Body Waste

Invite the school nurse in to clear up misconceptions about body waste and allow students to ask questions that are of concern to them.

Divide the class into teams. Ask each team to study up on one type of body waste using the library, school health books, the internet or other resources. Have them share the details that they have learned about their given topic.

Research how common practices of covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing, saying excuse me, etc. came about in our culture. Are there differences in other cultures or other countries? Are there behaviors or manners from our culture that are frowned on by other cultures?

Read aloud some fascinating human body facts, such as these from Science With Kids or from other sources.  Have students write the multi-digit numbers as they hear them. Check answers together.

The lungs give off gases that the body cannot use. How much air can your lungs hold? Take in a deep breath and exhale as long as you can into a gallon size zipper bag. Only open one corner of the bag in which to exhale. Close it up as soon as you have completed the task. Approximate the volume of gases in the bag using cm cubes. Graph and compare everyone's lung capacity. Find additional reading and a worksheet for help with this lesson.

Our blood is directly related to every kind of waste that comes from the our body. How much blood do we have? Using this formula, calculate how much blood your body contains.

All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow.

All organisms have body parts. Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive.

Many characteristics involve both inheritance and environment. Characteristics result from individuals’ interactions with the environment, which can range from diet to learning.

Examples of the environment affecting a trait could include that normally tall plants grown with insufficient water are stunted, and a pet dog that is given too much food and little exercise may become overweight.

Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal's brain. Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions.

Animals have various body systems with specific functions for sustaining life: skeletal, circulatory, respiratory, muscular, digestive, etc.

The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers”. Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil.

Organisms obtain gases and water from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.

Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions (cellular respiration) in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or to release energy.

In multicellular organisms, the body is a system of multiple interacting subsystems. These subsystems are groups of cells that work together to form tissues. Tissues form organs that are specialized for particular body functions.

Examples could include the interaction of subsystems within a system and the normal functioning of those systems.