Lonely Fish (The)

Lesson 1:
From Unit Philanthropic Literature

tandards
y Framework
Kindergarten-2nd Grade
Subjects:
Language Arts, Philanthropy and Social Studies
Key Words/Concepts click to view

Purpose:

This lesson introduces the concept of sharing and its relationship

to a harmonious society. It also introduces good citizenship as
learning how to solve problems, increases listening
comprehension and use of critical thinking skills.

Duration:

One Thirty-Minute Class Period

Objectives:

The learner will:

 identify letters in the story.

 identify and describe the behaviors of the characters and

describe how Rainbow Fish felt at the beginning, middle,
and end of the story.
 discuss how the concept of sharing helped solve the
problem.
 identify characteristics associated with good citizenship.
 learn how to resolve conflicts.
Materials:

The art lesson will need:

 Water color paints

 Foil
 Glue
 Stapler
 Cotton for stuffing

Synopsis:

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister is the story of a beautiful

fish that is unique because he has silver scales all over his body.
The other fish are impressed by his beauty and want one of his
scales. He does not want to share and consequently the fish do
not play with him. Confused, he seeks a solution from the other
ocean life. The advice was, "Give a glittering scale to each of the
other fish, then you will discover how to be happy." While he was
reluctant at first, he discovered that the advice was correct.

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:
"Did you ever have something that other people wanted?
Were you boastful about your possession? What does it
mean to share? Can you share parts of your body?" Explore
the answers that the children contribute and then tell them
about the story and its meaning,
"Sharing is good, being selfish is not. You cannot buy
friends, but not sharing can cause people to ostracize you if
you are boastful of your possessions."

 Hold up the cover of the book The Rainbow Fish by

Marcus Pfister. Activate prior knowledge by asking
children to describe what they see.

 Read the book to the class. Discuss the artwork and the
different types of ocean life that are seen on each page.
  On selected pages, stop and encourage the students to
interact with the book in the following ways:
o Hypothesize about what may happen next,
what might the motives of the characters be,
why something is happening, etc.
o Have the children discuss other solutions that
may have been utilized to resolve the conflict
and what the consequences would have been.
 Reread the book, invite the children to add further
comments on what they see and think about the story.
Discuss good citizenship using the characters of the story
as models.
 The art lesson will be to construct a rainbow fish using
the materials above. The children will paint a fish (either
pre-designed or of their own creation), cut out two sides
and attach with the teacher's help. They will then stuff
the fish with cotton and attach a piece of foil to be the
shiny scale. Display fish by hanging them from a string in
a central location for all of the students to enjoy along
with a sign of the sharing principle.
 Follow-up: Science lessons will further explore ocean life
habitat. Show real pictures of ocean life to the children
and discuss their similarities and differences to each
other and to us as humans.

Assessment:

Children are able to give story details that occur at the

beginning, middle, and end of the book (list these on the board).
Ask children if they can suggest alternative solutions to the
problem faced by Rainbow Fish. Use the suggestions that contain
"good citizen" characteristics, especially those related to
concept of "individual action for the common good." Note
letters of the alphabet children had problems identifying in the
story. As children make their fish, observe how well they share
materials and resolve material sharing problems; also, assess for
appropriate psychomotor skills.