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.

• Junior Infants
• Foundations of Language and Literacy
• 4 activities
• 15 min–30 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify visual and auditory elements present in a digital story.
2. Compare and contrast the interaction methods used in print books versus digital stories.
3. Classify different genres of stories that can be accessed through digital platforms.
4. Describe the sequence of events in a digital story after viewing it.

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Standard classroom, flexible for group activities during class

Materials: Pre-class content (video/reading with guiding questions), Readiness check or entrance ticket, In-class application activity, Reflection journal

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

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Standard classroom, flexible for group activities during class

Materials: Pre-class content (video/reading with guiding questions), Readiness check or entrance ticket, In-class application activity, Reflection journal

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

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.

Prepare & details

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.

Setup: Standard classroom, flexible for group activities during class

Materials: Pre-class content (video/reading with guiding questions), Readiness check or entrance ticket, In-class application activity, Reflection journal

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

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.

Prepare & details

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

Setup: Standard classroom, flexible for group activities during class

Materials: Pre-class content (video/reading with guiding questions), Readiness check or entrance ticket, In-class application activity, Reflection journal

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

Teaching This Topic

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.

What to Expect

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.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Common Misconception

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

What to Teach Instead

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.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Story Viewing Circle, 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?'

Quick Check

During Print vs Digital Comparison, 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.

Exit Ticket

After Screen Story Sketch, 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.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to create their own simple digital story using a drawing app and recorded narration.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters like 'I see...' or 'I hear...' to support children who struggle to articulate observations.
• Deeper exploration: Introduce the concept of 'pause' and 'rewind' by having children recreate a scene from the story using props and actions.

Key Vocabulary

Digital Story	A story presented on a screen, often including animation, sound, and interactive features.
Interactive Book	An electronic book that allows the reader to tap, swipe, or click on elements to make them move or produce sounds.
Animation	Moving pictures, often created by making many still drawings or images appear in rapid sequence.
Sound Effects	Sounds added to a story or video to make it more realistic or exciting, such as a 'ding' or a 'whoosh'.
Narration	The voice that reads the story aloud in a digital book or animation.