In Human Cells and Digestion students learn about the process of digestion and the role of cells in the process. Students know they get hungry, they eat food, and they use the restroom. What students may not understand is how their bodies engage in those processes. What enables students’ bodies to break that food down to get nutrients and energy? Students may not know that energy, in the form of chemicals that make up food, goes to cells in the body so they can carry out all the functions people need to live. During the process of breaking down food, not all can be used, so it needs to be eliminated as waste. The digestive system is one of the systems in the body that eliminates waste.

This unit helps students understand the nature of food in chemical terms appropriate to the grade level. Student also do activities that help them understand the relationship between food, digestion, cells, and waste. They do this following a boy on a hike as he gets hungry from exerting. The complex process of digestion and waste removal are ideas that all students experience every day and this unit places those in a clear, enjoyable context.

Scientists, including biologists, zoologists, geologists, and climatologists, study how living things affect the land, air, and water. This series of lessons incorporates learning goals that support scientific principles and practices, such as asking questions, arguing with evidence, analyzing and interpreting data, recognizing cause and effect, and planning and carrying out investigations.