This project had each group choose two organ systems within the body. The body systems we could choose from included the circulatory, endocrine, reproductive, muscular, excretory, nervous, lymphatic, digestive, skeletal, or respiratory. My group chose to do the excretory and digestive systems. Once we chose the two systems, every group had to research the systems, make a model of the two working independently and dependently, and make a presentation teaching the two systems. My group and I made our model using many different containers, colored water, clay, a grate, a tube, a sponge, a funnel, and scissors.
Concepts: Tissues - a group of similar cells working together to perform a specific function Organ - a group of tissues working together to perform bodily function Organ System - a group of organs that work together to perform one or more functions (we chose the digestive and excretory) Digestive System - system that breaks down food into small molecules to be absorbed by cells (first system in our model) mouth - the oral cavity that opens at the lips and empties into the esophagus (a cup) pharynx - the membrane-lined cavity behind the nose and mouth that connects them to the esophagus large intestine - the organ that removes water from food waste and passes it to the rectum (shallow container) small intestine - the organ that absorbs nutrients from food into body (grate) esophagus - connects the throat to the stomach stomach - organ where most of digestion occurs (large container) Excretory System - the system that rids the body of wastes (our second system in our model) skin - layer of tissue; forms outer covering of body (we didn't show in our model, but it removes excess water through sweat) lungs - organ that draws in O2 and removes CO2 from body (we didn't show in our model, but it removes CO2 waste) kidneys - pair of organs that filters wastes from blood and makes urine (the medium container)
Reflection: My group and I worked really well on this project. We managed our time really well and finished with a lot of time to spare, which I am usually not good at. We also got a perfect score on creativity, an area that I have been wanting to improve on. I still need to work on my confidence speaking in my presentations. I do not like speaking in front of people, so I tend to not speak as confidently, especially in the beginning of my presentations. This ultimately ends up hurting my entire group's grade in communication. I feel like this project was very rushed. Although my group and I finished on time, I think that we could have had more time for each section. I feel like my group's understanding of our systems could have improved with more time to learn everything. I found that I did not understand everything as well as I could have.