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.