#1215. Ocean/Fish

other, level: Elementary
Posted Thu Jul 29 21:30:06 PDT 1999 by Christine ().

A variety of theme activities that were collected on the net and from books.

Books
A House For Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Sand Dollar, Sand Dollar by Joyce Audy Dos Santos
Whale Song by Tony Johnston
Who Sank the Boat by Pamila Allen
Is This a House for Hermit Crab by Megan McDonald
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
At the Beach by Anne Rockwell
Clams Can't Sing by James Stevenson

Songs/Poems
Fish Are Swimming (Tune of Frere Jacques)
Fish are swimming, fish are swimming,
In the sea, in the sea,
A-splishing and a-splashing,
A-splishing and a-splashing,
Look and see, look and see.

Take Me Out to the Ocean (Tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame)
Take me out to the ocean
Take me out to the sea
There goes a starfish and sand dollar,
I'm having such fun, I've just got to holler
Oh, it's swim, swim, swim, underwater
Catch a ride on a whale, don't fear,
For the sea animals are our friends,
Let's give a great big cheer!

Sea Urchins:
Use hardening clay and toothpicks. Dye the toothpicks purple or a dark blue. Also color the dough. Break the toothpicks in half and stick the broken ends into the clay. Cover the top and sides with toothpicks. Leave on a plate to dry.

Rainbow Fish:
Read the book and then have the children paint fish shaped papers. When the paint is dry glue on a foil scale.

Underwater Collages:
Have the children layer different tissue paper on a construction paper background with liquid starch. When dry, draw on underwater shapes and add stickers.

Stuffed Fish:
Cut a large fish pattern from two pieces of colored cellophane and punch holes around the edge. Stuff with small pieces of shiny paper and sew around the edges. You can do the same with paper patterns.

Triangle Fish:
Cut a 9 x 12 piece of construction paper from corner to corner, you now have two triangles to make 2 fish. Cut a muffin liner into quarters. Glue one quarter to the tail, one to the top near the right angle and one to the middle of the bottom for fins. Add eyes and decorate anyway you wish.

Paper Bag Fish:
Lay a plain paper bag down flat. Leave the bottom folded up and fold in the corners of the bottom of the bag and staple in place to form the fishes snout. Loosely stuff the sack with scrap paper and close the end with a rubber band. Slide it up a couple of inches and spread out the end to make the tail. Let the children paint their fish any way they want.

Go Fish:
Cut out fish shapes and number or whatever. Attach a paper clip or twist tie to the mouth. Tie a magnet onto a piece of string to use as a fishing pole. Extension: Make red, black, white, blue and newspaper fish. Put them on some newspaper spread on the floor; give them 10 seconds to catch as many fish as they can with their hands. Which ones are caught most often? Least often? Why do you think that is?

Whales In Water:
Take an empty 2 liter bottle and fill 1/3 with water. Take a small blue balloon and as it is held in the neck of the bottle blow it up and knot it. Add a couple drops of blue coloring. Turn the bottle on its side and there you have a whale floating on the waves.

Crab Walk:
Have your children sit on the floor and lean back on their hands. Have them move their feet flat on the floor. Ten have them lift their bottoms off the floor and try moving sideways like a crab.

Paper Plate Octopus:
Cut a paper plate in half. Draw eyes on the plate, and then glue on eight pieces of crepe paper as arms. When dry hang in a window to see the octopus swim.

Paper Plate Fish:
Draw a triangle mouth shape on a paper plate. Have your child cut out the triangle and have them glue it on the fish as a tail. Let the child decorate the fish.

Ocean Sensory:
Fill the sensory table with water, add green Easter grass and small plastic sea life. The Easter grass feels like seaweed. Add sand and shells if desired. Add sheets of dried seaweed from an Asian grocery and the whole area will really smell like the ocean.

Fish Prints:
Order a fancy fish from the grocery store or pick one up at an Asian market. Paint the fish with paints, from head to tail so as not to disturb the scales and then press on a large piece of paper. Use acrylic paint to print on fabric.

Jellyfish Windsock:
Take two clear kitchen trash bags, crumple one of the bags into a ball and stuff it into the corner of the other bag. Tape around the bottom of the ball to form a neck. Cut part of the trash bag hanging down into long strips to make tentacles. Push a string through the neck of the jellyfish and tie the two ends together to make a hanger for the windsock. To make fish to get caught in the tentacles cut two identical shapes from cleat contact paper. Peel the backing off one shape and decorate with colored tissue paper and sequins. Cut out an eye and add a pupil. Cover the decorated fish with the other piece on contact paper. Staple the fish to the tentacles.

Sea Turtles:
Paint the outside of a paper bowl to resemble a turtle shell. Glue on construction paper legs, tail, and head.

Aquarium Crayon Resists:
Draw a picture with crayons, pressing hard. Cover the picture with a wash of blue watercolor.

Minnows:
Purchase minnows from a bait store to put in your sensory table with cold water. Stress the importance of being gentle and following directions. Wash hands after this activity.

Field Trip:
Visit a local pet store, bait shop, or fish hatchery.

Compound Words:
Create simple flap books to show the combination of smaller words with in the compound word, for example: clownfish, batfish, angelfish, dogfish, catfish, hammerhead, needlefish, seahorse, swordfish, lionfish, starfish, paddlefish, mudskipper, rockfish, roosterfish, sunfish, triggerfish, seashell, etc. Also have the children draw pictures of the fish.

Sink the Boat:
Students can practice estimation by constructing foil boats and using pennies to see how many the boat will hold.

Saltwater Painting:
Mix ¼ C. warm water with 6-t. salt and 3 drops of food coloring in each jar. Paint pictures with the mixture. The water will evaporate leaving the colored sand.

Salt of the Sea:
Using 2 clear cups, fill each ¾ with water. In one cup, stir in 3 T. of salt. Label the cups A and B. Ask students to predict what will happen when you place an egg in cup A. Place the egg in carefully. Next ask the students what will happen when you put it in cup B. Ask why? Salt adds density to the water so objects float.

How is Sand Made?
Put sugar cubes in a clear jar. Have students take turns shaking the jar then observe what happened to the cube. Explain that is what happens when rocks get tumbled together in rivers or waterfalls, or by the wind.

Seaweed Soup:
4 quarts ocean (water)
6 oz. seaweed (spinach or string pasta)
6 oz. snails (pasta shells)
smelly stuff (onions, garlic powder, pepper)
pinch of sand (salt)
Goldfish crackers (optional)
In a large pot, bring the ocean to a boil. Toss in the seaweed and snails. Add the smelly stuff, cook uncovered for 6-8 minutes, stir frequently. Rinse in hot water and drain. Add cheese and goldfish crackers.

Sand Cups:
2 C. milk
1 small package of vanilla pudding mix
8-oz. tub of whipped topping
1 box vanilla wafers
Pour 2 C. milk into a large bowl. Add pudding mix and beat until blended. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in whipped topping and half a package of crushed vanilla wafers. Place 1 T. of crushed cookies into each clear plastic cup. Fill cups ¾ full with pudding mixture. Top with remaining crushed wafers. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Beach Stones:
Collect a variety of smooth beach stones. Add them to the sensory table and allow the children to sort them according to size or color or make designs in table.

Submarine:
Use an appliance box to create a mini-submarine. First cut an access hole in the back of the box. Cut portholes for viewing and cover with plastic wrap. Draw marine animals on the outside along with plants. Hang fish in front of the windows. Add gadgets inside the box for instrument panels. Place the box in the housekeeping area.

Sand Drawings:
Spread newspaper over the table. Have the children draw pictures by squeezing glue into a picture. Then have the children sprinkle sand over the glue and set aside to dry.

Stuff a Sea Animal:
Have the children draw huge sea animals with felt tip pens onto newspaper. Making sure that when they trace and cut to have the newspaper doubled. Paint both outsides of the animal. Let dry. Staple to two pieces together but leave a hole on one side to stuff the animal. Stuff the animal with newspaper. Staple shut. The animals look great hanging from the ceiling.

Angelfish:
Bend a wire hanger into the shape of a diamond. Cut a big piece of aluminum foil into strips and tape around the diamond shape. Crisscross the strips in the other direction. Add three strips for the tail and a white paper circle with a dot in the center for an eye.

A Day At The Beach:
Provide beach bags, beach towels, sand pails, sand shovels, toy boats, sea shells and empty suntan oil bottles in the housekeeping area.

Sorting the Sea:
Have the children study seashells, sand dollars, and other sea items have the children sort them into their own categories.