English · 1st Year

Active learning ideas

Characters and Their Feelings

Active learning helps students move beyond surface-level reading by engaging their bodies, voices, and critical thinking. When children physically represent emotions or analyze visual cues, they internalize how feelings drive actions, not just words on a page.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Oral Language
• NCCA: Primary - Reading

• 15–25 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 20 min · Pairs

Role Play: The Emotion Mirror

In pairs, one student reads a sentence from a story while the other acts out the character's emotion using only facial expressions and gestures. The class then guesses the feeling and points to the specific word or illustration that gave them the clue.

What can you learn about a character from the pictures in a story?

Facilitation Tip

In 'Changing Feelings,' ask students to refer back to their notes from the 'feeling thermometer' to support their explanations.

What to look for

Give students a picture of a character from a familiar story. Ask them to write two sentences: one describing the character's facial expression or body language, and one stating what emotion they think the character is feeling and why.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 25 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Character Clues

Place large print-outs of book illustrations around the room. Students walk around in small groups with sticky notes, labeling the 'clues' (like a slumped posture or a wide smile) that show how the character is feeling in that moment.

How do the events in a story go from beginning to middle to end?

What to look for

Read a short passage with clear emotional cues. Ask: 'What words did the author use to show how [character name] was feeling? What details in the illustrations helped you understand their feelings? How did these feelings change throughout the passage?'

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Changing Feelings

After reading a story, students think about how a character felt at the start versus the end. They share their ideas with a partner, focusing on the specific event that caused the character's mood to shift.

Why do you think the main character made that choice in the story?

What to look for

During shared reading, pause at a moment where a character makes a choice. Ask: 'Why do you think [character name] chose to do that right now? What were they feeling that might have led to this choice?' Have students give a thumbs up if they agree with the explanation.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model how to look for 'micro-expressions' in illustrations, like furrowed brows or slumped shoulders, and connect them to emotions. Avoid asking students to guess feelings without evidence, as this can lead to assumptions. Research suggests that when students discuss emotions in pairs first, their individual insights become more nuanced during whole-class sharing.

Students will explain why a character feels and acts in a certain way, using both textual and visual evidence. They will recognize that emotions are complex and can shift throughout a story.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Emotion Mirror, watch for students who assume a character has only one feeling from start to finish.

  Use the 'feeling thermometer' during the read-aloud. Pause at key moments to ask students to rate the character's emotion on a scale of 1 to 10, then discuss why the number changed.

• During Gallery Walk: Character Clues, watch for students who ignore the illustrations and focus only on the text.

  Cover the text during the 'picture walk.' Have students observe the character's posture, facial expression, and background details first, then discuss what emotions these visuals suggest.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share