Activity 2 -  Know Your Fish!

Purpose:  To learn enough about one Ontario fish to produce an identifiable line drawing of it, and understand something of its life history.

Outcomes:  Students will be able to draw one of two Ontario fish, Chinook salmon or longnose gar, including key characteristics which identify that fish; they will also be able to describe the habitat and some of the behaviours of that fish.

Subject:  Science, Biology, Visual Arts, Language (Reading)

Group size:  Class

Site:  Classroom

Time:  45 minutes plus research time

Supplies:  Card stock, drawing tools, scissors, resource pages (if required)

 

Before the activity:  Copy resource pages if required

References:  This Activity: Resource 1, Resource 2 and Resource 3

 

A QUICK LOOK

Students research their fish prior to producing a line-drawing cutout to be used in Activity 3.

READY, SET, GO!

Introduce the Kids' Fish Art Contest to the students, using the information from the flyer or the website Kids' Fish Art Contest. Indicate that the winner of this contest – a fish painted or drawn by an elementary or secondary student -- will be used on the 2013 Young Angler's Licence, a fun, free, promotional licence that reminds kids about their responsibilities when fishing. Thousands will be distributed across Ontario.

One key to a good wildlife drawing is knowing the subject matter well - not only how it looks, but how it acts and where it lives.  This information is also required for the essay that must accompany each image.  Point out that students will now "research" their fish using their own resources, the web resources listed on resource 3, or the fact sheets on Resources 1 and 2.  You can decide what level of research you want your students to pursue.  Students may choose their fish first, or choose their fish after doing some of the research.  The essay must match the fish that they draw.

Once the research is done, ask the students to do an outline drawing of their fish on card stock that is 7.5 - 10 cm (3 - 4 in.) long. Get instruction on drawing a basic salmon outline. The drawing should show the key features that distinguish and identify their fish.  Colour is optional.  Once the drawings are done, have the students cut out their fish, and make sure that features are drawn on both sides.  Indicate that their fish will be used in the next activity.

Example of a Chinook salmon outline drawing.