Foundations of Language and Literacy · Junior Infants

Active learning ideas

Making Text-to-Self Connections

Active learning helps young children build bridges between stories and their own lives by engaging multiple senses. When they move, draw, and talk, connections become vivid and memorable for Junior Infants.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Comprehension
• NCCA: Primary - Personal Response

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

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Pair Draw: Story Connections

Read a picture book aloud. In pairs, children draw one event from the story that reminds them of their life and label feelings involved. Pairs share drawings with the class, with teacher prompting comparisons.

Has anything like what happened in this story ever happened to you?

Facilitation Tip

During Pair Draw, sit with pairs to gently steer conversations toward specific story moments before asking for personal links.

What to look for

After reading a story, ask: 'Think about when [character's name] felt [emotion]. Have you ever felt that way? Tell us about a time you felt like that.' Encourage students to share a brief personal anecdote.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Whole Class

Feeling Circle: Character Matches

After a story, sit in a circle. Pass a soft toy; each child says or acts a feeling the character had that they feel too, like happy or sad. Teacher models with exaggeration for clarity.

How does this character feel the same way as you sometimes feel?

Facilitation Tip

In Feeling Circle, model matching your own emotion to the character’s before inviting students to share.

What to look for

Provide students with a simple drawing prompt: 'Draw a time you felt like [character's name] in the story.' Observe their drawings and ask them to verbally explain the connection they made.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 35 min · Small Groups

What If Role-Play: My Choice

Select key story moments. In small groups, children take turns acting what they would do if they were the character, using props like hats or scarves. Groups perform one for the class.

What would you do if you were a character in this story?

Facilitation Tip

For What If Role-Play, provide props so children can physically act out their choices and connections.

What to look for

Give each child a card with a picture of a character from the story. Ask them to draw one thing that happened in the story that is like something that happened to them, or write one word about how they felt that matched the character.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Individual

Connection Collage: Personal Links

Provide story images cutouts and personal photos or drawings. Individually, children glue matches between story parts and their experiences onto paper. Display collages for a gallery walk.

Has anything like what happened in this story ever happened to you?

Facilitation Tip

With Connection Collage, give clear examples of how to cut and paste personal photos or drawings alongside story images.

What to look for

After reading a story, ask: 'Think about when [character's name] felt [emotion]. Have you ever felt that way? Tell us about a time you felt like that.' Encourage students to share a brief personal anecdote.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with highly relatable stories about everyday emotions, as these make text-to-self connections most accessible. Avoid abstract stories until children show consistent success with concrete ones. Research shows that children this age connect best when guided step-by-step through questioning and modeling, so provide sentence starters like 'This reminds me of...' to scaffold their thinking.

Successful learning looks like children confidently sharing personal stories that mirror story events or emotions. They should use phrases like 'This reminds me of...' or 'I felt like that when...' without prompting.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Pair Draw, watch for children who say stories are 'just pretend' and do not attempt to link to their lives.

  Redirect by asking, 'Can you think of a time when you felt excited like the character? Draw it next to the character’s face.'

• During Feeling Circle, watch for children who insist the character’s feelings are 'not real feelings'.

  Model matching your own face to the character’s and say, 'Look at how we both look scared. Can you show me when you felt scared like this?'

• During What If Role-Play, watch for children who say the story events 'never happen to me'.

  Prompt with, 'What if this happened to you tomorrow? How would you feel? Show me with your face and body.'

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share