Pfister, M. (1996). The rainbow fish. New York: North-South Books Inc.
ISBN number: 978-55858-536-2
Description:
This book is about sharing. It is about a fish, named Rainbow Fish, that has a bunch of shiny scales. In the beginning, this fish thinks he is too pretty to play with all the other fish. One day, a fish asked him if he could have one of his scales and Rainbow Fish said no. Rainbow Fish wondered why he had no friends and a starfish told him to go see the octopus for advice. After Rainbow Fish went to see the octopus, the little blue fish approached him again and asked for on of his shiny scales. Rainbow Fish shared all his shiny scales with all the fish and they all became friends.
Why use it with 3-5 year olds:
I would use this book for three to five year olds because it shows children how a little bit of sharing goes a long way. It also shows children how they could share something that is valuable to them. The book also shows children sharing can make everyone around them happier.
Illustrations:
The illustration in this book is hand drawn with shading of different colors. They evoke a calm mood in the book. The children may enjoy the illustrations in this book because there are shiny parts in the book. And they are simple enough for children to focus on the drawings. I was drawn to the drawings of the book because Rainbow Fish actually had shiny scales in the book. And the illustrator also used some bright colors that attracted my attention as well.
Provocations:
1. Have your felt board out and have Rainbow fish with all his shiny scales on. After a little while, change it to Rainbow Fish with one shiny scale and have one fish with one shiny scale. Keep adding fish with one shiny scale on throughout the day.
2. Put out the felt pieces on Popsicle sticks or straws on an activity table. And see what kinds of story the young children come up with.
3. If a child has just gone to the aquarium with their family, and became really interested in fish.
4. If you have a new child join the group or if you see children not sharing toys.
Presentation of the book:
1. Felt story
· Materials:
o Felt board
o Felt pieces (Can be bought from 3H Crafts)
§ Rainbow Fish
· One with all his shiny scales
· One with just one shiny scale
§ Octopus
§ Blue Fish
· One with no shiny scales
· One with one shiny scale
§ Starfish
Have a felt board in front of your feet at an angle. Have the pieces in order beside you so as you tell the story, you don’t have to fumble with the pieces.
2. Role Play
· Materials
o Headbands for each child (Homemade and laminated for durability)
o One Rainbow Fish with removable shiny scales
o One octopus
o One starfish
o Some others, blue fish
Have a child as Rainbow Fish, one as the octopus, one as the starfish and the rest be the blue fish. Read the story out loud and have the children act it out. In the end, have Rainbow Fish share the shiny scales with all the other fish. For the following time, if you’re working with the same group of children, change the roles up.
3. Puppet Show
· Use the felt pieces and put them on Popsicle sticks or straws to act out the book with a puppet theatre.
· Or you can use your own puppet to introduce and read the book to the children.
4. Story Blanket
· Materials
o One large blue handkerchief or blanket
o Fish tank accessories like pebbles and seaweed
o Toy fish with shiny scales (Making removable shiny scales would be best)
o Toy starfish
o Toy octopus
o A few toy blue fish
Put the large handkerchief or blanket on the ground to show where the story is taking place. Place some of the pebbles and toy seaweed on the handkerchief to make it look like it’s under water. Act out the story with all the props on the handkerchief.
Wondering
· Stop and wonder on page 2 about how that blue fish felt when Rainbow Fish didn’t share his shiny scales.
· Page 3 à Wonder what the octopus would tell Rainbow Fish.
· Page 4 à Wonder if Rainbow Fish would do what octopus told him to do.
Extensions
1. Making artwork of Rainbow Fish. Have a template of a fish. Cut out fish shape for children to decorate. Draw in eyes and fins. Use tinfoil and colorful tissue paper for children to glue on the template to decorate their own fish.
2. Bring in a real fish and have children feed the fish every day. And also explore what kind of scales a fish has.
3. Have colored Goldfish Crackers and start a pattern on a piece of paper. Give students each a cup full of different colored Goldfish Crackers and ask them to try and finish the pattern given. Ask the children how they would be able to complete the pattern. Remind them of the Rainbow Fish and how he shared his scales. Have children share their Goldfish crackers to finish the pattern on their paper.
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