Southwest MN Fish Families

Students will be expected to learn the characteristics of MN fish. The will be asked to sort, identify and classify these predetermined fish that are swimming in our SW MN lakes through observation, questioning, and field techniques. Some of the vocabulary words that the students will be introduced to are: rig, lure, cast, fin.

I would use this activity in a 4th grade class at Worthington. My class size is 27 students that are very culturally diverse. I would implement this lesson within about 5-7 class periods. This lesson could be used in any MN lake.

Materials: Fishing with Dad: Lessons of Love and Lure from Father to Son by Michael J. Rosen - picture bookFish Families Cards from DNR webite or CD Chap.2 Lesson 5
Pop Can Fishing Task Card and Supplies
MN Fish Watch Resource Guide
Procedures:

1. To get the students excited about this learning experience, I would like to catch a fish from the lake and bring it to school in a 5 gallon bucket.

2. We can discuss the characteristics of the fish and have each student create a sketch of the fish labeling the parts of the fish.

3. I would then like to read the book Fishing with Dad: Lessons of Love and Lure from Father to Son by Michael J. Rosen and discuss the enjoyment of fishing.

4. The students will then be introduced to the MN Fish Family cards. We will discuss the fish that are familiar in our SW MN lakes. The students will then sort, identify and classify those fish using the task cards.

5. As a culminating activity, each child could invite in a family member to help them create the Pop Can fishing rig that they could used to help them catch local fish. As we are fishing it may be useful to have the MN Fish Watch Resource Guide along to help us identify the fish that have been caught.

The students will be orally asked to identify such fish. The teacher can also identify the struggling students when they are working in teams to sort and classify the fish.

1997 Science Standards:
I. History and Nature of Science
A.1. Scientific World View
I.V. Life Science
B. 1. and 2.Diversity of Organisms