If you are looking for a Digestive System Study to help explain to kids what it is all about – we have you covered!
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Digestive System Study for Kids
When looking at the Digestive System for explaining and teaching it to kids, we want to keep it fun, yet informative. It is all about the parts of the body that work together to turn food and liquids into the building blocks and fuel that the body needs.
I know not every kid starts college at the age of nine, but youngsters are able to learn a lot more than most people think they can! This is not too advanced a subject to share with them – and don’t be afraid to dig deeper if they show real interest in learning more!
Digestive System Definition
The collection of organs that is used to not only digest, but absorb the nutrients of the food that enters (and eventually exits) the body.
Digestion is the breakdown of food into small molecules, which are then absorbed into the body. The digestive system is divided into two major parts: The digestive tract and the accessory organs.
Digestive System Organs
Depending on what you read, there are anywhere from 7 to 12 organs that they credit to this system. For my study, I have 9 listed – I skip things like “mouth”.
The tract organs are the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus.
The accessory organs are the liver, gallbladder, and kidney.
Digestive System Diagram
Here is a simple diagram that shows you what I am talking about – it is part of my free printable pack.
Which part of the digestive system physically digests the food?
The small intestine. It is dissolved by the juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine. The contents of the intestine are mixed and pushed forward to allow further digestion. Last, the digested nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls.
Digestive system process
How many hours does food stay in the stomach?
This is a hot debate between my mom and my dad – she says it takes at least 24 hours to pass an entire meal through and dad says less time.
After you eat, it takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine. Food then enters your large intestine (colon) for further digestion, absorption of water, and, finally, elimination of undigested food.
It looks like Mom was right. Again. (Ha!)
How soon after eating should you poop?
In fact, it can take 1–2 days before food finishes its journey through a person’s digestive tract. Therefore, a person who poops shortly after eating is likely to be passing food that they ate a day or two earlier.
Sorry Dad.
Is pooping part of the digestive system?
Yep, it’s poop (also called stool or a bowel movement). It is the last stop on the digestive system train and the kids will get a kick out of this fact. Poop is always a great thing to talk about!
The large intestine pushes the poop into the rectum and it stays there until you are ready to go to the bathroom.
The Digestive System for Kids
Contrary to what some educators believe, kids do not all learn the same. That is why I have the three following worksheets – that cover the same basic information but in a different way.
Some do better with clues so a crossword style works. Some are better at matching up terms items with their definition so a match-type system is better.
Then there is the fill-in-the-blank kind of form that works better for others.
The best strategy is to use ALL of them to reinforce the ideas and concepts that they are all introducing. Each sheet teaches things in just a slightly different way with a different set of facts added. Layering is a great learning tool!
Just like you can use the layer concept to get the concept of the visual digestive system. One lets you label the different organs and gives you the list of organ names to choose from.
The other one is a blank slate that you get to use your own skills to draw and label yourself.
I think that is the best way as kids need to interpret their new found knowledge themselves and then they get to show what they learned – just be forgiving of their age appropriate drawing skills!
It is more important that the get things down, and in the right place, than if they have it correctly drawn or with the right coloring.
Digestive System Quiz?
This digestive system worksheet set acts like a quiz – you are testing them on their knowledge as they work their way though this mini unit study.
Don’t get all hung up on tests – one of the things I hate the most are standardized tests – I feel that they are a poor reflection on the actual learning or learning capabilities of a kid.
Personally? I don’t take them through our local school district. I had Mom opt me out. I use that precious few hours a semester working on other learning related things – kind of like a study hall.
So, get my FREE Printable Digestive System Learning pack here:
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