The Mouth - digestion, saliva, enzymes, digestive system
The Mouth
digestion, saliva, enzymes, digestive system
Digestive System Unit
Let’s take a journey! This journey will only be about 20 feet long, just the length of a bus, but it will take
us almost two days to reach the end. Sound boring? Sound slow? Not at all! We will see some
unbelievable sights along the way! Places that look alien even though they are very close. In fact, it's a
journey to the center of . . . you. Ready? Open wide . . .
We begin in your mouth. From here, we’ll follow the food you eat and watch every single thing that
happens to it until it reaches the exit. Digestion is what your body does to break food down into energy
you can use. It sounds simple, but most of your body has to work to break this food down and turn it into
something you can use. Without this, you would not be able to run, jump, kick, high five -- or live, for that
matter.
Time to eat! Choose any food you’d like. In fact, eat a few different kinds of foods so we can watch how
the body treats them. Have some rice and some spinach. Here’s some orange juice and a piece of
chicken. Is your mouth watering? Good! Did you know that digestion starts even before you put food in
your mouth? Saliva is the liquid in your mouth that makes it easy for food to go down your throat and
starts to break down your food. You chew, I’ll talk. Take a long time to chew. There’s a lot to cover in
your mouth.
Ready to try something gross but cool? Take some bread or rice and start chewing. Good, now don’t
stop chewing. In fact, keep chewing for as long as you can. What happens? Yes, the food becomes like
a wet sock, but it should also start to taste sweet. That’s because there are things called enzymes in your
spit. Enzymes help speed up what your body needs to do. In your mouth, they help your body to break
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The Mouth - digestion, saliva, enzymes, digestive system
down certain things and start to turn your food into sugar. Your cells can then use this sugar for energy.
Now you can swallow! Look how much we have seen, and we are only at the beginning! You can see
why this very short trip could take a while. No matter how tall you are, the trip your food takes is over
twenty feet long! Your digestive system is made up of many parts of your body that have to work
together to break your food down into things you can use. It has everything from your mouth to the pipes
that carry your food to your stomach, right on down to your bottom.
Look at how much has happened so far, and we are still in your mouth. That's because so many things
happen when you chew. Your spit, your teeth and your tongue do a lot of work to make sure your food is
ready to enter your body. We still have a long ways to go. What's that? You want to keep eating?
Great. There will just be more things to watch in our journey to the center of you.
References:
Kidshealth.org. “What Are Taste Buds?” Kids’ Health,
2011. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/taste_buds.html>
Kidshealth.org. “Your Digestive System.” Kids’ Health,
2010. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/digestive_system.html#>
Woman’s Day. “7 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Taste Buds.” Woman’s Day,
2012.
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-your-taste-buds-119709>
Over 300 more free Science and History articles are waiting to inspire your students at BirdBrainScience.com
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