The Digestive System

Stephanie Grabowski

3rd Grade

Health, Safety, and Physical Education

Learning About the Digestive System

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Digestive System! This is the system that is in charge of digesting your food as well as

transporting the nutrients that your body needs to grow. During this lesson you will be learning about the different parts of the

Digestive System as well as the cycle that your food travels through as it is being digested. Let’s get started!

Let’s Start with Food

• Food is the first step of the Digestive System

• Nutrients come from food that we eat

• Always follow the food pyramid

The Mouth

• The mouth is the next step of the Digestive System

• Teeth grind down food into something that we can swallow

• Saliva breaks down our food into something that we can swallow

• No nutrients are absorbed

The Esophagus

• A long tube that brings liquid forms of food to our stomach

• Also brings down water

• Attached to the wind pipe

• Epiglottis controls whether we swallow or breath

• No nutrients are absorbed

The Stomach

• Works to store and break down food even more

• Gastric juices break down the food into a liquid form

• Stomach expands as it takes in more food

• Some nutrients are taken in at this time

The Small Intestine

• 22 feet in length and 1 1/2 foot in width sized tube that carries the liquid form of our food

• Moves the liquid form of food throughout our body creating waste

• Nutrients are absorbed with the help of the pancreas, liver, and gall bladder

The Large Intestine

• 5 feet in length and 4 inches in width shaped tube that transports nutrients to the body

• Solidifies the liquefied form of food into waste

• Connected to the appendix

The Rectum

• Begins at the end of the large intestine – the colon

• Empties unused waste through the bowels

• The end of the Digestive System cycle

Food

Mouth

Esophagus

Small Intestine

Large Intestine

Rectum