Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Lesson: 20-30 minutes

Preparation:

* Create “mini” ocean, put sea blue paper onto bulletin board or chalkboard.
* Cut out green construction paper to resemble sea grass, glue or tape at bottom of bulletin board.
* Using computer clip art, copy octopus and starfish onto colored paper of choice, glue onto board. These should be three to four inches in size.
* Using computer clip art, copy pictures of shells, glue onto the colored paper.
* Using computer clip art, copy different types of fish onto different colors of paper. Cut fish out, each should be two to three inches in size.
* Make enough so every child has a fish. Put double-sided tape on board, enough pieces of tape to equal number of students.
* Cut mini-stickers into strips so each student will have five or six stickers.

Lesson:

* Assemble children in comfortable space in front of “mini-ocean.”
* Optional-discuss or reinforce the concept of ocean, i.e. water, plants, animals.
* Introduce Rainbow Fish. Read the book to students and answer questions as needed.

Summarize and ask the following questions:

1. Why did the other fish keep away from Rainbow Fish?

Rainbow Fish was too proud and did not want to share. He did not know how to be a friend.

2. Was Rainbow Fish sad when the other fish kept away from him?

Yes, he was lonely.

3. Who did he go see for help?

He saw Starfish first, and then went to the Octopus.

4. What did the Octopus tell Rainbow Fish to do?

Share. By sharing Rainbow Fish could be happy.

5. Who knows what sharing means?

Allowing someone to have or use something of yours. Examples toys, books, etc.

6. How did Rainbow Fish share?

He gave his beautiful scales to other fish.

7. What happened when Rainbow Fish shared with the other fish?

He became friends with the other fish and they all played together.

Distribute a paper fish and a strip of miniature stickers to each student.

Introduced the concepts of friends.

“We talked about sharing as a way of being a friend. What are some other ways we can be a friend?” Instruct students that every time a student shares a different way of being a friend, each student can put a mini-sticker on his/her “fish”.

For this age group look for words such as nice, fun, helpful, etc.

After students have filled up their fish with the stickers, ask each student to come to the “mini-ocean” and stick their fish onto the double-sided tape.

After all the students have taped their fish, write or put letters on the board “Sea of Friends”.

Summarize ways to be a friend. Tell students that being kind and listening to one another is an important way to be a friend. Share with students that, just like Rainbow Fish, in order to have a friend, you must be a friend.

For this age group verbal responses are the assessment method. It is expected that students would be able to verbalize three ways to be a friend and give two or three examples of sharing. Ask individual students verbally to share a way to be a friend and examples of sharing behavior; then have all the students in unison restate. The “Sea of Friends” board can be kept up in the classroom to reinforce concepts of friendships shared in this lesson.

Perhaps offer some other ways to assess successful retention of "what it is to be a friend" - i.e. after the lesson is taught, have students "draw" a picture(s) of "sharing" or other "ways" to be a friend - then show and tell the group about their picture which would further assess students' knowledge of what was learned.