Boys, Girls, Grandmas, Grandpas, Dogs, Cats, Hamsters, and Ponies –

Everybody Farts!

Why do we fart? Why do they smell so bad?

Created by O Lebal, A Pettee and M Pringle; members of the University of Minnesota veterinary class or 2027

Instructional Guide

Farting is an everyday occurrence that often leaves those involved laughing and/or embarrassed. The truth is that there shouldn’t be any embarrassment surrounding normal bodily functions and by teaching how and why it occurs can help eliminate any negative stigma. The goal of this lesson is to help students understand why we fart and how it is a natural and unavoidable process.

The purpose of the stomach and intestines is to reduce food into usable energy for the body. During this process the food is broken down into its chemical components, including carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, and gasses such as methane, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. The nutrients are taken into the body to be used, while the gas is of no use to the body; yet, it still must have somewhere to go. This causes the body to expel the gas via flatulence, also known as farting.

Intended Grade Level

This lesson is intended for 1st & 2nd grade students, aged 6-8 years old.

Participants need only have a rudimentary understanding of the process their food goes through from the time it is consumed to excretion (mouth – stomach – intestine – rear end). This lesson would be a good supplement to a standard digestion lesson.

Minnesota state standard connection

4.2.1 Students will be able to read and interpret multiple sources to obtain information, evaluate the merit and validity of claims and design solutions, and communicate information, ideas, and evidence in a variety of formats.

3L.4.2.1.1 Obtain information from various types of media to support an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.** (P: 8, CC: 4, CI: LS1)

Learning Objectives

• Students can describe why farting happens and what causes it
• Students can work in pairs to accurately organize the steps of digestion from consumption to excretion
• Students can identify foods that make you fart

Lesson Format

• Estimated Duration: 45 minutes depending on allocated length for activities.
• This lesson is designed to be run by the instructor and to involve a larger group.
• The video can be shown to the entire class.
• Students should work in pairs or small groups on the activities.

Activities

Address the Elephant in the Room

This is an understandably humerus topic for elementary students to learn about. To promote focus and engagement throughout the rest of the lesson, start with an activity for students to break out into partners or small groups for a minute or two, and practice making different fart sounds with each other. This will break the ice and allow students a chance to embrace how entertaining farting is, so they can be serious about it throughout the remainder of the lesson.

• Example: https://truelifeimateacher.com/the-classroom-toot-talk/
• Resource: Almost everybody farts book

Down to Business

Once the ice has been broken it’s time to be serious. Reiterate the idea that everybody farts. Ask the class to raise their hand if they have ever farted (you will raise your hand as well). Take a few minutes to lead a discussion for your class explaining that farting is nothing to be embarrassed about. When someone farts, it isn’t nice to draw attention to it, call someone stinky, plug your nose, etc. Farting is normal, and everybody farts!

Watch this video:

Alternative video (shorter and more direct):

Getting to the Meat & Potatoes

Mini lecture: What is the actual science behind flatulence?

Gas is a natural byproduct of food digestion. Different foods we consume are composed of different nutrients. Some foods have high protein contents, while others have high sugar or fat contents. During digestion, the body takes solid food and uses it for energy. The stuff that is leftover is the waste products, which have to leave the body. They can leave the body as a solid through stool, also known as poop, or as a gas as flatulence, also known as farts. Different types of foods get digested differently, which is why some foods may make you more gassy than others. For example, if you ate a handful of carrots for a snack, you likely would not be very gassy afterwards; but if you ate a bean burrito for a snack, that would likely make you very gassy! It all has to do with what the food is made of, and how the body digests it so it can be used as an energy source for living. It is important that gas is expelled from the body so it doesn’t cause a tummy ache. If we eat food but hold our farts in, as we digest, more and more gas is going to be made. This causes tummy aches and bloating, which can be incredibly uncomfortable. It is best to prevent this from happening by farting when the body says it’s time.

Consider a sorting activity using large flashcards or cans of food. Which of these foods will make you fart? (beans, onions, fried foods, eggs, meat, broccoli, nuts,  lactose products for some people)

Discuss what happens if you don’t fart (video)

Common Misconceptions & Challenge Points

• Keeping the students engaged and focused throughout the lesson can pose challenges. Use whatever systems works for you and your classroom to ensure students are learning.
• Finding vocabulary appropriate for this age level without compromising the content.
• Students may have difficulty understanding the difference between why the body needs nutrients but not gases (why gas is a waste product), as well as the difference between carbon dioxide – or methane gas – expelled through farts and exhaled.”

Assessment

• Students can work in pairs to put their flashcards in chronological order from consumption to excretion.
• Food > mouth > stomach > digestion > production of gas can make the gut upset or bloated > expulsion of gas – Farting!
• Below are printable flashcards to complete this assessment-of-learning activity.

• Advanced – students can explore why some animals are super-farters (or burpers)
  • https://www.pbs.org/video/cow-burps-are-warming-the-planet-ggezvc/
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L21RLbe27Y
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-rfzneuYdg