English · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Setting's Impact on Characters

Active learning helps Year 1 students grasp how settings shape characters by making abstract ideas concrete. When children physically act out a character in different places, or draw their emotions, they connect mood and action to the setting in ways passive listening cannot.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: English - Reading (Comprehension)
• KS1: English - Writing (Composition)

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 30 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Setting Switches

Select a familiar story character. Groups use classroom props to create an original setting, then act out how the character responds with new actions and feelings. End with a share-out where each group explains the mood change.

Predict how a character's behavior might change in a new setting.

Facilitation Tip

During Role-Play: Setting Switches, assign pairs a setting card before they begin so every student has a clear role and time to prepare.

What to look for

Give students a picture of a familiar character (e.g., Goldilocks) and a new setting (e.g., a desert). Ask them to draw or write one sentence about how Goldilocks might feel or act in this new place.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 20 min · Pairs

Draw and Label: Emotion Maps

Children draw one character in two different settings from a story. They label actions, feelings, and one problem each setting creates. Pairs compare drawings to spot patterns.

Evaluate the importance of the setting to the overall mood of a story.

Facilitation Tip

During Draw and Label: Emotion Maps, model drawing a character’s face and labeling it with how the setting makes them feel before letting students try.

What to look for

Present two contrasting settings, like a dark cave and a bright playground. Ask students: 'How might a character feel differently in each place? What problems could arise in the cave that wouldn't happen in the playground?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 25 min · Whole Class

Prediction Chain: Whole Class Story

Start a class story with a character in one setting. Each child adds a sentence predicting behaviour, then the teacher changes the setting. Continue chaining predictions around the circle.

Explain how a setting can create a problem for a character.

Facilitation Tip

During Prediction Chain: Whole Class Story, pause after each prediction to ask one child to explain their reasoning to the group.

What to look for

Read a short passage describing a character in a specific setting. Ask students to give a thumbs up if the setting makes the character seem happy, a thumbs down if it makes them seem sad, or a thumbs sideways if it makes them seem scared. Discuss their choices.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Setting Hunt: Book Scavenger

In small groups, scan picture books for settings that change character actions or create problems. Record findings on a shared chart with sketches and one-sentence explanations.

Predict how a character's behavior might change in a new setting.

Facilitation Tip

During Setting Hunt: Book Scavenger, give each child a clipboard with a checklist so they stay focused on matching settings to emotions as they move through the room.

What to look for

Give students a picture of a familiar character (e.g., Goldilocks) and a new setting (e.g., a desert). Ask them to draw or write one sentence about how Goldilocks might feel or act in this new place.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with a familiar story like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, then ask children to brainstorm how the setting changes if Goldilocks visits a snowy forest instead. Use sentence stems like ‘In the snowy forest, Goldilocks would feel… because…’ to build academic language. Avoid rushing to the ‘right’ answer; let misconceptions surface naturally so you can address them in the moment. Research shows that children learn best when they connect new ideas to what they already know through talk and movement.

By the end of these activities, children will explain how a setting’s weather, light, or space changes a character’s feelings and choices. They will use evidence from role-play, drawings, or story chains to support their ideas.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Setting Switches, watch for children who ignore the setting and act the same in every place.

  After they finish a round, ask each pair to describe how their character’s body or voice changed from one setting to the next, then model adjusting posture or tone to match the new place.

• During Draw and Label: Emotion Maps, watch for children who draw the same emotion for every setting.

  Show them how to circle the setting details in their drawing, like ‘dark cave’ or ‘sunny garden,’ then ask them to point to which part makes the character feel that way before labeling the emotion.

• During Prediction Chain: Whole Class Story, watch for children who predict based only on the character’s usual traits, not the setting.

  Pause the story after each prediction and ask, ‘What in the setting makes you think the character would feel that way?’ to prompt evidence-based thinking.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Role Play