<em>Frankenfish:</em> A Fish Adaptation Puzzle

Frankenfish is a life science activity for grades 4–6 during which students are challenged to create a fish with adaptations to help it survive in a given habitat. The activity combines constructive and interactive learning techniques to promote better understanding of marine science concepts. Students are constructive as they create fish outputs that go beyond the content ideas that they are presented, and these outputs often require elaboration by the student. This activity can be completed by students in pairs to create an interactive environment that encourages joint dialogue between peers and in which each student can make substantial contributions to the construction of their fish. Frankenfish provides an opportunity for students to learn about external fish anatomy without using live or specimen fish; it instead utilizes laminated drawings of fish anatomical features. Student learning objectives of this activity include the ability to give examples of habitats, particularly marine habitats, understanding the concept of adaptations and explaining what adaptations fish need to survive in their different habitats, identifying external fish anatomical parts, and the ability to connect extreme habitats and the adaptations that could benefit fish living in them. Frankenfish aligns with Next Generation Science Standards: MS-LS4-2 and 4-LS1-1 and with Ocean Literacy Essential Principles: Principle 5d.