Design a Fish Project

When I pulled out the student samples of the fish hat I shared last week, I found another fun fish project I wanted to show you. As part of the assessment following Ocean Week, I challenged my students to use their knowledge of fish structures and adaptations to design a made-up fish that is perfectly suited for a specific habitat. This is my sample, the Diversion Fish. I used colored pencils on white drawing paper, then cut it out. 

Here is the text that goes with it. I wrote it in front of the students to demonstrate the assignment. 

"The diversion fish lives in the open ocean, where he must face numerous predators. His silvery blue color, with a darker upperside and lighter colored belly, allows him to blend in to the colors of his habitat. Because he is not a very fast fish, diversion fish has another method of escaping predators. His large caudal fin makes him appear to be a much larger, more vicious fish. Instead, he is really a harmless plankton eater. While his body shape is fusiform, his fins are rounded, which do not allow him great speed."

I hope I made a new index card later to add something about the deceptive coloration on his sides that give the illusion of gills and fins; if so, I didn't save the updated index card.

Unfortunately, I don't have any student samples, which means that the students wanted to keep their own work. Understandable, and common for creative projects like this. However, I am absolutely kicking myself for not photographing the display of all of the creative fish they dreamed up. What I wouldn't give now to be able to go back and take pictures of all the awesome things we did my classroom. To any teachers reading this: Learn from my mistake and take photos of all the wonderfully creative things your students make!