Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Fins, gills and scales
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/fish/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/fish/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Fish live in water and have a backbone.
- Fish breathe with gills, not lungs.
- Fins and the tail fin help fish move; scales protect them.
- Some sea animals, such as dolphins and whales, are not fish.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: show pictures of a shark, a dolphin and a goldfish. Which are fish? |
| 10 min | Read the text together and point to the parts on a fish picture. |
| 15 min | Tail power experiment in small groups. |
| 5 min | Fish or not a fish? game. |
| 5 min | Quiz. |
Materials for the experiment
- A long tray or washing-up bowl with a little water
- A small cork or plastic bottle top
- A pencil
- A piece of stiff card about the size of your hand
- Towels
Safety: Use only a little water and wipe up spills straight away so nobody slips. Stay at the tray; do not splash.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Everything that swims in the sea is a fish. | Dolphins and whales breathe air with lungs; they are mammals. |
| Fish breathe air like us. | Fish take oxygen from the water with their gills. |
| Fish swim only with their tail. | The other fins help them steer, stop and move up and down. |
Worksheet answers
- Drawing of a fish with the tail fin, gills behind the head and scales on the body labelled.
- No.
- They protect the fish from getting hurt (and from disease).
Quiz answers
- What does a fish use to breathe? Gills. Fish breathe with gills behind the head.[3]
- Which part pushes a fish through the water? The tail fin. The tail fin pushes the fish along.[2]
- What do scales do? Protect the fish. Scales protect the fish from getting hurt.[3]
- Is a dolphin a fish? No, it breathes air with lungs. Dolphins are mammals.[7]
- Which is the biggest fish? The whale shark. The whale shark is the largest fish.[5]
Going further
Visit an aquarium, a pet shop or watch a film of fish. Count how many fins one fish has, and watch which fins move when it turns.
Sources used in this lesson
- [2] Fish anatomy (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources): reliability High
- [3] Wild Kids: Fish (student guide) (Arizona Game and Fish Department): reliability High
- [5] Fun facts about fascinating fish (NOAA Fisheries): reliability High
- [7] Are dolphins fish? (NOAA National Ocean Service): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/fish/sources/
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