The Digestive System
Describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the human digestive system: mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name the main organs in order: mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine
- Describe the function of each (mouth chews, stomach breaks down, small intestine absorbs nutrients)
- Draw or label a simple diagram of the digestive system
1 · Read
The mix of foods you eat goes on a journey to release the nutrients that help you move and grow. It passes through five main parts of your body in the same order each time, and each part has its own job.
First comes the mouth. It chews food into smaller pieces and mixes it with saliva. Next is the oesophagus, a tube that squeezes the chewed food down to your stomach.
Think about a sandwich. Your mouth chews it up. It slides down the oesophagus into your stomach, where it gets churned and broken down even more. Then it moves into your small intestine, which absorbs the nutrients your body needs. What is left travels into your large intestine, which takes out extra water before the rest leaves your body.
Chewing your food well in your mouth means your stomach and small intestine have an easier job later on.
Food travels in order through the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, and each part does its own job.
The rewritten readings were written for this dataset.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.