Rubric: Measuring the Monstrous Digestive System

Student Name: ______Date: ______

Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Participation:
During Class Discussions
Collaboration During Group Work. / Limited participation during class discussions.
Limited coloration during group work. / Some participation during class discussions.
Some collaboration during group work. / Considerable participation during class discussions.
Considerable collaboration during group work. / Active and engaged participation during class discussions.
Active and engaged collaboration during group work.
Observation/Record Sheet / Extensive missing or incorrect data recorded. / Some missing or incorrect data recorded. / Few missing or incorrect data recorded. / No missing or incorrect data recorded.
“Conclusions” Responses / Expresses and organizes ideas and information with limited effectiveness. / Expresses and organizes ideas and information with some effectiveness. / Expresses and organizes ideas and information with considerable effectiveness. / Expresses and organizes ideas and information with a high degree of effectiveness.
Model representing the length of Digestive System / Model assembled with many (5 or more) mistakes. / Model assembled with some (3-4) mistakes. / Model assembled with few (1-2) mistakes. / Model assembled with no (0) mistakes.

Name: ______Date: ______

Measuring the Monstrous Digestive System

Hypothesis

I think my digestive system will be ______ cm long.

Procedure

  1. Measure each part of the digestive system in cenitmetres. Record your data in the Observations section.
  • Digestion begins in the mouth, so measure and cut a piece of black yarn from the front to the back of the mouth. (You can do this by stretching the yarn from the front of your lips to the back of your jaw along your cheek.)
  • The esophagus is a tube that connects the mouth and stomach. Measure and cut a piece of light blue yarn the length of the esophagus. (*The esophagus ends just below your rib cage.) Tie the blue esophagus to the black mouth.
  • In the stomach, gastric juices break down solid food into liquid. Find the length of the stomach by spreading the fingers of your hand and measuring the span from the thumb to the little finger. Measure and cut a piece of pink yarn to match this length. Tie the pink stomach to the light blue esophagus.
  • The small intestine is the longest part of the digestive system; it is folded up inside of you so it fits. Food is further digested and absorbed here. Measure your height and multiply by four. Use green yarn to represent the length of the small intestine. Tie the green small intestine to the pink stomach.
  • Last is the large intestine. It is much wider than the small intestine but much shorter. It is about as tall as you are. Undigested material from the small intestine move to the large intestine before being excreted. Use navy blue yarn to represent the length of your large intestine. Then tie the navy blue large intestine to the green small intestine.
  1. Add all the lengths together. This is the approximate length of your digestive system.

Observations

Digestive Organ / Length (cm)
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine

Total Length of the Digestive System: ______cm

Conclusions

  1. Why do you suppose your digestive system is so long?

______

  1. A model is a representation of an object or a process or idea. It simplifies and helps to explain whatever it represents. List two things your model helped you learn about the digestive system.

______

______