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Opening

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Two tokens need a route

Learning intention

Describe how absorbed nutrients and water reach body tissues and distinguish this from the waste route.

One token is glucose. One is water.

How can both reach a muscle tissue?

Success looks like

  • Separate digestion, absorption and transport.
  • Trace a soluble nutrient or water from intestine into blood and towards tissues.
  • Distinguish unabsorbed gut material from urine made by kidneys.
Retrieval

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Recover the two system jobs

R1. What is digestion?

R2. What does the heart pump?

R3. Where does blood gain oxygen?

I do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

I separate breaking down from crossing

Digestion changes some food substances.

Absorption moves substances across the gut wall.

I follow a small glucose molecule.

Absorption: across a surfaceSmall glucose symbols cross the intestinal wall into a capillary. Labels distinguish intestine contents, wall and blood. The model is not to scale or a literal sieve.A soluble nutrient crosses the gut wallInside the intestineGutwallSmall blood vesselGlucose dissolved in plasmaParticles and wall are not to scale. This shows absorption,not a literal hole or a whole-food filter.
Absorption: across a surface
Diagram description

Small glucose symbols cross the intestinal wall into a capillary. Labels distinguish intestine contents, wall and blood. The model is not to scale or a literal sieve.

I do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

I follow the transport job

Water and many nutrients travel in blood plasma.

Blood moves towards body tissues.

Water can be absorbed without digestion.

Water and a soluble nutrient travelA simplified scientific sequence: Intestine: absorption; Blood plasma: transport; Body tissues: substances used. Circulation carries substances onwards. This job map omits the detailed liver, heart and lung route.Water and a soluble nutrient travelIntestine:absorptionBlood plasma:transportBody tissues:substances usedCirculation carries substances onwards. This job mapomits the detailed liver, heart and lung route.
Water and a soluble nutrient travel
Diagram description

A simplified scientific sequence: Intestine:
absorption; Blood plasma:
transport; Body tissues:
substances used. Circulation carries substances onwards. This job map
omits the detailed liver, heart and lung route.

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

I do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

I separate two waste routes

Unabsorbed gut material can leave as faeces.

Kidneys filter blood and make urine.

There is no direct gut-to-bladder tube.

Two different routes outA branching model distinguishes unabsorbed material continuing through large intestine to faeces, from blood being filtered by kidneys to produce urine.Faeces and urine take different routesUnabsorbedgut materialLarge intestinethen rectumFaecesleave through anusBlood carrieswater and wastesKidneysfilter bloodUrinethen bladderNo direct intestine-to-bladder tube is shown or implied.
Two different routes out
Diagram description

A branching model distinguishes unabsorbed material continuing through large intestine to faeces, from blood being filtered by kidneys to produce urine.

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

We do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Delivery desk: assign the tokens

Go to interactive investigation

W1. Match each token to its next process.

Use cards A–F on page 1.

Explain using “break down”, “cross” or “carry”.

Token positionChoose next process
Large starch molecule in gutDigestion / circulation
Glucose at gut wallAbsorption / chewing
Dissolved glucose in bloodTransport / swallowing
Water in intestineAbsorption / digestion

Delivery desk: predict the next process

Predict first, test the model, then explain using the evidence. Move at your own pace; paper W1–W3 tasks assess the same reasoning.

Decision 1 of 3

Glucose is at the gut wall. Which process is next?

Choose, test, then explain together. Evidence diagrams appear only after your test. Diagram transitions explain the model; they do not represent real elapsed time. Use Pause model to stop transitions and model controls, or your device’s reduced-motion setting. The printed We do activity provides the paper route.

We do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

The incorrect shortcut

Diagram claim: “Drink → stomach → bladder.”

W2. Replace the middle route.

Which organ makes urine from blood?

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

We do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Choose the right exit route

A food particle remains unabsorbed.

W3. Does it enter blood or continue through the gut?

Explain how this differs from urine.

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

Hinge

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

A water molecule is in the small intestine

Which next step can happen?

You do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Create the delivery explanation

Choose one response route.

Explain a glucose journey and a water journey.

Keep the two waste routes separate.

You do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Use three different verbs

Digestion: break down.

Absorption: cross a surface.

Transport: carry onwards.

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

You do

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Check the substance at each arrow

Is it whole food or a small molecule?

Is it inside the gut, blood or a tissue?

Have you named the process?

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

Review

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Trace and challenge

Trace one partner or teacher model.

Find a clear process label.

Ask for a missing step or clarification.

Review

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Choose a closer look

Would magnifying gut wall or kidney help next?

Explain which unanswered question it would address.

Continue within this stage’s shared time.

Exit

GROW · SCIENCE · Lesson 7 of 11

Three steps, three meanings

E1. What does absorption mean?

E2. What carries many dissolved nutrients?

E3. Which organs make urine from blood?

My science task sheets

Choose one route with your teacher. Shared evidence and the exit sheet appear in every route. Your work stays here while the page is open; save it before closing.

1 • Shared evidence: delivery routes

Use these science cards for paper tokens or the interactive model. No measurements from pupils are needed.

A • Digestion

Some large food molecules are broken into small molecules. Glucose is a small soluble sugar.

B • Absorption

Most nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine. Glucose crosses its wall into blood; most dietary fat initially takes a lymph route.

C • Water

Water is absorbed in both small and large intestine. It does not need to be digested into a smaller substance.

D • Transport

Blood plasma is mostly water and carries many dissolved substances. Circulation moves them towards tissues.

E • Unabsorbed material

Material that is not absorbed continues through the large intestine. Faeces are stored in the rectum and leave through the anus.

F • Kidneys

Kidneys filter blood and help balance water and dissolved substances. They make urine, which is carried to and stored in the bladder.

2 • Supported route: follow the substance

Use page 1. Word bank: absorption / digestion / transport / blood / kidneys.

S1. Which process breaks some large food molecules down?
S3. Does water have to be digested before it is absorbed?

3 • Standard route: two delivery records

Use precise substance and process names.

ProcessMeaning in this lesson
Digestion
Absorption
Transport

4 • Stretch route: audit the delivery animation

An accurate model states what it shows and what it simplifies.

5 • Exit and reflection

A labelled route is welcome.

Slide 1

TA Brief

Current stage

Objective

Describe how absorbed nutrients and water reach body tissues and distinguish this from the waste route.

Preparation

Method precautions

Practical alternative

Every pupil can use the supplied paper tokens and route cards. The model needs no practical materials.

Access and regulation

Supported: Use route words and sort tokens with sentence frames.

Standard: Explain two substance journeys and distinguish waste routes.

Stretch: Repair a delivery model and explain simplification and uncertainty.

Regulation: Offer quiet pointing, private writing, drawing or adult scribing. Pass-and-return for public questions. Use fictional cases; no personal medical disclosure or comparison of bodies. Assign response routes from current evidence, not fixed pupil labels.

Teacher answers

R1–R3

R1 breakdown of some food substances into smaller absorbable substances. R2 blood. R3 lungs.

W1–W3

W1 large starch needing digestion: digestion; glucose at gut wall: absorption; glucose in blood: transport; water in the gut: absorption. W2 water is absorbed from intestine into body transport; blood reaches kidneys which make urine carried to bladder. Not all swallowed water becomes urine. W3 unabsorbed material continues through large intestine to faeces; kidneys make urine from blood.

Hinge A–C

A incorrect: water does not need digestion. B correct: it can cross the gut wall. C incorrect: kidneys filter blood rather than a direct pipe from stomach.

S1–S6

S1 digestion. S2 absorption; blood. S3 no. S4 intestine→blood→tissues, with absorption at gut wall. S5 kidneys; gut. S6 digestion breaks some food substances down; transport carries absorbed substances onwards.

N1–N4

N1 digestion/breakdown; absorption/crossing surface into body transport; transport/carrying onwards. Glucose or water crossing gut wall is a valid example. N2 glucose crosses small intestine wall into blood and is carried towards tissues. Full correct liver/heart/lung route may be added but not required. N3 water absorbed into blood and distributed; already a small substance, not needing digestion. N4 gut residues→large intestine→rectum/anus/faeces; blood→kidneys→ureters/bladder→urine route. Names beyond kidneys/bladder optional.

T1–T4

T1 some food molecules are digested into small substances such as glucose, absorbed through the gut wall and transported in blood. T2 absorption precedes distribution; kidneys regulate water by filtering blood; water also remains in the body or leaves by other routes. T3 most dietary fats initially enter lymph rather than directly blood; label “a soluble nutrient such as glucose” instead of every nutrient. T4 gut wall is living tissue with cells and transport processes, not mesh holes; arrows represent substance movement, not whole food crumbs.

E1–E4 / reflection

E1 movement across a surface into the body’s transport systems. E2 blood/plasma. E3 kidneys. E4 no; water can be absorbed without breakdown into smaller food units. Reflection: any reasoned magnification question.

Assessment and re-teach

Secure: distinguishes three processes, describes glucose/water absorption and blood transport, and separates kidney urine from gut residue. If vocabulary alone is correct, require a substance arrow. If direct-bladder error persists, trace the two parallel waste routes with different tokens.

Sources checked for this lesson

Word help

absorption
The movement of substances across a surface into the body’s transport systems.
soluble
Able to dissolve in a liquid.
glucose
A small sugar the body can use in respiration.
plasma
The liquid part of blood, mostly water.
kidney
An organ that filters blood and helps balance water and dissolved substances.

Cold Call

Give thinking time. Invite a response by voice, pointing or showing work. A pupil can pass; check in privately when useful.

Pause

Take a quiet pause.

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