Fashion a Fish

Today’s aquatic animals look the way they do because of countless adaptations that have occurred over a very long period of time. These adaptations (typically) are features that increase the animal’s likelihood of surviving in their habitat. Through Project WILD Aquatic’s activity “Fashion a Fish”, students design fish that are adapted to live in different habitats.

Use information from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' webpage and the Fish Iowa! card game to supplement this activity and make it more Iowa related. Show students various pictures of Iowa fish, and have them figure out where they may live based upon their looks.

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Book List
PreK – 2
Cook, B. 2005. The Little Fish that Got Away. HarperCollins.
Gallimard, J. 1998. Fish. Scholastic.
Harris, T. 2000. Pattern Fish. Millbrook Press.
Heinrichs, A.R. 2003. Fish. Coughlan Publishing.
Knudson, M. 2005. Fish and Frog. Candlewick.
Lionni, L. 1974. Fish is Fish. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Pfeffer, W. 1996. What Its Like to be a Fish. Harper Trophy.
Sayre, P. 2007. Trout, Trout, Trout: A Fish Chant. Northword Books for Young Readers.
Stockdale, S. 2008. Fabulous Fishes. Peachtree Publishers.
Yoo, T. 2007. The Little Red Fish. Dial.

Grades 3-5
Brewster, B. 1988. Discovering Freshwater Fish. The Bookwright Press.
Burger, C. 1960. All About Fish. Random House.
Carney, M. 2002. The Biggest Fish in the Lake. Kids Can Press Ltd.
Fitzsimons, C. 1988. My First Fishes & Other Water Life. Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.
Fletcher, A.M. 1971. Fishes That Travel. Addison-Wesley.
National Audubon Society. 1983. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes, Whales and Dolphins. Knopf.
Parker, S. 2005. Fish. DK Publishing, Inc.
Sill, C. 2005. About Fish: A Guide for Children. Peachtree Publishers.

Grades 6-8
Fletcher, A.M. 1971. Fishes That Travel. Addison-Wesley.
Smith, C.L. 2000. National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Fishes. Scholastic.