NUTRIENT PROCUREMENT

AND PROCESSING
THE HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Learning Outcomes:
1. Enumerate and describe the main stages of food
processing;
2. Describe the organs involved in food processing in
the human digestive system and their roles; and
3. Summarize the mechanisms of digestion, absorption,
and delivery of nutrients into cell
Activity Plan/Performance Task
The class is pre-grouped into 6. Choose a leader.
Watch the video (lecture on Human digestion)
Note the structures and their functions
Note the stages in food processing
Make a depiction of the human digestive system
using the materials you were asked to bring into class
Label the parts
Report in class (parts, functions, stages of food
processing)
Performance rating
The leader of each group will have 5 rating sheets- one
for each performing group.
Rubric:
Criteria Number of points
Understanding of the topic 3 points
Manner of pressentation 3 points
Creativity/Resourcefulness 3 points
Teamwork 3 points

Students are encouraged to comment after each

performance.
Structures of the Human Digestive
System
Oral cavity
Accessory Digestive
Esophagus Organs
Stomach Pancreas
Small intestine Liver
Large intestine Gallbladder
Rectum
Anus
Main Stages of Food Processing
Ingestion –act of eating
Digestion – breakdown of food into particles
Absorption – passage of digested nutrients and
fluid into the body fluids
Elimination – expulsion of
undigested/unabsorbed materials from the end of
the gut.
Mechanism of Digestion and Food Processing
Carbohydrates Digestion
Begins in the mouth
Discontinued in the stomach due to acidic pH that
destroys amylase
Resumed in the small intestine where
monosaccharides are absorbed.
Mechanism of Digestion and Food Processing
Protein Digestion
Begins in the stomach
Amino acids are absorbed by the small intestine then
enters the blood stream
Fat Digestion
Occurs entirely in the small intestine
Fatty acids and monoglycerides enter the intestinal
lumen and transported throughout the body via blood
capillaries