Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Human Body: Digestive System

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The Objectives stage is crucial for directing the focus of students and the teacher towards specific learning goals. By clearly establishing what is expected to be achieved, this section helps ensure that both the preparation and execution of classroom activities are aligned with the learning needs of students. Additionally, the objectives serve as evaluation criteria to verify students' understanding of the digestive system.

Main Objectives:

1. Identify and describe the main components of the human digestive system, including the stomach, mouth, and intestines.

2. Explain the functions of each of these components in the digestion process, from chewing to nutrient absorption.

Side Objectives:

1. Develop the ability to relate the theory studied at home with practice in the classroom through interactive and dynamic activities.

Introduction

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The Introduction serves to engage students and connect prior knowledge with the content that will be explored in class. The problem situations encourage students to think critically about what they have already learned, while the contextualization aims to spark students' interest through curiosities and applications of the digestive system in the real world. This approach aims to prepare students for more active and meaningful learning during practical activities.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine you are participating in a cooking contest and need to prepare a dish for a famous chef. Before you start cooking, what would be the sequence of events in the digestive system that would allow you to make the most of the nutrients in the food?

2. You are scientists on an expedition to the Arctic and have found a new species of plant that the locals use as food. How would this plant be digested in the human digestive system and what could be the possible benefits or risks for those who consume it?

Contextualization

The digestive system is not only important for our health but also has a fascinating history. For example, did you know that the stomach can contract and expand to accommodate large amounts of food, and that the small intestine has an internal surface area the size of a tennis court to absorb nutrients? These curiosities not only help to understand the complexity of the digestive system but also show how it adapts to meet our daily needs.

Development

Duration: (65 - 75 minutes)

The Development stage is designed to allow students to practically and interactively apply the concepts studied at home about the digestive system. Through the proposed activities, students will be able to explore the functions and interactions of digestive organs creatively, solidifying their understanding through simulations and experiments, as well as promoting teamwork and effective communication. Each activity is carefully planned to engage students at different levels of complexity, ensuring inclusive and comprehensive learning.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - Digestive Chef: The Great Culinary Competition

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Understand practically and playfully the stages of digestion and their functions in the digestive system.

- Description: Students will be divided into groups of up to 5 people and will take on the role of chefs in a culinary competition. Each group will be tasked with 'preparing' a dish with components that simulate the phases of digestion, from 'chewing' to 'nutrient absorption'. Foods such as crushed cookies (simulating chewing), mixed with artificial gastric juice (representing the action of the stomach) and wrapped in a 'membrane' of gauze (imitating the intestine) will be used.

- Instructions:

• Form groups of up to 5 students.

• Each group will receive a kit containing the 'ingredients' that represent the different stages of digestion.

• Follow the instructions to 'prepare' the dish, simulating the phases of digestion.

• Present the final dish, explaining how each component represents a part of the digestive system and its function.

• Participate in a vote to elect the most creative dish that best represented the digestive process.

Activity 2 - The Mystery of the Small Intestine

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Analyze the anatomy of the digestive system and understand how the structures contribute to digestion and nutrient absorption.

- Description: Students, in groups, will receive a 'cadaver' (mannequin representing the human body) with a small amount of 'food' already 'digested' (crushed cookies mixed with artificial gastric juice). They will have to 'dissect' the cadaver to find a 'treasure' (beans representing nutrients) hidden in the 'small intestine'. Each group will have to describe the anatomical structures of the digestive system they find and explain how these structures contribute to digestion and nutrient absorption.

- Instructions:

• Organize into groups of up to 5 students.

• Each group will receive a 'cadaver' and a list of digestive system structures to identify.

• Perform the 'dissection' of the cadaver to find the 'treasure' in the 'small intestine'.

• Describe the structures you found and explain their function in the digestive process.

• Prepare a presentation for the group explaining what you learned.

Activity 3 - The Digestion Factory

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Visualize and understand the various stages of the digestive system in an interactive and collaborative way.

- Description: In this activity, students will transform the classroom into a 'digestion factory'. Each station will represent a part of the digestive system. The students, divided into groups, will have to follow the 'path of food', which starts with 'chewing' (crushed cookies), goes through the 'stomach' (gastric juice), and reaches the 'small intestine' (gauze). Each station will have a specific activity and the groups will need to complete all stations to 'produce' nutrients (beans) at the end.

- Instructions:

• Split into groups of up to 5 students.

• Each group starts at a different station of the 'digestion factory'.

• Perform the proposed activity at each station, following the 'path of food'.

• In the end, meet to discuss how each station represents a part of the digestive system.

• Present the discoveries and the processes carried out during the 'production' of nutrients.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The feedback session is essential to consolidate students' learning, allowing them to reflect on the practical activities carried out and articulate the knowledge acquired with the theoretical content studied previously. This stage helps identify gaps in understanding and reinforces the key concepts of the digestive system, in addition to promoting communication and argumentation skills. Through group discussion, students are encouraged to think critically and draw conclusions based on their experiences and observations.

Group Discussion

Start the group discussion by inviting each group to share the experiences and discoveries made during the activities. Use the following approach to guide the discussion: First, ask each group to describe the process they simulated in their activity and explain how each phase of digestion was represented. Then, ask them to discuss the main learnings obtained, highlighting any difficulties encountered and how they were overcome. Encourage students to make comparisons between the activities, identifying notable patterns or variations.

Key Questions

1. What were the main challenges when trying to simulate different parts of the digestive system and how did you overcome them?

2. How did the practical activities help consolidate the theoretical knowledge previously studied about the digestive system?

3. Was there any surprise or unexpected discovery during the activities that changed your understanding of the digestive system?

Conclusion

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The Conclusion stage aims to consolidate students' learning, ensuring that they can link acquired knowledge with practical applications and understand the importance of the digestive system in their lives. By summarizing the key points, the teacher helps students retain the most important information and understand the relevance of the content beyond the classroom. This section is crucial to ensure that students leave the lesson with a clear and lasting understanding of the topic addressed.

Summary

To conclude, the teacher should summarize the main points addressed about the digestive system, recapping the functions of each component from the mouth to the intestine and describing the stages of digestion clearly and succinctly. It is essential that students can recall and consolidate the knowledge acquired during the lesson.

Theory Connection

Explain how the practical activities carried out in the classroom helped solidify the connection between the theory studied previously and the practice observed. Highlight how simulating the stages of digestion, the 'dissection' of the 'cadaver', and transforming the room into a 'digestion factory' allowed students to visualize and interact with the digestive processes, making learning more significant and memorable.

Closing

Finally, emphasize the importance of the digestive system for daily health and well-being. Discuss how knowledge about digestion can influence eating habits and promote a better understanding of how our body processes food to obtain the necessary nutrients. This moment of reflection is crucial for students to realize the relevance of what they learned in their daily lives.