Gather the children on the rug, or on the floor for the initial oral reading of Swimmy.  Show the book cover and introduce the title, author, and how Lionni illustrated the books he wrote.  Read the story aloud, showing the children the illustrations.

DTAR (directed thinking-about-reading)
 Stop briefly at the point where the big tuna eats all the little red fish in Swimmy’s
family.  Ask children to stop and think about how Swimmy must be feeling right now.
Ask children to predict how Swimmy gets through this problem.

 Next, read through the middle events of Swimmy’s journey through the sea.
Read through each description, pointing out every new creature that Swimmy encounters.

DLTA (directed listening-thinking activity)
 Review all the creatures that Swimmy encountered up to the point where he
meets the new school of red fish.
         (Ahead of time, draw pictures of the creatures, copy enough for everyone, color and cut out each creature.   You should have a colored, cut out picture of the medusa, or the
“rainbow jelly fish”, the lobster, the “strange fish”, the seaweeds, the “sugar-candy” rocks, the eel, and finally, the sea anemones. These could be easily drawn with black marker, and copied so that one of the groups could use the pictures for the sequencing activity after reading the story.  Glue a scrap of felt in back of each cut out picture so that they will adhere easily to the flannel board.  Keep a pile of small felt scraps on the art table for this use later on.)
 Adhere a picture, in sequence, to the flannelboard as each student recalls one of the creatures that Swimmy saw.
 Now ask the children to try to predict what might happen next.  Ask them if they think that Swimmy’s problems are over, or if they feel that Swimmy has gotten on well with his life.

Drawing Conclusions
 Finish reading the story.  Conclude by explaining that Lionni often writes stories that can either teach us a lesson, or else illustrate concept that isn’t easy to describe with just a few words.  Relate that the concept of responsibility is like that, and ask children to share any ideas about responsibility that they may have learned from the fish, Swimmy.
Some responses might include Swimmy’s willingness to help the school of fish overcome their fear, his effort to think of a way for them to enjoy life again, and his bravery at being their leader in his role as the “eye” of the giant “red fish” that Swimmy thought of.

Informal Assessment

Literal Questions:
1.  How is Swimmy different from the other fish in the school?
2.  What happens to the first school of fish Swimmy lives with?
3.  Can you name some of the creatures Swimmy sees in his travels?
4.  How does Swimmy get the second school of fish out of their hiding place?
Inferential Questions:
1.  Why is the second school of fish hiding in the rocks?
2.  Are the “Strange Fish” really being pulled by an invisible thread?
3.  Why did the lobster walk like a “water-moving” machine?
4.  Why do you think only Swimmy escaped the fierce tuna’s gulp?
Drawing Conclusions:
1.  Do you think Swimmy acted with responsibility toward the second school of
      red fish?
2.  If Swimmy hadn’t come along, do you think that the second school of
                  fish would have come out of their hiding place?
3.  Do you think that the second school of fish helped Swimmy, too?
4.  What kind of life do you think Swimmy and the second school of fish
                   lived after they chased away the big fish?

Evaluative:
1.  Did you like the story Swimmy?  Why or why not?
2.  Do you think that the big tuna is good or bad? Why or why not?
3.  Do you think that Swimmy had to help the second school of fish? Why or why not?
4.  Which part of the story did you like the best?

Post Reading Activity

1.  In Reading Response Journals, answer the following question:
      “Would you have helped the second school of fish come out of their hiding
        place?   If not, why?       If so, why would you help them?

2.  Draw a picture and label for each “vocabulary word square”.