Rainbow Fish Literacy Craft

One of my daughter’s favorite Western books is the Rainbow Fish.  This is a sweet story about a fish who didn’t want to share its beautiful, sparkly scales.  It met a wise octopus who advised that sharing would help with making new friends.  And so the Rainbow Fish took the advice to heart and gave a scale to each friend.

We made a paper plate craft to go with the lessons learned from the story.  I asked my daughter to choose a few words that she felt was important from the story and we wrote them on the fish scales.  This was such a fun way to assess listening and reading comprehension, and she wanted to make two Rainbow fish!  I hope your children enjoy this activity as well!

Important vocabulary:

1. 分 (fēn / share, divide)
   
2. 闪 (shǎn / sparkle)
   
3. 彩色 (cǎisè / color, multicolor)
   
4. 美丽 (měilì / beautiful)
   
5. 礼物 (lǐwù / gift)
   
6. 朋友 (péngyǒu / friend)
7. 送 (sòng / give)
8. 鱼 (yú / fish)

What you need:

Amazon affiliate links provided for convenience

1. White paper plates
2. Construction paper
3. Paint
4. Aluminum foil
5. Pen
6. Tape
7. Scissors
8. Optional: circle punch

What to do:

1. Paint paper plate blue.  Let dry.
2. Cut edges of plate.  Use edge as the fishtail and tape to one end of the plate.  Cut the other edge in half and tape to top and bottom of plate.
3. Use circle punch or use stencil and scissors to cut several circles with colorful paper.  Cut a few circles with aluminum foil.
4. Cut a circle of white paper for the eye.  Draw in black pupil and tape to plate.
5. Write important Chinese words on each colorful circle
6. Read word on each circle and fold each in half
7. Tape each circle to body of fish.  These are the scales of the fish.
8. Draw a happy smile on the fish!

You can find the Chinese version of Rainbow Fish at China Sprout.

If you try this activity, please let us know!  Leave a comment and don’t forget to tag a photo #ChalkAcademy on Instagram and Facebook. 

To learn about fish anatomy, check out our paper plate fish anatomy craft!

Happy learning, friends!