WELCOME!!

Please Find a Seat, and Sit down

Let’s Start with an Ice Breaker:

Tell your neighbors your name, grade level, and your favorite food to eat

Food is really important For your body

Does anyone know why?

Food is important for the body because it provides nutrients that keep us alive and help us grow and stay healthy

How Does Food break down into these Important Nutrients?

The Digestive System

Digestive System Overview

​

1. Each cell in the body needs a continuous supply of nutrients to work.

2. These nutrients come from the foods a person eats. Before the body can use them, the foods must be broken down

3. Digestion is the process that breaks down food into absorbable units.

​

​

​

Ice Breaker:

Turn to your partner, and explain to them what digestion means

Anatomy of the Digestive Tract

​

• Mouth
• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Small Intestine
• Large Intestine (Colon)

​

Mouth and Teeth

​

• The process of digestion begins in the mouth.
• During chewing the teeth crush large food pieces into smaller ones
• Fluids from foods, beverages and salivary glands (saliva) blend with these pieces to ease swallowing.

​

Ice Breaker:

Turn to your partner, show them where your mouth is, and explain how it breaks down foods

Esophagus

​

• The esophagus is the food pipe allowing food to move from the mouth to the stomach.
• During a swallow, the upper esophageal sphincter opens.
• The food slides down the esophagus, which passes through a hole in the diaphragm into the stomach.

​

Stomach

​

The stomach is the muscular, sack-like portion of the digestive tract.

The food enters the stomach from the esophagus.

The stomach churns the food and adds gastric juices to it.

​

The food turns into a semiliquid, partially-digested mass, Chyme.

​

Ice Breaker:

Turn to your partner, show them where your stomach is, and explain what the esophagus and stomach do.

Small Intestine

​

• At the beginning of the small intestine the chyme passes through the opening which drips fluids from the gallbladder and the pancreas.
• The chyme travels nearly 10 feet through the three segments of the small intestine
• The small intestine is the major site of digestion of food and absorption of nutrients.

​

How long is 10 Feet?

• U-Haul truck.
• Basketball hoop.
• 15 Standard bricks.
• One floor height.
• Step ladder.
• Christmas tree.
• Alligator.

If you laid out your Small Intestine- it would be longer than YOU!

Large Intestine (Colon)

​

• The large intestine is the one that completes the digestive process.
• The chyme travels through the large intestine (colon) up the right side of the abdomen, cross the front to the left side to the rectum.
• As the intestinal contents pass to the rectum, the colon withdraws water and leaves semisolid waste

What Fruits/Vegetables have what Nutrients?

Green Leafy Vegetables

Contain Vitamins A, C, E and K

​

What Foods?

Broccoli, Cabbage, Bok Choy, and

More!

Purple Fruits/Veggies

Vitamins A, C, B6 and Manganese.

​

What Foods?

Blackberries, Plums, Grapes

Red Fruits

Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Potassium and

Antioxidants.

​

What Foods?

Apples, Cherries, Strawberries, and

More!

Orange Fruits/Veggies

Vitamin C, Potassium, and Vitamin K

​

What Foods?

Oranges, Carrots, Pumpkins,

Mango, and More!

Red and orange vegetables are high in Beta- Carotene, which the body turns into Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps protect against infection and some types of cancer.

Yellow Fruits/Veggies

Vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium

Also helps Immune System and Help

Your Vision

​

What Foods?

Bananas, Lemons, and More!

COLOR THIS COLORING SHEET