Urinary System Activity: 8 Hands-On Stations for Teaching the Kidneys, Ureters, and Bladder (TEKS 7.13A)

Chris Kesler · 8 min read

Your kidneys filter about 50 gallons of blood every single day. Two organs the size of a fist, sitting in your lower back, processing every drop of blood in your body around 60 times in 24 hours. Tell your 7th graders that and the room goes "whoa." Then tell them the bladder can hold up to 600 mL before signaling the brain it is time to find a bathroom and watch them do the math on how much that is in their water bottle.

Urinary is the system kids think they know because they use the bathroom every day. They've heard the words "kidney" and "bladder" since elementary school. But ask them what the kidneys actually do, why urine has different colors, or what the difference is between a ureter and a urethra (one letter, very different organs), and the surface knowledge falls apart fast.

The Urinary System Functions Station Lab for TEKS 7.13A closes that gap in one to two class periods. Kids build a kidney filtration model using a water bottle, sand, and a coffee filter, analyze three urine sample profiles for color, output, protein, and glucose, sort cards comparing the kidneys, ureters, and bladder, and trace the path of liquid waste through all four organs. By the end, they can name every part, explain how a urinalysis works, and predict what a person's kidney health is from a sample.

⏱ 1–2 class periods 📓 7th Grade Science 🧪 TEKS 7.13A 🎯 Built-in differentiation 💻 Print or Digital

8 hands-on stations for teaching the urinary system

A station lab is a student-led activity where small groups rotate through 8 stations (plus a 9th challenge station for early finishers) at their own pace during one to two class periods. You become a facilitator instead of a lecturer. You walk around, spot-check the kidney filtration models, and break misconceptions while kids work through the rotation.

The Urinary System Functions Station Lab has four input stations (where students take in new info on the kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra, and urinalysis) and four output stations (where they show what they learned). Here's what's at each one.

📷 Image slot 1 — add screenshot

📷 Image slot 2 — add screenshot

4 input stations: how students learn the urinary system

🎬 Watch It! —

A short YouTube video walks students through how the urinary system works. Three questions follow: what are the four main body parts of the urinary system, briefly describe how the urinary system removes waste from the body, and how can you tell if you are hydrated enough. Visual kids come alive at this station before they ever pour sand through a coffee filter.

📖 Read It! —

A one-page passage called "Urinary System" introduces the kidneys as filters in the lower back, the 30 cm ureters as muscular tubes carrying liquid waste, the pear-shaped bladder that stores 400–600 mL of urine, and the urethra as the final tube out of the body. The passage also explains how the bladder uses nerves to signal the brain when it's time to use the bathroom. Three multiple-choice questions follow plus five vocabulary words to define (kidneys, ureters, bladder, urine, urethra). Comes in two reading levels (Dependent and Modified) plus a Spanish version.

🔬 Explore It! —

This is the heart of the lab. Students build a model of kidney filtration. Fill a water bottle halfway with water, add about ¼ cup of sand, put the lid on, shake to mix, and remove the lid. Place a coffee filter over the top of the bottle and secure it with a rubber band. Tip the bottle over a beaker and let the water drain through. Four reflection questions wrap it up: what happens to the sand when the water is poured through the coffee filter, how do the water bottle and coffee filter represent the kidneys, what do the water and sand represent (the cleaned blood vs. the toxins), and what might happen to the body if the kidneys could not filter properly. The model makes the abstract idea of "filtering blood" concrete.

💻 Research It! —

Students examine 11 reference cards about urinalysis. Four data-table cards: urine colors (pale yellow, dark amber, clear) and what each indicates, urine output ranges (less than 0.5 L/day, 0.5–2.0 L/day, more than 2.0 L/day), presence of proteins (none/trace, moderate, high), and presence of glucose (none, present). Three urine sample cards: Sample A (pale yellow, 2.5 L/day, no protein, no glucose), Sample B (dark amber, 0.5 L/day, moderate protein, no glucose), Sample C (clear, 1.5 L/day, no protein, glucose present). Four questions check whether they can diagnose each sample, explain why color matters, link urine output to kidney function, and reason about protein in urine.

📷 Featured station deep-dive — add screenshot of the Explore It! task card

4 output stations: how students show what they learned

📋 Organize It! —

A three-column card sort. Kids match each component (kidneys, ureters, bladder) with four traits each. "Two organs in the lower back" → kidneys. "Two muscular tubes" → ureters. "Pear-shaped organ" → bladder. The trait "can hold up to 600 mL of urine" lands on bladder, while "can be up to 30 cm in length" lands on ureters. The sort moves beyond simple labeling and forces kids to recognize each organ by both shape and function.

🎨 Illustrate It! —

Students sketch a flow chart of the urinary system showing all four organs (kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra) connected the way they actually sit in the body. Kids label each organ and draw arrows showing the direction waste travels: blood enters the kidneys, urine drips down the ureters, fills the bladder, and finally exits through the urethra. Even kids who say "I can't draw" surprise themselves here. The flow-chart format locks in the order, which is the part most kids forget when they're just reading.

✍️ Write It! —

Three open-ended questions: how does the shape of the bladder help it perform its job, which organs of the urinary system are made up of tubes and what is the job of those tube-shaped organs, and if a person loses the function of their kidneys predict what could happen to the overall function of other body systems. The third question is the killer because it forces kids to connect kidney failure to the circulatory system (toxins build up in the blood) and to homeostasis (water and pH go out of balance).

📝 Assess It! —

Three multiple-choice questions plus a fill-in-the-paragraph that uses all five Read It! vocabulary words (kidneys, ureters, bladder, urine, urethra). The paragraph reads: "Major organs of the urinary system are the ___, which filter waste out of the blood. Toxins move out of these organs through two tubes called the ___. The tubes connect to the ___, which stores the ___ and signals the brain when it is time to use the bathroom. The waste finally passes out of the body through another tube called the ___." If you're grading the lab, this is the easiest station to grade.

Bonus Challenge It! station for early finishers

🏆 Challenge It! —

Four optional extensions: build a memory-style matching game with one set of cards drawing the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra and a second set describing the function of each organ. Write a creative story from the perspective of a toxin trying to tag along with its blood cell friends and getting separated and dispelled through the urinary system. Research a kidney disorder and describe how the kidneys are affected and how the body is harmed. Or design an informative medical brochure describing dialysis and how it substitutes for kidney function while a patient awaits a kidney transplant. Requires teacher approval before they start.

How this fits into a complete urinary system unit

This Station Lab is the Explore day of our full Urinary System Functions Complete 5E Lesson for TEKS 7.13A. The complete two-week unit follows the 5E method of instruction and includes an Engage hook, the Urinary System Station Lab for Explore, PowerPoint slides and interactive notebook pages for Explain, student choice projects to Elaborate, and an Evaluate assessment.

Most teachers grab the full 5E because the Station Lab lands hardest with the days around it. But if you just need a strong hands-on day on the urinary system, the Station Lab on its own does the job.

Two options

Full 5E Lesson $13.20 Get the 5E Lesson

Just the Station Lab $7.20 Get the Station Lab

Materials needed to teach the urinary system

Materials beyond what's in the download:

Empty plastic water bottles with the lids — one per group rotation. Old 16 oz bottles work great.
Coffee filters — two or three per group rotation in case the first one tears.
Sand — about ¼ cup per group rotation. Play sand from any hardware store works fine.
Rubber bands — to secure the coffee filter over the bottle mouth.
A beaker or clear cup for catching the filtered water at the Explore It! station.
Water — fill the bottle halfway, so a pitcher of tap water at the station works.
Colored pencils or markers for the Illustrate It! flow chart.
Pencils and the printed answer sheets (included)
A device with internet for the Watch It! station

Standard covered: Texas TEKS 7.13A —

Investigate and explain the functions of the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, immune, integumentary, nervous, muscular, skeletal, reproductive, and endocrine systems. Supporting Standard.

See the full standard breakdown →

Grade level: 7th grade life science

Time: One to two class periods (45–110 minutes total). Plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab.

Common student misconceptions this lab fixes

"The kidneys make urine, and that's pretty much it."
Kids reduce the kidneys to a simple urine factory. The Read It! passage names the bigger job: kidneys keep water, pH, and other molecules balanced in the body. They filter blood, then return the cleaned blood to the circulatory system through veins. The Explore It! sand-and-coffee-filter model makes this concrete because kids see the dirty water (representing blood with toxins) come out clean (representing blood after filtration) while the sand stays in the filter (representing the toxins removed). Once kids see the kidneys as full-time blood cleaners that make urine as a byproduct, the system makes a lot more sense.
"Ureter and urethra are the same word."
Spelling-wise they're one letter apart, and 7th graders mash them together every time. The lab forces them apart. The Organize It! card sort places "two muscular tubes" with the ureters and "is connected to the urethra which passes urine out of the body" with the bladder. The Illustrate It! flow chart makes kids draw two ureters going down from the kidneys to the bladder, then a single urethra leading out of the bladder to outside the body. Two organs in two different spots doing two related but different jobs. By the end of the lab, kids stop confusing them.
"All urine looks the same and means the same thing."
Most kids never think about urine color past "yellow." The Research It! station has urinalysis cards showing pale yellow as well-hydrated, dark amber as dehydrated, and clear as over-hydrated. Three sample cards force kids to diagnose Sample A (pale yellow, 2.5 L/day, no protein, no glucose, a healthy person who drinks a lot of water), Sample B (dark amber, 0.5 L/day, moderate protein, possible early kidney disease and dehydration), and Sample C (clear, 1.5 L/day, glucose present, possible diabetes). By the end, kids understand that doctors run urinalysis tests precisely because urine carries a ton of information about kidney health and overall body function.

What you get with this urinary system activity

📷 Inside-the-product — add screenshot of Read It passage or sample answer sheet

When you buy the Station Lab, you get a single download with everything you need:

Print version at two reading levels (Dependent for on-grade, Modified for additional support) plus a Spanish Read It! passage
Digital version as PowerPoint files (works in Google Slides too) at both levels — for 1:1 classrooms or Google Classroom
Teacher Directions and Answer Key for both versions, all keys included
Station task cards ready to print, laminate, and drop in baskets at each station
Reference cards for the Research It! station (urine color chart, urine output ranges, protein levels, glucose levels, urinalysis explanation, and three urine sample profile cards)
Sort cards for the Organize It! station (kidneys, ureters, bladder cards plus 12 trait cards split between them)
Procedure cards for the Explore It! kidney filtration model
Student answer sheets for each level

No login required. Download once, use forever. Reprint as many times as you want.

Tips for teaching the urinary system in your 7th grade classroom

Two things make this lab go smoother the first time:

1. Pre-fill the water bottles with sand the morning of the lab.

Sand spilled on a desk by an excited 7th grader will derail the Explore It! station for the next three groups. Save yourself the cleanup by pre-measuring ¼ cup of sand into each bottle the morning of the lab and putting the lid on. The first group of the day adds the water, shakes, and runs the filtration. After they pour, scoop the sand back into the bottle (or replace with a fresh pre-loaded bottle) for the next group. Two or three pre-loaded bottles is plenty for a class of 30 because each group only uses one.

2. Have a beaker that catches the filtered water.

The whole point of the Explore It! demo is that the water comes out clean while the sand stays behind. If kids pour the water onto a paper towel or into the sink, they miss the visual. Put a clear beaker, large mason jar, or transparent plastic cup at the station so the cleaned water sits there for everyone to see. The contrast between the cloudy water inside the bottle (representing dirty blood) and the clear water in the beaker (representing cleaned blood) is the moment the kidney metaphor clicks.

Get this urinary system activity

Urinary System Functions Station Lab for 7th grade life science — TEKS 7.13A

Buy the Station Lab — $7.20

Or if you want the full two-week experience with the Engage hook, Explain day, Elaborate extension, and Evaluate assessment all included:

Buy the full 5E Complete Lesson — $13.20

(Station Lab is included)

Frequently asked questions

What does TEKS 7.13A cover?

Texas TEKS 7.13A asks 7th grade students to investigate and explain the functions of all the major body systems, including the urinary system. By the end, students should be able to identify the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, explain how the kidneys filter blood and produce urine, and trace the path of liquid waste out of the body. This Station Lab focuses specifically on the urinary system. The other body systems (circulatory, respiratory, digestive, immune, integumentary, nervous, muscular, skeletal, reproductive, endocrine) each have their own dedicated Station Lab.

What's the difference between a ureter and the urethra?

Easy to mix up because they sound similar. Ureters (with two and an E) are two muscular tubes about 30 cm long, one attached to each kidney. They carry liquid waste from the kidneys down to the bladder. The urethra (with an H) is a single tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. Two ureters going in to the bladder, one urethra going out. Order: kidneys → ureters → bladder → urethra → outside the body.

How long does this urinary system activity take?

One to two class periods (45 to 110 minutes total). The Explore It! kidney filtration model takes about 10 minutes per group, so plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab. Once your class has the routine down, most groups can finish all 8 stations in one period.

Do I need to provide my own materials?

Empty water bottles, coffee filters, rubber bands, sand, a beaker or clear cup, water, and colored pencils. Total cost for a class of 30: under $5 if you already have water bottles to recycle. The Watch It! station also needs a device with internet.

Can I use this in a 1:1 digital classroom?

Yes. The full digital version (PowerPoint or Google Slides) works in 1:1 classrooms and Google Classroom. The kidney filtration model is hard to convert to digital, so most 1:1 teachers keep the Explore It! station as the one physical center kids rotate through and run everything else on chromebooks.