- Start with the Story
- Read Shapes with Little Fish aloud. Pause when a new shape is introduced and ask the children to air draw the shape with you.
- Encourage engagement by asking questions like, “What does this shape remind you of?”
- Explain the Activity
- Say: “Little Fish and her friends need to swim home to the right aquariums. Look at the shape on each fish and match it to the same shape on the aquariums. Draw a line to help them swim home!”
- Fast finishers: Colour the fish and the aquariums.
- Encourage the kids to use colourful markers or crayons for each line, making the activity visually engaging.
- Class Discussion
- Once the activity is complete, review the answers together.
- Ask students to share their favourite shapes or identify where they’ve seen similar shapes in real life.
Home for the Fish!
The Book
Shapes with Little Fish
Written & illustrated by Lucy Cousins, published by Walker Books
Shapes with Little Fish is a bright and engaging picture book that introduces young children to basic shapes through playful underwater adventures. The book helps early learners name, describe and trace shapes (AC9MFSP01, ACMMG009 – Foundation Year, Mathematics) through simple, rhythmic text (AC9EFLY09, ACELA1439 – Foundation Year, English), which also supports reading while fostering early geometric awareness. In addition, the cheerful character of Little Fish guides readers through a lively exploration of shape recognition in an accessible and interactive way.
Resource creator
Lian Khanh
Subject
Level
Description
In this engaging activity, students will help the fish find their correct aquariums by drawing lines to match each fish to the aquarium with a corresponding shape. This fun exercise encourages students to recognise and differentiate between shapes.
Learning Intentions
• Students are learning to identify and match basic shapes.
Successful Criteria
• I can recognise different shapes and find their matches.
• I can draw lines accurately between matching shapes.
• I can explain why a fish belongs in a particular aquarium based on the matching shape.
Curriculum Alignment
AC9MFSP01 9.0 (Mathematics Foundation): Sort, name and create familiar shapes; recognise and describe familiar shapes within objects in the environment, giving reasons
• sorting a collection of shapes into groups based on different features such as the number of sides, colour or size, and describing how they have been sorted.
• creating a picture using a variety of shapes and a range of materials, including objects to trace around, describing the shapes they have created or used and sharing why they chose each shape in their picture
• creating familiar shapes using groups of people; for example, holding hands and creating a circle
• recognising and naming shapes that are (close to) rectangles, squares, triangles and circles in component parts of everyday items; for example, on bicycles, toy vehicles or kitchen pantry items
• describing and naming shapes within objects that can be observed on Country/Place, recreating and sorting into groups based on their shape
Materials
- The book Shapes with Little Fish
- Printable Find the Right Home for the Fish! sheets
- Crayons, markers, or pencils.
Instructions
Downloads
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