PLAY-BASED STRATEGIES
TO ENGAGE MADRASAH
STUDENTS IN LEARNING
CHELOU D. LASACA
Play is something that comes naturally to young
people, so why not enhance their learning
opportunities by engaging them to play with
purpose?
- Susan Ragsdale
Nothing creates a safer space
for children to stretch themselves,
explore, grow, develop skills,
learn, and build relationships than
the act of play.
Play is a powerful
strategy for putting into
action many of the ideas
suggested by research and
social science. For example,
inherent within play you can
find challenge, novelty, and
movement -- all elements
that help engage the brain
and keep it healthy.
These are play-based
strategies to help our
Madrasah students learn
about themselves, each
other, and what you need
them to learn.
Start the group off right.
Hello, Miss
LOVELY
LASACA, SWEET
SARAH, & TALL
TALIAH. My
name is
STRONG
SULTAN.
Use name games to help youth
quickly bond and get to know everyone in
the group. Knowing names and using
them is a powerful tool in helping youth
feel accepted and eventually safe.
Hello, Miss
LOVELY
LASACA
and SWEET
SARAH. My
name is
TALL
TALIAH.
Hello, my
name is
Miss
Lasaca..
LOVELY
LASACA
Hello, Miss
LOVELY
LASACA!
My name
is SWEET
SARAH.
Use icebreakers to help
the
group
build
relationships.
M & M ICE BREAKER GAME
Push to deepen relationships
beyond naturally-forming
cliques.
Games like BEHIND EVERY NAME allow
students to know each other more deeply than
just names. In triads, each person shares the
"why" behind their name, if they were named
after someone, if they like their name . . . This
game creates a sense of family and possibly
cultural pride.
Shamara
Aabidah
Abdul Sahid
Build emotional
intelligence.
The game ACT IT OUT! is another fun way.
Have one student act out the emotion while
others try guessing what it is. This will help them
learn to read emotional cues in others -- an
important skill in life.
Let them teach each other.
In the game Tiny Teach, students pair up, and
each student teaches his/her partner something
he/she knows how to do (or something about the
subject you're going to discuss). After five
minutes, the teacher asks for volunteers to
demonstrate what they've learned from their
partner.
Tiny Teach Game
Tap into creativity and
music.
Use familiar tunes to have students create a song based on
the content being learned. In teams of three, have each
student write down two words that come to mind regarding the
subject. Then give them enough time to create a song using
all six words to their agreed tune.
guro
bata
lapis
papel
magsulat
mag-isip
Do a 30-Second spotlight.
You give each student 30 seconds to share
all he or she knows about the topic.
Our mantra is "play with
purpose“!
Ang
natutunan ko
po sa araw
na ito…..
Students learn best when at least one of these
four pillars are present:
1. Individuals take an active role in the learning
environment
2. They are engaged.
3. Information is meaningful.
4. Learners interact in a social context.
This means that children learn well when they
are mentally active, engaged, social, and can
make meaningful connections to their lives,
which are all characteristics of play.