Paper Plate Fish
Give each child a paper plate with a triangular mouth shape drawn on one side. Have the children cut out the triangles. (The openings are the mouth of the fish.) Then have them glue the triangular pieces on the opposite sides of their plates to make tails. Let the children complete their fish by drawing on eyes and coloring them as desired.
Extension: Have the children paint a large sheet of butcher paper with diluted blue tempera paint. When the paint is dry, have each child glue his or her fish on the paper "ocean". Hang the ocean mural on a wall or a bulletin board.
Observing Fish
Set up an aquarium or a bowl of fish at your science table. Make a poster to hang above the aquarium that shows the parts of a fish (body, eyes, fins, gills and tail). Discuss the proper care of fish and let the children take turns with the feeding. Have the children observe the fish and draw pictures of their observations. While discussing their findings, ask questions such as these: "How do fish swim? What are the gills used for? Do fish sleep?"
Sorting Fish
Purchase several different kinds and colors of small plastic fish. Place them all in a basket. Let the children take turns sorting them by color, by shape and by size.
Let's Go Fishing
Make a fishing pole by tying 3 feet of string to a dowel, a paper towel tube or a wooden spoon. Attach a small magnet to the end of the string. Cut fish shapes from different colors of construction paper and attach a paper clip to each fish. Lay the fish shapes out on the floor. Then let the children take turns catching all the red fish, then all the blue fish, etc.
Variaion: To play a number game, ask the children to catch five fish, three fish, etc. Or write numbers on the fish shapes and ask the children to catch a "two" fish, a "four" fish, etc.
I'm a Little Fishy
Sung to : "I'm a Little Teapot"
I'm a little fishy,
I can swim.
Here is my tail,
Here is my fin.
When I want to have fun
With my friends,
I wiggle my tail and
Dive right in.
Three Brook Trout
Sung to : "Three Blind Mice"
Three brook trout,
Three brook trout.
See how they swim,
See how they swim.
Their tails go left and
Their tails go right,
Their gills breathe in and
Their gills breathe out,
Did you ever see
Such a slippery sight as
Three brook trout?
Substitute other fish names such as "silver salmon" or "red snapper" for "brook trout".
Five Little Fish
Cut five fish shapes out of felt. Place the shapes on a flannelboard. As you read the poem below, let the children take turns "catching" the fish by removing them from the flannelboard.
Five little fish swimming by the shore.
One got caught, and then there were four.
Four little fish swimming in the sea.
One got caught, and then there were three.
Three little fish swimming in the blue.
One got caught, and then there were two.
Two little fish swimming in the sun.
One got caught, and then there was one.
One little fish swimming for home
Decided 'twas best never to roam.
Fishy Treats
Give each of the children a large cracker or half a slice of whole-wheat bread. Let them spread on tuna salad or cream cheese mixed with smoked salmon. Top with tiny fish-shaped crackers.