The Arts · Grade 3

Active learning ideas

Visual Story Elements: Setting and Characters

Active learning works because students need to physically create and manipulate visual elements to truly grasp how setting and characters tell stories. When children draw backdrops or sculpt characters, they internalize how shape, color, and detail convey mood and personality beyond words.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• VA:Cr2.1.3a

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Setting Scenes

Prepare stations with materials for drawing (pencils, markers), painting (watercolours, brushes), collage (magazines, glue), and sculpture (clay, toothpicks). Students rotate every 10 minutes to build one setting element per station, then combine pieces into a group backdrop. Discuss mood choices as a class.

Design a backdrop or prop that establishes the story's setting.

Facilitation Tip

During Setting Scenes, remind students to focus on one strong mood word for their backdrop before adding details like weather or architecture.

What to look for

Provide students with a simple story prompt (e.g., 'A brave knight enters a dark forest'). Ask them to quickly sketch one element of the setting and label one detail that shows it's a dark forest. Then, ask them to draw a simple character face showing 'brave'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs: Character Emotion Match

Partners draw two versions of the same character in different moods using line and color variations. Swap drawings, add details to enhance the emotion, then explain choices to the class. Use chart paper for visibility.

Analyze how color and line can be used to create a specific mood for a scene.

Facilitation Tip

For Character Emotion Match, ask pairs to first guess their partner's character's emotion before sharing their own, to encourage close observation.

What to look for

Students share their character sketches. Ask them to use the following prompts: 'What personality trait does your partner's character seem to have? What specific visual element (like the eyes, mouth shape, or clothing) makes you think that? Do you have a suggestion to make the trait even clearer?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 50 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Story Prop Gallery

Students create one prop or character sculpture from recyclables representing their story scene. Display on tables for a gallery walk where peers leave sticky note feedback on mood and personality conveyance. Vote on favorites and refine.

Explain how visual elements can convey a character's personality without words.

Facilitation Tip

In Story Prop Gallery, provide sentence stems for discussion like 'I notice the use of _____, which makes me feel _____.' to guide student talk.

What to look for

On an index card, students draw a small symbol representing a mood (e.g., jagged lines for tension, soft curves for calm). Below the symbol, they write one sentence explaining how their chosen visual element creates that mood.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Individual

Individual: Mood Sketchbook

Each student sketches three settings from a shared story prompt, varying colors and lines for moods like happy, scary, calm. Select one to paint fully, then journal how elements create the feeling.

Design a backdrop or prop that establishes the story's setting.

Facilitation Tip

During Mood Sketchbook, model how to use quick, expressive lines before refining, so students value process over perfection.

What to look for

Provide students with a simple story prompt (e.g., 'A brave knight enters a dark forest'). Ask them to quickly sketch one element of the setting and label one detail that shows it's a dark forest. Then, ask them to draw a simple character face showing 'brave'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by modeling your own thought process: share how you choose colors or shapes to show mood, and revise work aloud. Avoid telling students what to draw. Instead, ask questions that push them to explain their choices, like 'How does the jagged line make the forest feel dangerous?' Research shows that when students articulate their artistic decisions, their understanding deepens and transfers to new contexts.

Successful learning looks like students using color, line, and detail to show mood and personality clearly in their work. They should discuss and refine their art based on peer feedback, connecting visual choices to storytelling. By the end, students can explain how their creations enhance a story's meaning.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Setting Scenes, watch for students who treat the backdrop as decoration instead of storytelling. Correction: Ask them to name the mood of their setting and point to one visual detail that creates it, then have them discuss with a partner.

  During Setting Scenes, ask students to name the mood of their backdrop and identify one visual detail that creates it. Then, have them pair up to compare settings and explain how each detail reinforces the story.

• During Character Emotion Match, watch for students who believe realistic features are required to show emotion. Correction: Provide exaggerated templates and ask them to focus on one symbolic detail, like wide eyes for surprise, then discuss with their partner.

  During Character Emotion Match, provide exaggerated templates and ask students to focus on one symbolic detail, like wide eyes for surprise. Then, have pairs discuss how the detail clearly conveys the emotion.

• During Mood Sketchbook, watch for students who choose colors randomly without considering mood. Correction: Ask them to label their sketch with the mood they intend to show, then share with a partner who must guess the mood before they explain their choices.

  During Mood Sketchbook, ask students to label their sketch with the intended mood. Then, have them share with a partner who guesses the mood before the creator explains their color and line choices.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Outdoor Investigation Session