Foundations of Language and Literacy · Junior Infants · Celebrating Diversity in Literature · Summer Term

Characters Like Me, Characters Not Like Me

Identifying with characters who share similar experiences and learning from those who are different.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Comprehension
• NCCA: Primary - Empathy

About This Topic

In Characters Like Me, Characters Not Like Me, Junior Infants use picture books to spot similarities and differences between themselves and story characters. They connect on everyday actions, such as playing games or helping family members, and notice contrasts in homes, traditions, or family structures. Key questions guide this work: What does this character do that matches something you do? How is their home or family different from yours? How do you think this character feels right now? These prompts build comprehension of narratives and introduce empathy.

This topic supports NCCA Primary standards for comprehension and empathy in Foundations of Language and Literacy. It celebrates diversity in literature during the Summer Term unit, drawing from Irish and global stories to reflect varied experiences. Children expand feelings vocabulary, practice descriptive language, and learn to value perspectives beyond their own, laying groundwork for social awareness.

Active learning benefits this topic most because four- and five-year-olds grasp abstract ideas through movement and creation. Role-playing character scenes, drawing comparisons, or sharing personal artifacts makes connections personal and joyful. These methods encourage inclusive talk, reduce bias, and help every child feel seen while understanding others.

Key Questions

1. What does this character do that is the same as something you do?
2. How is this character's home or family different from yours?
3. How do you think this character is feeling in this part of the story?

Learning Objectives

• Identify characters in a story who share similar daily routines or feelings with themselves.
• Compare and contrast the home environments or family structures of story characters with their own.
• Explain how a character's actions or feelings might be different from their own experiences.
• Classify characters as 'like me' or 'different from me' based on specific story details.

Before You Start

Introduction to Story Elements

Why: Students need to recognize that stories have characters and events before they can compare them to their own lives.

Basic Emotion Recognition

Why: Identifying character feelings requires a foundational understanding of common emotions like happy, sad, and angry.

Key Vocabulary

Character	A person or animal in a story. We look at what they do, say, and how they feel.
Similar	When two things are almost the same. For example, you and a character might both like to play with blocks.
Different	When two things are not the same. For example, a character might live in a castle, and you might live in a house.
Feeling	How a character feels inside, like happy, sad, or surprised. We can guess their feelings by looking at their face or what they do.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

All characters live exactly like me and my family.

What to Teach Instead

Pair drawings and home shares reveal real differences in family sizes or homes, fostering curiosity. Active comparisons in circles help children articulate contrasts without judgment, building acceptance through visual evidence.

Common Misconception

Characters who look or live differently cannot feel the same emotions as me.

What to Teach Instead

Drama stations with universal feeling cards show shared emotions across differences. Group acting and peer guessing make this concrete, as children experience and name feelings kinesthetically.

Common Misconception

I cannot learn from characters not like me.

What to Teach Instead

Story circle discussions link book events to personal lives, proving value in diverse views. Hands-on sharing of artifacts turns 'different' into relatable lessons on kindness and problem-solving.

Active Learning Ideas

Pair Mirror: Same Actions

Pairs select a book scene where a character performs a daily action, like brushing teeth. One child acts it out while the partner mirrors exactly, then discusses: 'I do this too.' Switch roles and share one similarity with the class.

20 min·Pairs

Circle Share: Different Homes

Gather the whole class in a circle with book images of characters' homes. Each child holds a drawing or photo of their own home, passes it around, and says one difference, such as 'My house has two floors, theirs has none.' Teacher models first.

25 min·Whole Class

Drama Stations: Character Feelings

Set up three stations with feeling cards from stories: happy, sad, surprised. Small groups rotate, act out the feeling as the character, then guess together. Record one sentence about why the character feels that way.

30 min·Small Groups

My Character Book: Draw and Label

Children work alone to draw themselves next to a character, adding simple labels like 'same: play ball' or 'different: big family.' Share in pairs before displaying on walls for ongoing reference.

25 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• When visiting the local library, children can select books featuring characters from different cultural backgrounds or family structures, similar to how they might choose books about firefighters or doctors they know.
• Families can share photos of their own homes, pets, or daily activities to compare with characters in books, making the connections more personal and concrete.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After reading a story, ask students to point to a picture of a character and say one thing that character does that is the same as them, or one thing that is different. For example, 'He eats breakfast like me,' or 'She has a sister, I have a brother.'

Discussion Prompt

Show two pictures: one of a character from the story and one of a child in the class. Ask: 'How are these two the same? How are they different?' Encourage students to use vocabulary like 'similar' and 'different' when describing the characters.

Exit Ticket

Give each child a drawing of a simple house. Ask them to draw one thing inside the house that is the same as their own home and one thing that is different. They can then tell the teacher about their drawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What picture books work best for Characters Like Me?

Select inclusive titles like 'The Colour of Home' by Mary Hoffman for refugee experiences, 'My Two Grannies' by Floella Benjamin for blended families, or Irish favorites such as 'The Wild Fairy Queen' by Una Woods. These offer clear similarities in play and emotions alongside differences in homes and cultures. Preview for age-appropriate language and pair with visuals to support comprehension during read-alouds.

How does this topic build empathy in Junior Infants?

Through key questions, children practice perspective-taking by naming characters' feelings and linking to their own. Discussions normalize differences, like varied family traditions, while celebrating shared joys. Over time, this reduces 'us versus them' thinking and encourages kind responses in play, aligning with NCCA empathy goals.

How can active learning help with Characters Like Me?

Active methods like role-play, drawing parallels, and artifact shares make empathy tangible for young learners. Children internalize similarities through mirroring actions and differences via visual comparisons, leading to deeper discussions. These approaches engage kinesthetic learners, boost participation in diverse classes, and create joyful memories that reinforce inclusivity long-term.

How to differentiate for children with English as an additional language?

Use high-visual books with repetitive phrases and pair with home language labels on drawings. Provide sentence starters like 'This character feels... because...' during shares. Small group stations allow peer modeling, while individual drawing reduces pressure. Celebrate multilingual shares to value all backgrounds.