Making a model of the human digestive system is the centerpiece of this hands-on lab sheet designed for grades 4 to 6. Your student builds a working physical model using a 2-liter plastic bottle as the stomach and large intestine, a funnel as the mouth and esophagus, and a knotted pantyhose or sock as the small intestine. A mushy mixture of bread, yogurt, oil, and water stands in for partially digested food, and the sheet guides students through six numbered procedure steps before asking them to record observations and answer three discussion questions about the stomach’s job, small intestine function, and why nutrient breakdown matters.

This lab fits naturally into a human body unit study at the middle elementary level and works as a standalone session or as one experiment in a systems-of-the-body sequence. By the time your homeschooler completes the observation and think-and-discuss sections, they have physically demonstrated how food moves from mouth to large intestine and can articulate what each organ does. An extension prompt on the sheet encourages further research into accessory organs like the liver or pancreas, making it easy to stretch the lesson across additional days.