This project was so much fun.  I was so surprised
at how much the children learned about each
animal just by actually making it on each page.  It took
two weeks to make all the pages, but it was definetly
worth it.  I laminated the pages and bound
them into a book, and it made a wonderful 
Mothers Day gift!  The kids were so proud of their books.
The words for each page followed the pattern
of Brown Bear and stated a fact about each animal.
For more info. on TLC activites and other make-a-books
visit www.tlcart.com.
Below are pictures of a few of the pages:

The words for this page were:  Fish Fish what do you do? I swim in schools in the ocean blue.
 

 Hermit Crab
 

Jellyfish
 

Octopus
 

Squid

Starfish

Shells

Below are pictures of the book cover.  These were done 
as directed drawings after we had completed all of the pages.
We used crayons and then painted over with blue watercolor paint.
Last of all I had the kids write the title and their name
on a piece of paper and I cut these out and attached them
to the covers before laminating.  It was a very lengthy and 
time consuming project, but definetly worth it.  The kids
loved being able to read their own books that they had made themselves.
They were also excited about taking these home to read
to their moms on Mothers Day.

As a concluding activity after making the book, we watched the National Geographic Kids
video about the ocean.  It showed  all the animals that we made in the book,
and the kids knew all of them and were so proud of themselves for recognizing the animals.
 

Science Center
In the science center I had a basket full of shells, large 
magnifying glasses, and a shell identification book.
The kids had great fun trying to find the shells in the book. 

Fish Prints
We made fish prints using a real fish.  We used newsprint and colored a blue
background with green seaweed at the bottom. Then, we inked
the fish with black ink and placed the paper on top for the print.
Afterwards we put the fish in a ziplock bag and examined it closely.
We then made a chart listing all the words we could think of to describe the fish.

Books and Literature Activities

The Fish Who Could Wish
This was a great book about a fish who could wish for anything.  After
wishing for many things, he finally wishes he could be just like all the other
fish.  Of course this turns out to be his final wish.  We read this story several
times, and then the children wrote about how they think the fish
felt after his last wish.  Was he happy, sad, or both? Why?
Another story starter we used was "If I could wish for one thing it would be..."

Humphrey The Lost Whale
The kids loved reading about Humphrey, which is the true story of a 
humpback whale that made his way into the SanFrancisco Bay. 

Whales and Dolphins
We read fiction and non-fiction stories about both and then madea venn
diagram to compare and contrast the two.
 

Other Books We Enjoyed

Why Is The Ocean Salty?
Rainbow Fish Books
Orca Song
Coral Reef
Swimmy
Fish is Fish
Fish Eyes
Seashore
A House for Hermit Crab
The Undersea Alphabet
Free Willy

Social Studies Connections
Using the globe, we studied all the different oceans and seas.
We learned that the world is mostly made of water, and we learned
the difference in an "ocean" and a "sea". 

Character Education
Respect for the Environment
We talked about the importance of taking care of the beaches and oceans.

Pocket Chart Activity

A Wish For A Fish In A Dish
source: The Pocket Chart Book by Valerie SchifferDanoff

This pocket chart gives directions to make a fish bowl with a fish in it.
We read the directions several times as a whole group. I also had 
a completed project attached to the pocket chart. During literacy center
time they went to the pocket chart, read the directions and completed the project. 
1.  Trace and cut a fish.
2. Trace and cut a dish.
3. Glue the fish to the dish.
I used blue paper for the fish bowl (dish).  A fish pattern and orange paper for the fish.