In Science this half term, the children have learnt about the human digestive system. They have followed the journey of the food they eat from its beginnings in their mouth, to the very end, and everything in between! The class enjoyed a hands-on demonstration of how food travels to the stomach, how the stomach digests and churns the food, then how the nutrients are absorbed by the intestines. Using the correct scientific vocabulary, they identified and labelled the different parts and organs involved in the digestion of food, absorption of nutrients and excretion of waste. By reading descriptions of the functions of different organs, they matched them to their name and position within the digestive process. The children then had a close look at their own teeth, counting how many they had and identifying the different shapes and sizes. Thinking about how they eat different types of food, they were able to explain the different shapes of teeth and their purpose in beginning the digestion of food. They then used colour code and key, and labelled a diagram with the scientific names and functions of the different types of human teeth. The children will continue to look at teeth and compare those of humans to animals with different types of diet; and will investigate how the drinks they like might affect the health of their own teeth.
