added to the bag to act as stomach acid. The bag is then
sealed up, representing the stomach. The bag will then be shaken to simulate stomach
movements.(If, during a practice run of this lesson, I have exceeded 15 minutes,
point #1 will simply be prepared ahead of time and will be used for demonstration
purposes rather than step-by-step instruction)
2. After the stomach demonstration, a demonstration for the length of small intestines
will be done by presenting a mason jar containing a long thread, and ask the students
how long they think the thread inside is. (Explain that the thread represents their
small and large intestines, which are all crammed into your body, represented by the
jar.) A student volunteer will then remove the string with the help of the instructor to
demonstrate the length of the small intestine.
3. After the string demonstration, peristalsis is demonstrated by use of a stocking and a
ball.
4. Finally, in order to demonstrate the emulsification of fats a clear mason jar containing
 water and oil is passed around, showing that oily foods and water do not mix. Then
some lecithin powder (an emulsifier) is added in order to bring both the fat and water
into suspension (representing the pancreatic juices (including bile) that are released
from the liver and gall bladder.
5. Simultaneously, a PowerPoint Presentation will be followed to aid in the explanation
of the order of organs involved in human digestion.

Closure 1. On a projected PowerPoint slide, there will be the following question: “Which organ
is most responsible or important for human digestion? Discuss with your group and
Time: 2 minutes tell me why you think it is the most important”
2. After allowing the groups to discuss for approximately one minute, the class will
reconvene and discuss why all of the organs are essential but that the small intestine
is the most important because it involves the digestion and absorption of nutrients.
3. Finally, the lesson will end with a reminder that the next class will involve a brief
overview of the previous lesson and will explore further and in more detail, the
processes that take place at each step.