Foundations of Language and Literacy · Junior Infants

Active learning ideas

Exploring Digital Stories

Active learning helps young children build concrete understanding of abstract digital concepts. By touching, pointing, and talking, children connect screen features to familiar story elements, making multimodal literacy more accessible and engaging.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Digital Literacy
• NCCA: Primary - Reading

• 15–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Flipped Classroom
• 20 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Story Viewing Circle

Gather children around an interactive whiteboard or projector. Play a short animated story, pausing midway to ask 'What do you see and hear?' Follow with a group share where each child contributes one observation. Record key differences on chart paper.

What do you see and hear in a digital story on a screen?

Facilitation Tip

During Story Viewing Circle, pause the video after key moments so children can point and describe what they see or hear.

What to look for

After watching a digital story, ask students: 'Tell me one thing you saw on the screen that was moving. Tell me one thing you heard. How was that different from when we read a book together in our reading corner?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Flipped Classroom
• 25 min · Pairs

Pairs: Print vs Digital Comparison

Pair children with a print book and tablet showing the same story. Guide them to look at both versions side by side, noting sounds or movements. Pairs share one difference with the class.

How is looking at a book different from watching a story on a tablet?

Facilitation Tip

For Print vs Digital Comparison, place physical books and digital devices side by side so children can physically interact with both formats.

What to look for

Show students two images: one from a print book and one from a digital story. Ask them to point to the image that has animation and explain why they think so. Use this to gauge understanding of visual differences.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Flipped Classroom
• 30 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Interactive Book Hunt

Divide into small groups with tablets loaded with e-books. Each group explores one story, swiping pages and touching interactive elements. Groups report back their favorite part and why.

What kinds of stories can you find on a tablet or computer?

Facilitation Tip

While leading Interactive Book Hunt, circulate and ask guiding questions like 'How did you make that character move?' to stretch thinking.

What to look for

Give each child a drawing paper. Ask them to draw one character or object from the digital story they watched and then make a sound effect that goes with it. This checks recall of story elements and associated sounds.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Flipped Classroom
• 15 min · Individual

Individual: Screen Story Sketch

After viewing, give each child paper and crayons to draw a scene from the digital story. Label with one word they heard. Display sketches for a gallery walk.

What do you see and hear in a digital story on a screen?

What to look for

After watching a digital story, ask students: 'Tell me one thing you saw on the screen that was moving. Tell me one thing you heard. How was that different from when we read a book together in our reading corner?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers help children notice details by modeling observation language and asking open-ended questions. Research shows that young children learn best when they can manipulate materials and talk about their actions, so digital stories become active learning tools rather than passive viewing. Avoid long uninterrupted viewing times; short, focused sessions with pauses for discussion work better.

Successful learning looks like children noticing and naming digital features such as animations and sounds, comparing them to print books, and using new vocabulary to describe their observations. Their discussions show growing awareness of how stories work on screens.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Print vs Digital Comparison, watch for children saying digital stories are 'the same' as books.

  Use the side-by-side setup to redirect attention to differences. Ask children to touch the screen and feel the lack of pages, or to listen for sounds that don't appear in print books, guiding them to notice multimodal features.

• During Interactive Book Hunt, watch for children focusing only on the moving images.

  After they find an interactive element, ask them to retell the part of the story that matches it. This connects visual action to narrative content, shifting focus from motion to story meaning.

• During Story Viewing Circle, watch for children remaining silent during the video.

  Pause the video after 30 seconds and ask each child individually to share one thing they saw or heard. This turns passive viewing into active discussion, reinforcing that talk deepens understanding.

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Methods used in this brief

• Flipped Classroom