The activity that I would have 1st graders do would write a piece about their very first day of school and what they remember. We did an activity with this on the first day of school and how it is different or similiar than their first day of Kindergarten. Is it more important that he feels better or that he has this new purpose? What is the connection between the two?

It is a wonderful story about a beautiful, shiny fish who doesn’t like to share. He does however want friends. One day he shares just a single rainbow fin and with another fish and discovers the wonderful joy that comes from giving to others. Flowing, watery illustrations and developmentally appropriate concepts, it isn’t hard to see why this book has become a classic. After being kissed by the Silver fish, the Pout-Pout fish’s purpose seems to be making other fish feel better. Is this purpose meaningful, or is it pointless? Mr. Fish lives with a constant pout on his face. He always seems to be sad and frowning. Octopi, clams, and other various sea critters all tell him to smile a little and be happy, but the Pout-Pout fish claims that this is just the way he is. Then, all of a sudden, his frown is turned upside-down after he is kissed by a shimmering silver fish. After he is kissed, the Pout-Pout fish becomes the Kiss-Kiss fish, giving all of his sea friends kisses and making everyone as happy as he is. In addition to Mr. Fish’s sadness, the other fish don’t understand his emotions and exclude him because of this. The jellyfish, squid, and octopus all complain that Mr. Fish mopes too much. Is it okay for the sea creatures to expect Mr. Fish to be happy when he is not? Is it okay for Mr. Fish to not feel happy? These types of questions delve further into the role of well-being and happiness in personal relationships. For Mr. Fish, the sea creatures attempt to prevent, correct, or mitigate his sadness and assume it is a generally undesirable trait to be sad. However, this approach isolates Mr. Fish, which presumably furthers his sadness. What would be a better path of action for the sea creatures to take? How can the sea creatures take better care of their friend? These questions can be used to open up a discussion regarding personal relationships hindered by the challenges facing a friend. Purpose and Meaningfulness

Songs about Happy and Sad & the Ocean

Encourage the kids to share what makes them feel happy or smile when they are sad with drawings or words. I also like to encourage conversation at our table while we write and draw. A simple phrase like “Tell me about your picture” can get a kid talking and often lead to conversation. Original questions and guidelines for philosophical discussion by Tristan Leigh and Sally Donovan. Edited June 2020 by The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. As the Pout Pout Fish swims through the ocean with his big pout in our featured story today all of the other animals offer advice on how to cheer up. This is a wonderful example of friendship and empathy for preschoolers who often have ideas about what might cheer up their friends. In the story The Pout Pout Fish, the main character is described as quite glum until another fish surprises him with a kiss. It is a sweet story that brings up different ways that might cheer someone up.

In the second half of the book, Mr. Fish is kissed by the Silver Fish and transforms into a happy, kissing fish with the purpose of making everyone else feel better with one of his joyous kisses. This transformation, as a result of the kiss, seems to make his life much better. One of the thoughts that come to mind when reflecting on this transformation is whether Mr. Fish’s life is better because he is happy or because he now has a purpose in life. This book allows for a facilitated discussion and debate about happiness versus purpose. Is it important for the Pout-Pout fish to be happy, or is it more important that he now has a purpose? And what is the connection between the two? Can someone be happy without a purpose? Or have a purpose, but not be happy? Have you read any books about Pout-Pout Fish before? If so, tell me some things you already know about Pout-Pout Fish. If this is your first time reading a Pout-Pout Fish book, we can use his name to learn a little bit about him. Pout means to push your lips out, like Pout-Pout Fish is doing on the cover. Let’s all give it a try! Why might you pout like Pout-Pout Fish? How do you think he feels about going to school? We’re going to read to find out why Pout-Pout Fish is worried about going to school. We’ll also find out what changes his mind and makes him smile. What does the Pout-Pout fish do after the Silver fish kisses him? Why might that make him feel better? Do you think the Silver fish should have asked the Pout-Pout fish before they kissed?

Summary

This book is about a fish that goes to school for the first time and he ends up in the wrong class and he thinks he is not smart, he will never get it, he doesn’t belong, and he should just forget it. He continues to move on to find the class that he thinks he belongs in and continues to think he doesn’t belong. Mr.Fish begins to leave school and right before he gives up completely a nice teacher named Miss Hewitt tells him,” yes you do belong, you belong in my class for the brand new fish. Mr. Fish realizes that he is smart, he will get it, he does belong, and he won’t forget it. This book also asks the important question of what role purpose plays in having a meaningful life and whether a purpose needs to be meaningful or not. Some may believe that the Pout-Pout fish’s life seems to go from having no meaning to being meaningful after finding his purpose. Others may disagree and claim that his purpose is meaningless. This debate asks the important question of whether it is up to you or someone else to decide if your purpose is meaningful or worthwhile. Many activities can seem like a waste of time if one focuses on it, but perhaps it is a matter of perspective and how it affects people’s lives differently. For example, a man who spends his life counting all the blades of grass on his lawn may seem like he has a pointless purpose, but it may be completely meaningful to him or maybe even some others who know him to count all the blades of grass on his lawn. Considering this, we can begin to think about what makes a purpose worthwhile and meaningful. Does his purpose even need to have meaning? Hopefully, through this book, we can produce a productive conversation about purpose and meaningfulness. Questions for Philosophical Discussion Happiness I really thought this book was super cute and taught a very important lesson for young children that they should never give up when things get hard. The part of the story that made me feel this way was when Mr. Fish runs into Miss Hewitt and she encourages Mr.Fish that he is smart. I would highly recommend this story to any younger elementary class, especially on the first day of school or the first week or two. This book is about Pout-Pout the fish who starts his very first day of school. He is very scared at looking at all of the classrooms. He begins to go into Math, Art, and Writing class, and he does not think he is good at anything. He gets very discouraged and wants to go home. Before he left the school, a new teacher had come across him and asked for him to go with her since he was not in the right classroom. She was his Kindergarten teacher and he was very happy to be in a place where he was smart and he could do well in. The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School" is one book out of a series about Mr. Fish, the main character who is referred to outside of the book as the "Pout-Pout Fish" in question. The story tells about Mr. Fish's first time going to school when he was young and his doubts of learning and being able to keep up with the rest of the fish in the school. He gets reassurance, though, that things will be okay and there is time for him to learn.