The Digestive System

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The Digestive System

• Lab Activity for Life Skills

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The Digestive System

• Lets Review with this video.

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Lab Instructions

• For this lab, we are going to use different
  objects to represent different parts of the
  digestive system.
• Please read over your directions now.

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The Supplies

• Cracker Food
• Banana enzymes in saliva
• Water Saliva
• Bag Stomach
• Stocking Small Intestine
• Cup Large Intestine

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The Activity

• Crumble up your cracker.
• This is like chewing. Teeth are the first part
  of the digestive system.

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• 2. Put the cracker into the ziplock bag.
• - We will skip over the esophagus and go
  straight from the mouth to the stomach.
• -What does the esophagus do?
• 3. Put half of a banana into the bag.
• -This is like the enzymes that help break down
  the food.
• 4. Pour a small amount of water into the bag.
• -This is like the saliva from your mouth.

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• 5. Squeeze out all the air and close the bag
  tightly.
• -Make sure it is completely closed.
• -If you leave air in there, it will be like what
  happens when you have gas.
• 6. Smush the cracker, banana and water together
  for a few minutes.
• -This is like the churning that the stomach
  does.

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• 7. Put your bag aside and put newspaper down on
  your desk.
• 8. Get your stocking ready.
• 9. After your food is churned up, cut a very
  small hole in the bottom corner of the bag.
• -You will need help for this!
• 10. Pour the food from the stomach (bag) into the
  small intestine (stocking).

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• 11. Watch as all the water from your food goes
  through the wall of the small intestine.
• -This water will now go to the rest of your
  body where it is needed.
• 12. When it is fully drained, get help poking a
  small hole in the bottom of your cup.
• 13. Get help cutting a small hole in the bottom
  of your stocking.

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• 14. Squeeze the food from the small intestine
  (stocking) into the large intestine (cup).
• 15. Hold the cup over a trash can.
• -The last bit of water will come dripping out.
• -The waste productsthe parts of the food your
  body cant use, will get packed together.

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• 16. Pretend the trash can is the toilet and dump
  the waste products in, representing the end of
  the digestion process.
• 17. Now clean up.