Fishy Wishy

Fishy Wishy

Objectives

  1. Students will discover there are many different kinds of fish
  2. Students will create a fish print

Display turtle shells, replicas of fish, frogs, tadpole, and live fish for students to observe.

Read Habitats – Life in the Sea by Rius & Parramon.

Using the live fish, rubber fish and/or Fish Iowa poster, talk about the variety of shapes and sizes of fish. Count fins and relate to kids’ swim fins and steering wheel. Locate fish’s eyes and gills and compare to people’s eyes and way of breathing.

Divide group between two centers:

Fish printing: Using rubber fish (available through art supply and nature supply catalogs) and washable paint, have students paint fish and then lay a piece of paper or cloth over the wet fish. By pressing evenly over the entire fish, the print will be transferred to the paper or cloth.

Magnetic fishing: Using a stick “fishing pole” with magnet “hook,” have students catch construction paper fish of various colors, sizes, and species. Create a pond using a child’s plastic swimming pool or blue fabric. Challenge students to catch one of each color and rank their caught fish from largest to smallest. (When making your various sizes and shapes of fish, be sure to attach a paper clip in some way for the magnet to “hook” the fish.)

If time and location are appropriate, walk to a pond/lake to observe other wildlife that call a pond/lake home.

Activity provided by:

Marshall County Conservation Board
Diane Pixler
2349 233rd St.
Marshalltown, IA 50158
www.co.marshall.ia.us/departments/conservation

Age:
_ 0-1
_ 1-2
_ 2-3
_ 3-4
✓ 4-5
✓ 5-6

Category: Group Activities

Iowa Early Learning Standards:
8.2, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 11.1, 11.2, 12.1, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 13.1, 14.3

Related Kindernature Resources: Other Resources:
  • Around the Pond Who’s Been Here by Lindsay Barrett George
  • One Small Square Seashore by Donald Silver
  • The Beaver Pond by Alvin Tresselt
  • Look at Pond Life by Kena Kirkpatrick
  • Growing Up Wild: Fishing Fun