English · Junior Infants

Active learning ideas

Creating Digital Art

Active learning helps young children connect abstract tool concepts to concrete experiences. For digital art, movement, touch, and immediate feedback build fine motor skills and creative confidence. Hands-on activities let children explore color, line, and shape in ways that match their natural curiosity.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Digital Literacy
• NCCA: Primary - Creative Expression

• 15–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Hundred Languages
• 20 min · Whole Class

Guided Demo: First Digital Strokes

Model drawing basic shapes and colors on the interactive whiteboard using a tablet app. Children then try individually on their tablets, naming each tool as they use it. End with a quick share of one favorite mark.

What can you make using drawing tools on a tablet?

Facilitation Tip

During the guided demo, model slow, deliberate finger movements and narrate each step aloud to support fine motor development.

What to look for

Observe students as they use the drawing program. Ask: 'What tool are you using now?' 'How is that different from using a crayon?' Note their ability to select tools and colors and their verbal responses comparing the methods.

• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Hundred Languages
• 25 min · Pairs

Pair Compare: Tablet vs Crayons

Pairs draw the same simple picture, once with crayons on paper and once on tablets. They discuss and record one similarity and one difference on a class chart. Circulate to prompt descriptive language.

How is drawing on a tablet the same as or different from drawing with crayons?

Facilitation Tip

After the pair compare, ask guiding questions such as ‘Which tool felt easier to hold?’ to help children articulate differences.

What to look for

Provide students with a simple worksheet. Ask them to draw one thing they learned about digital art on one side and write or draw one way it is like drawing with crayons on the other side.

• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Hundred Languages
• 35 min · Small Groups

Story Scene Stations: Small Group Art

Set up stations with tablets loaded to a drawing app; groups illustrate a shared story prompt like 'under the sea.' Rotate every 7 minutes, adding one element per station. Compile into a class digital book.

Can you create a picture on the tablet to show something from a story?

Facilitation Tip

For story scene stations, provide clear visual prompts like ‘Draw a tree with three apples’ to focus creative exploration.

What to look for

After a sharing session, ask: 'What was the most fun part about making your picture on the tablet?' 'If you wanted to draw a big, round sun, which tool would you use and why?' Listen for their use of new vocabulary and understanding of tool functions.

• Understand
• Apply
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 15 min · Whole Class

Gallery Walk: Share and Tell

Children place tablets on tables showing their art. Class walks around, pausing to describe what they see and like. Each child answers one peer question about their picture.

What can you make using drawing tools on a tablet?

Facilitation Tip

During the gallery walk, invite children to point to specific features they created, reinforcing vocabulary and pride in their work.

What to look for

Observe students as they use the drawing program. Ask: 'What tool are you using now?' 'How is that different from using a crayon?' Note their ability to select tools and colors and their verbal responses comparing the methods.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with a simple, predictable routine to reduce cognitive load. Model one tool at a time, then allow open exploration. Avoid over-explaining; let children discover functions through trial and error. Research shows that young learners benefit from immediate, visual feedback, so apps with instant undo or redo options work best.

Children will confidently select colors, use tools independently, and verbally compare digital and traditional methods. They will create recognizable images and share their process using new vocabulary like ‘stamp,’ ‘erase,’ and ‘layer.’

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Guided Demo: First Digital Strokes, some children may insist that tablet art is not ‘real’ because it disappears when erased.

  Show a crayon drawing beside a tablet drawing of the same subject. Ask children to describe what stays the same in both images, guiding them to notice that ideas matter more than the tool.

• During Pair Compare: Tablet vs Crayons, children may say drawing on a tablet is harder because they cannot grip it like a crayon.

  Have partners take turns drawing the same shape with a crayon and a stylus. Ask them to describe which movement felt smoother and why, building vocabulary around ‘swipe’ and ‘grip.’

• During Story Scene Stations: Small Group Art, children may believe tablet colors cannot blend like paint.

  Demonstrate color blending in the app. Then ask groups to layer colors and describe what happens, reinforcing vocabulary like ‘mix’ and ‘overlay’ while they experiment together.

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Methods used in this brief

• Hundred Languages
• Gallery Walk