Fish: Teachers

Project Wild

Check out these activities from the Council for Environmental Education's Project Wild:

• Fashion a Fish — Grades K–4: Students create fish with special adaptations.
• Net Gain, Net Effect — Grades 5–8: Students learn about different fishing techniques and how they impact fish populations.
• GO FISH! — Students learn about the components of habitat through this fun and active outdoor activity.

School of Fish

Did you know that you can raise your own trout in your classroom? Kids love to watch the trout eggs hatch into small fry. Learn more by contacting your local Fish and Game office or your local Trout Unlimiterd chapter. For more information about the program, go to the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited site. Supplement this activity with a lesson on Idaho's native trout from the American Fisheries Society.

Check out the live cameras broadcasting from the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Livestreams from the coral reef and blacktip reef allow students to observe and identify tropical fish and sharks.

Visit the Idaho Fish and Game website to learn more about fish.

Fish With PBS

From PBS Learning Media, take a look at these fully developed lesson plans:

• Population Sampling: Fish
• Tiktaalik: A Fish Out of Water
• Salmon Life Cycle
• Salmon, Humans, and Rivers: Lives Intertwined

For older students, Scientific American Frontiers offers some fascinating videos, including Creatures of the Deep: Shark Trackers and Natural Born Robots: Swim Like A Fish. Kamchatka: Land of Abundant Salmon focuses on ecosystem health and salmon anatomy. Rising from the Shadows: Return of the Cutthroat Trout explains how efforts to restore trout habitat in the Rocky Mountains are increasing populations of this essential species.

For primary grades, Wild Kratts introduce younger students to A Salmon's Journey, Salmon and their Predators, and Life Cycle of the Sockeye.

Get a Teacher's Guide on the coelacanth, the so-called fossil fish. Based on the PBS NOVA program, Ancient Creatures of the Sea.

Fun Lessons Plans and More!

Identify the parts of a fish with the help of this diagram.

Find lesson plans on Fish and Wildlife for grades K–5 from the Bonneville Power Administration.

Find resources, worksheets and comprehension activities for a fish theme unit.

Developed by and for educators, this teachers' site has lesson plans, games, power points, worksheets, and more.

FISH PRINTS! Use real or rubber fish to make a fish print.

Find a collection of Watershed Lesson Plans from Purdue University and National Geographic.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has some terrific educational resources for teachers. Teaching Kids About Fish Migration is a hands-on lesson designed to teach middle-school students about migratory fish and how barriers impact their survival. Migration Station is a kid-friendly collection of facts and photos. Also, check out FWS's environmental education resources and printable publications for use in the classroom.