The Digestive System

     We have been studying the Digestive System in Science class. Today we recreated a model representation of the Digestive System. We used every day household items like bread, water, and a Ziploc bag.
     First we started by taking a slice of bread and pulling it into smaller pieces. The pulling apart of the bread mimicked the action of the teeth chewing, grinding, and pulling food inside our mouth. After breaking the bread into smaller pieces, we moved the bread into the Ziploc bag. The action of moving the bread was representing the esophagus swallowing the bread and taking it to the stomach. The stomach in our case was the Ziploc bag. We filled up a cup with water and poured the water into the stomach. The water represented saliva and other digestive juices that would be found in the stomach. We then squeezed and massaged the bread and water together which was representing the chemical digestion that occurs in the stomach as well as the mechanical digestion of peristalsis. The peristalsis is muscular contractions that allows the food to travel through the small and large intestines. The food that travels through the intestines has the nutrients absorbed back into the body to be used for energy later on. Once the food had been dissolved in the digestive juices and travelled down the intestinal tracts we made the journey to the garbage can. The distance travelled from the student's seats to the garbage was representing the food travelling through the rectum. The students then deposited their Ziploc bag into the garbage can and this represents the removal of waste from the body through the anus.
       Today's class was exciting and disgusting all at the same time!

 First we ripped the bread in half and then into tinier pieces to mimic the process of chewing.

 Then we placed the bread into the Ziploc bag to mimic the process of food being swallowed down the esophagus.

 The food was then sitting in the stomach.

 The water was poured into the Ziploc bag to mimic the saliva and digestive juices that would be present with food in the stomach.

 We then massaged and squished the bread and food together to mimic the chemical and mechanical digestion process in the stomach and as the food moves through the small and large intestines.

To end we walked to the garbage can which was to mimic food moving through the rectum to the anus. (The garbage can was the anus where our waste was removed).