English Language Arts · 1st Grade

Active learning ideas

Character Feelings and Actions

Active learning helps first graders move from simply noticing what a character does to understanding why they feel and act the way they do. When students physically act out emotions or discuss a character’s choices, they connect abstract feelings to concrete behaviors in ways that stick.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.3
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7

• 10–25 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 15 min · Individual

Role Play: Emotion Statues

The teacher reads a sentence from a story describing an event. Students must freeze like a statue showing how the character feels, then explain to a partner what clue in the story told them to make that face.

What can a character's actions tell us about what they are thinking?

Facilitation Tip

During Emotion Statues, freeze the scene after students identify a feeling to give them time to observe each other’s body language.

What to look for

Provide students with a short passage or illustration depicting a character. Ask them to write or draw: 1) How is the character feeling? 2) What action shows this feeling? 3) What might happen next because of this feeling?

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

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 10 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why Did They Do That?

After a read-aloud, the teacher asks about a specific character action. Students talk with a partner to find one reason from the story that explains the character's choice before sharing with the class.

How do characters change from the beginning of a story to the end?

Facilitation Tip

During Why Did They Do That?, model your own thinking by saying, 'I think the character felt ____ because I see ____ in the picture.'

What to look for

Read a familiar story aloud. Pause at a key moment and ask: 'What is [character's name] feeling right now? How do you know? What did they do that tells us this? How might this feeling change later in the story?'

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

Activity 03

• Inquiry Circle
• 25 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: Character Trait Maps

Small groups are given a character and a pile of trait cards (brave, shy, kind). They must look through the book's pictures and words to find 'proof' for which cards describe their character.

Why do authors give characters specific traits and personalities?

Facilitation Tip

During Character Trait Maps, have students use different colored markers to trace how a character’s feelings change from the start to the middle to the end of the story.

What to look for

Show students two pictures of the same character from a book, one at the beginning and one at the end. Ask them to point to the picture that shows a change in the character and explain what might have caused the change.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid telling students how a character feels before they figure it out themselves. Instead, guide them with questions like, 'What do you notice about the character’s face or body?' Research shows that when students generate their own explanations, even if they’re not perfectly accurate at first, their comprehension grows over time as they practice. Focus on one character at a time to avoid overwhelming young readers.

Successful learning looks like students using text clues and illustrations to explain a character’s feelings and actions without being told directly. They should point to specific evidence and use words like 'because' to show their thinking.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Why Did They Do That?, listen for students who only mention dialogue as evidence. Stop the discussion and ask, 'What does the character’s body look like in this picture? How does that help us understand their feeling?'

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Think-Pair-Share
• Inquiry Circle