Middle School Science Lessons

Carol Burnett had a comedy skit called “As the stomach turns” on her show that was a spoof on soap operas. They are hysterical, but not really for middle schoolers, so I would not recommend showing them as examples in class :)

Objectives: students will research the parts of the digestive system and then write and act out a skit for their classmates

Lesson Materials:

• Google Sheet for characters & student research, includes answer key for teachers (view only, make a copy)
• Diagram 1 – simpler version
• Diagram 2 – more detailed version & additional resources
• Kids Health – General Digestive System Reading

General Directions:

Students will be divided into 3 groups – Upper, Middle, or Lower Digestive tracts. In their groups, they will come up with names for their characters (I have some as suggestions posted) and research what their role is in the digestive system and add it to the shared Google Sheet for the class. Each group will come up with a scene that incorporates their research and they will act it out along with props, drawings, or costumes. Have students share their script with you as a Google Doc for easy editing, fact checking, and adding suggestions to keep them on track. When my 7th graders did this, it was hysterical and they had so much fun with it.