Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE
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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):
- 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:
- Hypothesize about what may happen next, what might the motives of the characters be, why something is happening, etc.
- Have the children discuss other solutions that may have been utilized to resolve the conflict and what the consequences would have been.
- Hypothesize about what may happen next, what might the motives of the characters be, why something is happening, etc.
- 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.
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."
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.
Science follow-up: note how well children sort and group pictures of ocean life.
Art Connection:
Constructing a rainbow fish of the students' own.
Language Arts Connection:
Identifying letters in the story's text.
Science Connection:
Exploring different types of ocean life and conditions.
Bibliographical References:
- Pfister, Marcus. The Rainbow Fish. Translated by J. Alison James. English Translation, New York: North-South Books Inc., 1992. ISBN: 1558580093.
Lesson Developed and Piloted by:
Pamela McIntoshDetroit Public Schools
Woodward Elementary School
Detroit, MI 48208
Handouts:
Unit Contents:
Overview:Philanthropic Literature Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- Lonely Fish (The)
- 2.
- Lion and the Mouse (The)
- 3.
- Give a Cookie
- 4.
- Chinese Proverb on Honesty
- 5.
- Colors and Trouble
- 6.
- Quilt to Freedom
- 7.
- Kindness Just Because
- 8.
- Friendly Neighbors
- 9.
- Everyone Is Special
- 10.
- George Washington Carver and Sharing
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to freely use this information for nonprofit (noncommercial), educational purposes only. Copyright must be acknowledged on all copies.
Comments
The book is great! The message is wonderful and easy to understand.
Students loved the book. A lot of them read aloud with me. The way the lesson was set up it was a topic a lot of students could easily relate to. Open group discussion went really well. Each student openly contributed to the questions.
(The positive aspect of using this lesson was) we had just been working on listening, sharing, etc. so it fit right in. The students love the Rainbow Fish book and they loved making the fish