Lesson 3.4: The Digestive and Urinary Systems

Overview

This lesson focuses on understanding how food gets from your plate to the cells in your body through the digestive system. It also focuses on developing skills related to health promotion and communication.

Learning Targets

• Identify the main organs and functions of the digestive system.
• Identify the main organs and functions of the urinary system.
• Identify common problems associated with the digestive system.
• Describe what prebiotics and probiotics are, and explain how they relate to gut health.
• Explain the long-term risks of poor kidney health.
• Explain how to maintain good digestive and urinary health.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the journal question on the board, or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

• Lesson 3.4 Quiz
• Lesson 3.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet
• Lesson 3.4 ELL Vocabulary Review Worksheet

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 3.4 PowerPoint slides, or make copies of the Lesson 3.4 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 3.4 Promoting Digestive Health Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

• Journal Question: What do you think are common digestive problems that most people experience at some point in their lives? Describe a time you experienced one of these problems. What did you do to feel better?
  • Option: Write or project the question, and have students respond in their journals as they enter class.
  • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
• Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in partners, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 3.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
• Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 3.4 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
  • Option: Collect the quizzes, and use them alongside posttests to demonstrate student learning.
  • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner, and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Option: Use the Lesson 3.4 PowerPoint slides to review the chapter content.

Option: Have students use the Lesson 3.4 Note-Taking Guide to review chapter content. Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Review the questions as a class if time permits.

Lesson Focus: Promoting Digestive Health

1. Have students work independently to complete the assigned task.
2. Provide one copy of the Lesson 3.4 Promoting Digestive Health Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet to each student.
3. Have students follow the instructions on the worksheet to write an explanation to a peer about the importance of good digestive health.
4. Have students share their message with a classmate or group of classmates.

Challenge Activity

Have students who need an additional challenge work on the following critical-thinking task.

What happens to a bite of a hamburger as it travels through your digestive system? In one or two paragraphs, describe the journey this bite of hamburger would take through the digestive system. Include descriptions on where it will go and what it might experience along the way. Be sure to use proper vocabulary and grammar.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets, and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you…

• Identify the main organs and functions of the digestive system?

  Mouth (where chewing occurs), tongue (helps move food around during chewing), salivary glands (produce saliva, which begins to break down some carbohydrates and helps to moisten the food), esophagus (helps move food toward the stomach), stomach (mixes foods with gastric juices to chemically break down food), liver (releases bile), small intestine (absorbs nutrients), and large intestine (absorbs nutrients)

• Identify the main organs and functions of the urinary system?

  Two kidneys (to filter waste from the blood) and two ureters (the tubes through which urine passes from the kidneys to the bladder), the bladder (the storage place for urine), and the urethra (the tube through which urine leaves the body)

• Identify common problems associated with the digestive system?

  Indigestion, constipation, gas, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhea, ulcers, and hemorrhoids

• Describe what prebiotics and probiotics are, and explain how they relate to gut health

  Prebiotics are the foods you eat that feed the bacteria in your gut. Probiotics are the living bacteria found in food.

• Explain the long-term risks of poor kidney health?

  Urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney stones, and kidney disease

• Explain how to maintain good digestive and urinary health?

  Eat foods high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water, exercising regularly, eating on a regular schedule, eating prebiotic and probiotic foods regularly, and managing your stress.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

• Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 3.4 Quiz.
• Vocabulary Review: Collect the Lesson 3.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheets, and evaluate them for accuracy.
• Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 3.4 Note-Taking Guides, and spot check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
• Skill-Building Worksheet: Have students submit the Lesson 3.4 Promoting Digestive Health Skill-Building Challenge Worksheets, and use the Healthy Communication Holistic Rubric to evaluate their skill development.
• Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the journal question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.

Take It Home

Conduct a digestive health inventory of your home. Look to see what over-the-counter medicines you have for common digestive problems and what foods you have in the house that support good digestive health. Pay attention to prebiotics and fiber (from fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, and whole grains) and probiotics (from yogurt, kefir, and fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and pickles) in your inventory. Make a list of what you found. Identify things that could be done better to support digestive health, and share your ideas with an adult member of your household.