Best for
Body-systems science, nutrition contexts, hauora units, and any lesson where students need more than a labelled diagram.
Science / Hauora • Years 5-8 • Body systems
Digestive System Inquiry
Use this handout to help ākonga trace the journey of kai through the body, explain what each organ does, and connect digestion to energy, growth, and hauora without reducing the topic to food rules or shame.
Free body-systems scaffold, premium localisation path
This page is print-ready now. If you want the examples rewritten around your health unit, school garden, hāngi science, or a junior/senior reading level, Te Wānanga can adapt the content without losing the enquiry structure.
- Swap the context to kai from your local unit or marae-based learning.
- Generate a more scaffolded junior version or a stronger senior explanation task.
- Save the adapted copy to My Kete and continue later in Creation Studio.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 35-45 minutes.
- Grouping: Model as a whole class, then use paired korero before independent writing.
- Prep: Optional body diagram, food cards, or a short starter about nutrients and energy.
- Teaching move: Keep the focus on process and function. Students should explain what the organ does, not only memorise its name.
Resources already provided
- Food-journey reading text
- Organ-function table with write-on space
- Meal-to-energy explanation prompt
- Labelled pathway drawing space
- Support, core, and stretch tasks
- Teacher-only curriculum companion
If the lesson mentions a diagram, response planner, or explanation scaffold, those materials already exist here.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how food moves through the digestive system.
- We are learning how different organs do different jobs in the same body system.
- We are learning how digestion connects to energy, growth, and hauora.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can describe the journey of food through at least five organs.
- I can explain why the small intestine is important for nutrient absorption.
- I can use science vocabulary to explain how digestion supports the whole body.
Curriculum integration / Te Mātaiaho alignment
Use the companion page to connect this handout to body-systems science, explanation writing, and hauora-aware teaching in Aotearoa classrooms.
Science in an Aotearoa context
Kai is part of hauora, identity, and whānau life in Aotearoa. Teaching digestion well means showing students how the body uses food, while also keeping the classroom respectful of different food traditions, access realities, and relationships with eating.
Mātauranga Māori adds depth when you discuss kai as something linked to people, whenua, and wellbeing. The science focus here is on body function, but it sits naturally alongside Te Whare Tapa Whā and wider ideas of hauora.
Read the journey of kai
Digestion begins in the mouth, where teeth break food into smaller pieces and saliva starts chemical digestion. Food then travels down the oesophagus into the stomach. In the stomach, food is churned and mixed with acid and enzymes so it can be broken down further.
From there, the partly digested food moves into the small intestine. This is where most nutrients pass through the walls of the intestine into the bloodstream. The liver and pancreas help by making substances that support digestion. The large intestine then absorbs water and prepares the remaining waste to leave the body.
The digestive system does not work alone. Once nutrients enter the blood, other body systems move them where they are needed for energy, repair, growth, and keeping us alive.
Organ-function tracker
| Organ | What happens here? | Why is that important? |
|---|---|---|
| Mouth | Food is chewed and mixed with saliva. | |
| Stomach | Food is churned and broken down with acid. | |
| Small intestine | Nutrients move into the bloodstream. | |
| Liver or pancreas | Helps digestion with important chemicals. | |
| Large intestine | Water is absorbed and waste is formed. |
Explain it clearly
Short-response prompts
- Why is chewing an important first step in digestion?
- Why is the small intestine often described as the key absorption organ?
- How does the digestive system help the rest of the body do its work?
Meal to energy
Choose one meal or snack. Explain how the body turns it from kai into something useful for movement, growth, or repair.
Draw and label the pathway
Sketch the digestive pathway from mouth to large intestine. Label the major organs and add one note beside at least three of them explaining the job done there.
Different ways in
Support
Use arrows and labels only. Say each organ job aloud with a partner before writing.
Core
Complete the table and write one clear paragraph explaining how nutrients reach the blood.
Stretch
Explain how the digestive, circulatory, and muscular systems work together after a student eats lunch and then plays sport.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Investigate social, cultural, environmental, and economic questions; gather and evaluate evidence from diverse sources; communicate findings and reasoning clearly for different audiences and purposes.
English — Communication
Level 3–4: Read, interpret, and evaluate information texts; write clearly and purposefully for specific audiences; apply critical thinking skills to evaluate sources and construct well-reasoned responses.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
This resource sits within a kaupapa that recognises mātauranga Māori as a living knowledge system with its own frameworks, values, and ways of understanding the world. The New Zealand Curriculum calls for learning that reflects the bicultural partnership of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which means every subject area has an obligation to engage authentically with Māori perspectives — not as cultural decoration but as substantive contributions to how we understand our topics. The concepts of manaakitanga (care for others), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whanaungatanga (relationship and belonging), and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) provide a values framework applicable across all learning areas, and all are relevant to the work in this handout.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.