Before reading the first book in the unit, Swimmy, explain that since the setting of the next two books takes place undersea, a great many new words about the undersea world will be introduced.  Pass out copies of a 3 square X  3 square grid with these words from Swimmy written one per square.

Meaning Vocabulary for Swimmy:
1.  mussel
2.  medusa
3.  marvel
4.  fierce
5.  invisible
6.  midday
7.  anemone
8.  school
9.  seaweed

Briefly review the words by writing each word on the board, pronouncing the word aloud, then having the children repeat the word. With each word, give a brief definition, and ask children if they can think of something similar to that word.  When all the words have been discussed, explain that the story Swimmy should be listened to very carefully, and that the strategy of visualizing should be used to try to understand the new vocabulary
words, as well as to infer how the fish Swimmy responds to his problem, and to the problems of others.

Reading the selection
 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.

Picture Walk:
Picture Walks are an effective way for children to get in the habit of browsing through the illustrations in a selection before actually reading the text. This is an important step in the SQ3R reading strategy.

Meaning Vocabulary for Fish is Fish:
1. tadpole
2. nonsense
3. triumphantly
4. full-fledged
5. impatiently
6. marvelous
7. groaned
8. luminous
9. motion
10. weightless

For Fish is Fish, employ the same teaching strategies for teaching vocabulary as for Swimmy.

Word Wall:

For the Word Wall, choose vocabulary words each day and unscramble the letters. Print the letters on 1 inch squares, copying enough pages for each student. Have students unscramble for the "big word", and then have students create new words using as many letters as are in the word.

Sorting the words:
Now have students sort out the words by patterns, and write these new categories in vocabulary journals. This activity is multilevel because students will sort according to their acumen. To extend the activity, write words on Word Wall Cards and place them in the correct place. If there is an ABC order section, use that first.