Fun, Really Fun, Rainbow Fish Activities - 4 Kinder Teachers (2024)

What could be more fun than a day full of Rainbow Fish activities? Children love this book with beautiful illustrations and a wonderful message. It is the perfect book for a Fun Friday. Whether you teach kindergarten or preschool, this book is great for teaching about the need for friendship and the joy of sharing.

The Rainbow Fish Book

This adorable book by Marcus Pfister, tells a lovely story about a beautiful, lonely and more than a little vain, fish. Throughout the course of the book, Rainbow Fish learns how to make friends by sharing his beautiful shiny scales and transforms himself into a joyful, selfless fish with lots of friends. To purchase this book on Amazon, click on the title below.

Rainbow Fish Activities for Kindergarten

We suggest doing a whole day with your kindergartners. Try to interweave the Rainbow Fish throughout all subjects. Reading the book and doing an adorable art project is fun, but how much more fun (and creative) is it to have a Rainbow Fish Day? Your children will be happy to count, compare, add and eat rainbow fish for math. It’s also easier for students to write when they have exciting things to write about.

Rainbow Fish Literacy Activities

Rainbow Fish Reading Activities

Start the day with a discussion of what makes a good friend. Then read the book, making sure to stop along the way and ask some discussion worthy and text dependent questions. This ensures good comprehension. Here are some examples of the questions we use: Describe the Rainbow Fish. Why do the other fish turn away when the Rainbow Fish swims by? How does this make the Rainbow Fish feel? Why did the Rainbow Fish decide to give away some of his scales? How did it make him feel? How did the other fishes’ behavior towards the Rainbow Fish change throughout the book? Why? Don’t have time to create text dependent questions, not to worry, we have created an interactive read aloud resource for the Rainbow Fish complete with text dependent questions, lesson plans, writing resources and a cute fish craft.

Retelling the story either through discussion or the use of props, along with acting out the story are good Rainbow Fish comprehension activities. We like to use storytelling props. You can purchase some from Amazon or from Lakeshore. However, you can always make your own props by using labeled pictures of the characters in the book.

Rainbow Fish Writing Activities

Rainbow Fish Math Activities

One way to incorporate the Rainbow Fish during math is by using Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (Colors) as a manipulative. You can have your students do any of the following with their goldfish: count; compare quantities; add; subtract. Using goldfish as math manipulatives is fun and tasty. We love doing story problems with our students; the teacher gives a story problem and the kids use their manipulatives to find the answer. After doing several this way, the teacher can ask different students to make up story problems. At the end of the math session students get to eat their own goldfish.

Rainbow Fish Art Activities

No Rainbow Fish Day can be complete without an adorable art project. Here are a few that we think work well with young children. Each picture shows the supplies you need. Teachers, parents, nannies and sitters, be sure to model how to complete whichever Rainbow Fish art activities you choose to do with your little ones.

These two adorable fish can be made by downloading the free Rainbow Fish activites pdf (Fun Fish Activities) created by 4 Kinder Teachers and copying it on either white or blue construction paper. Students simply color the first fish with crayons, add a setting and then glue on an aluminum foil scale, that the teacher has pre-cut. The second fish is made by coloring the fish first, then glueing on pre-cut tissue paper squares and aluminum foil (pre-cut strips and scale).

This fun fish may take a little more teacher prep (depending on the ability of your children) then the last two. Using a blue paper plate, cut out a triangle to create the mouth and tape it to the back for the tail. Cut lots of different colored construction paper and aluminum foil rectangles. Students will cut the corners off the rectangles to create scales and glue them, along with the googly eye on their paper plate fish.

Rainbow Fish Snack Idea

Although snack time may not be every teacher’s favorite time of day, children love it! Why not make it fun and educational by having your students read and follow a recipe? We recommend posting a large kid friendly recipe like the one above, for the class to read together and follow step by step, when making their own Rainbow Fish snacks. Here is the recipe for a yummy Rainbow Fish treat.

Rainbow Fish Marshmallow Treat

A Colorful Science Experiment

The Rainbow Fish Animated and Online

Don’t forget to show your students one of the many online versions of The Rainbow Fish book. Storyline Online has created a wonderful video of Ernest Borgnine reading The Rainbow Fish. It’s animated, free and online. You simply must share this heart-warming reading with your students. To learn more about Storyline Online, read our blog No Time for Story Time? Try Storyline Online.

Rainbow Fish Activities for Preschoolers

One last thing, Rainbow Fish activities are also great for preschoolers. With a little help, preschool age children can do most of the activities above. As long as you know the abilities of your students, you can easily match the activities to their level. Have fun!

More Fun Friday Ideas

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