Language Arts · Grade 1

Active learning ideas

Setting and Atmosphere

Active learning helps young students grasp setting and atmosphere because they can physically interact with ideas. Moving, touching, and manipulating materials makes abstract concepts like mood and emotional tone more concrete and memorable for Grade 1 learners.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

• 20–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Sensory Settings

Set up stations with items representing different settings (e.g., pine needles for a forest, sand for a beach, a recording of city traffic). Students visit each station and use one descriptive word to describe the 'feeling' of that place.

Explain how an illustrator uses color to convey the setting's mood.

Facilitation Tip

During Station Rotation: Sensory Settings, rotate between stations yourself to model how to use each material and ask guiding questions like, 'What does the sand feel like between your fingers? Does it remind you of anything?'

What to look for

Show students two illustrations of the same place but with different weather (e.g., a park on a sunny day vs. a park during a storm). Ask students to point to the illustration that feels 'happy' and explain why, using details from the picture.

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

Activity 02

• Inquiry Circle
• 20 min · Pairs

Inquiry Circle: Illustrator's Secrets

In pairs, students look at three different books and compare the colors used. They discuss why an author might use dark blues for a scary forest but bright yellows for a sunny park, then share their findings with the class.

Justify an author's choice of a specific setting for a story.

Facilitation Tip

During Collaborative Investigation: Illustrator's Secrets, sit with small groups to prompt them to point out specific visual clues that create mood, such as dark colors or jagged lines.

What to look for

Read a short story or a familiar fairy tale. Ask students: 'If this story happened on a snowy mountain instead of in a forest, what might change? Would the characters be happy or sad? What would they do differently?' Encourage them to share their ideas.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 20 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Setting Switch

Take a well-known story like 'The Three Little Pigs' and ask students to act out a scene as if it happened in the Arctic. Students must work together to decide how the cold and snow would change what the characters do.

Compare how different settings might alter the events of a narrative.

Facilitation Tip

During The Setting Switch, circulate while students brainstorm by asking, 'What would the character do differently if it were raining instead of sunny? How would that change the story?'

What to look for

Provide students with a picture of a specific setting (e.g., a busy city street, a quiet beach). Ask them to write or draw one word that describes the 'mood' of the setting and one detail from the picture that makes them feel that way.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach setting and atmosphere by starting with what students already know: places they visit and how they feel. Use familiar examples like a playground on a windy day versus a calm day to show how small changes create different emotions. Avoid overcomplicating the concept with too many terms; focus on the feelings the setting evokes. Research supports using visuals and hands-on tasks for this age group, as they learn best through concrete experiences and storytelling.

By the end of these activities, students will identify how weather, time, and sensory details shape the mood of a setting. They will use illustrations and words to describe how a place feels, not just how it looks. Clear evidence includes thoughtful responses during discussions and accurate use of sensory details in their work.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Station Rotation: Sensory Settings, watch for students who describe only physical details without connecting them to mood.

  Redirect them by asking, 'How does the cold wind make you feel? Would a character feel excited or worried if they had to go outside in this weather?'

• During The Setting Switch, watch for students who change only the location without considering how the new setting affects the story’s mood.

  Prompt them to think about the new setting’s time, weather, and sensory details, and ask, 'What would the character do that’s different now?'

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Inquiry Circle
• Simulation Game