The digestive system is a series of organs that work together to break down food into nutrients that the body can use. The digestive system includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus.
Coloring activities can be helpful to give students a chance to model the organ systems. I short, coloring can slow the pace of a course and give students time to think and model systems. Anatomy can be challenging for students because so many of the words are unfamiliar. I provide lots of opportunities for students to work with these difficult terms.
Students will get out of the coloring what they put into it. Encourage students to really engage with the model, and not just color randomly. For example, as they color the stomach, think about what it does and how it relates to other structures. What is it connected to? What is its function?
Other Digestive System Resources
I have several coloring worksheets for many systems, though some are more difficult than others. In this example, “Human Digestive Coloring” students can find the structures by reading the descriptions. The advanced worksheet also includes specific sections of the large intestine (ascending, transverse, descending) and is not something I usually cover with younger students.
You can check out the complete unit on the digestive system, which includes google slides an other activities related to digestion.
Finally, my advanced students complete a case studying on Celiac Disease. They learn that even small structures in the digestive system are important to its function.
Grade Level: 9-12
Time Required: 15-25 minutes