Introduction to the human digestive system
Downloads can take a few minutes, especially for larger files or slower connections.
Threads
Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils' prior learning from Human body parts, where they learned to identify basic body parts and their functions. In Introduction to the human digestive system, pupils will explore how the body processes food to extract nutrients. This prepares them for the next unit, The human circulatory system, where they will deepen their understanding by learning how nutrients and oxygen are transported around the body through the blood, reinforcing the connection between body systems.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body
- Say which part of the human body is associated with each sense
- Identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement
- Find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food, air)
- Describe the importance for humans of eating the right amounts of different types of food
- Identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amounts of nutrition
- Identify that animals including humans cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat
- Identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores
Threads
Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils' prior learning from Human body parts, where they learned to identify basic body parts and their functions. In Introduction to the human digestive system, pupils will explore how the body processes food to extract nutrients. This prepares them for the next unit, The human circulatory system, where they will deepen their understanding by learning how nutrients and oxygen are transported around the body through the blood, reinforcing the connection between body systems.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body
- Say which part of the human body is associated with each sense
- Identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement
- Find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food, air)
- Describe the importance for humans of eating the right amounts of different types of food
- Identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amounts of nutrition
- Identify that animals including humans cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat
- Identify and name a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores
Biology
Introduction to the human digestive system
This unit covers the basic functions of the human digestive system and identifies different types of teeth and their functions. It focuses on asking questions, gathering and presenting data, recording findings with diagrams and charts, and reporting results through written and oral presentations.
10 lessons in unit
slide decks, worksheet PDFs, quizzes and lesson overviews. You can select individual lessons from the Introduction to the human digestive system unit and download the resources you need, or download the entire unit now. See every unit listed in our primary science curriculum and discover more of our teaching resources for primary science programmes.