The biggest function of digestion is breaking up food into nutrients that the body can easily digest and put to good use. There are several types of digestive enzymes that assist with this process, all of which serve different functions. In this activity, students will create diagrams of the digestive enzymes and macronutrients they break down. Students have the opportunity to get creative with this project, or can use the shapes and colors to represent different enzymes.
To challenge your more advanced students, have them write a summary of the function of each nutrient in the description box.
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Student Instructions
Describe how three different macronutrients are broken down using shapes in a storyboard.
Engage students by showing real-life examples of digestive enzyme action with simple household items, making the concept more tangible and memorable.
Collect items like crackers, bananas, clear cups, water, and a bit of pineapple or meat tenderizer (which contains enzymes). These accessible materials will help illustrate how enzymes break down food in a fun, relatable way.
Place a cracker in one cup with water, and another with water plus a sprinkle of meat tenderizer or pineapple juice. Stir both and observe changes. This shows how enzymes speed up digestion by breaking down the food faster.
Ask students to note what happens in each cup over a few minutes, comparing results. Guide them to connect these changes to the action of digestive enzymes in the body.
Encourage students to use correct terms like enzyme, substrate, and products as they explain what they saw. Link their hands-on experience back to the diagrams they create in class.
A digestive enzymes diagram activity is a hands-on lesson where students visually represent how different digestive enzymes break down macronutrients into smaller molecules, using shapes, arrows, and labels to enhance understanding of the digestive process.
To teach students about digestive enzymes with diagrams, have them create storyboards showing each enzyme, the macronutrient it breaks down, and the resulting molecules, using shapes and arrows for clarity and engagement.
Examples include: Amylase breaks down carbohydrates, protease digests proteins, and lipase targets fats. Each enzyme is specific to its macronutrient, helping convert food into absorbable nutrients.
Understanding digestive enzymes helps students grasp how the body turns food into essential nutrients, deepening their knowledge of biology and human health.
Students can use different shapes, colors, and arrows to symbolize enzymes and nutrients, or design interactive storyboards to visualize the digestive process in a memorable and engaging way.