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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Sunday school |
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| momineqbal |
| 01/13/03 at 02:35:26 |
| [slm], In a sunday Islamic school I am having to handle groups of students with varying ages and level of Islamic knowledge. I need ideas on how to handle the disparity among students. I start talking about a topic and some students have no idea about it before hand and some know it from before. Plus I have students from ages 7-11 in one class, so naturally 7 yr olds know much less then 11 yr olds (generally speaking). Ideas, tips, suggestions? |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| jannah |
| 01/13/03 at 08:02:09 |
| [wlm] Ok so I've taught for the last 7 years, but taking this year off :) Here are some general things that have worked in the past for me. My age group is usually around there 7-11 and that's the age group I like the best, cause they're still young enough to be enthuisiastic and learn and old enough to teach interesting things to! [list] [*]STAR chart - u know one of those things with names all the way down and you put stars for every achievement across... you can make your own.. or just buy one at a stationary or teacher store. so on this chart i'd put things like "wudu" "tashahud" "athan" and do a lesson on those things and test the kids the next week, or if they were late give them some handouts and test them later.. that way every kid wants to have a star in that column, so they try their best. also i'd give a star for every homework done and boy do they do their homework after that! and of course at the end of every semester i'd give prizes to the ones with the most stars [*]HANDOUTS - ok the kids not up to speed...they're usually not the one's with parents who are teaching them at home so you have to make it easier for these kids to do everything themselves -- so make sure you transliterate, give out easy handouts to study from, explain things and believe me they'll do it if they have the resources. but alot of times some teachers just tell them memorize surah muzammil for next week's class --and of course these are the kids with parents that don't know/teach them quran so how can we expect them to do it? the handouts also help with those kids who are absent quite a bit [*]MONITORING - you have to figure out who knows what ...and you have to make sure to keep track of them and where they are.. i personally know i didn't spend enough time doing this, but it is essential... because it's so easy to let a kid go... alot of times these kids are absent sporadically and then you forget what homework you assigned them or they assume they don't have to do it and so on [*]ACCESSIBILITY - make sure you are accessible.. give the kids your email and cellphone #, screename --believe me they all have email and screenames.. i didn't have a kid over 8 that didn't last class... and it is a really beautiful feeling when you'd get a voicemail from a kid in your class asking about the homework [*] ISLAMIC JEOPARDY - WWTBAM - enough said.. the kids go wild.. they LOVE playing this... I'd say channel this with their reviews, they tend to study for the jeopardy more than their test :) [*]PLANNING - every teacher must have a plan of what they want all the kids in their class to absolutely know quantitatively and qualitiavely at the end of the year and this is what you work toward.. your plateau.. now there are going to be kids that know that and more, but i think you can add extra credit and sometimes essays and things to channel them. sometimes i think i should teach towards the bottom end of the class and sometimes the higher end.. but nowadays i think a teachers job is to teach towards the middle while making sure the top and bottom are taken care of. [*]VARIATION -ever hear of the theory of multiple intelligences? well i don't really believe in it to the whole extent but I do know kids learn through different mediums and this should vary in the class... ie story... song... poem... cartoon...special guest... they need to generalize these Islamic things outside to their daily lives and other places instead of just in the mosque... gone are the days of a teacher lecturing in front with kids sitting all around.. these kids are not even the mtv generation - they're the computer generation so it's the teacher that has to keep up [*]CONTENT - I always struggle over this..sliding back and forth on the scale.... I want them to learn the basics, like how to pray, how to make wudu, learning the beliefs, so that they have some basic knowledge, so that they don't get messed up later on, but I also want them to be inspired by Islam, to believe in it, to have it in the heart, to be motivated to be a good Muslim. I always think to myself.. well if they're dedicated to Islam later on they can study the fiqh of wudu etc..so in the limited time and resources I think the best thing to do is to teach the basics of everything with more emphasis on motivation, meanings and the wisdom behind things at this age. Now I know there's people that will disagree and say that at that age you should just be memorizing and teaching them how to do everything ie wudu prayer etc..but in this society where 99% of our kids are going to public school I don't think that works anymore... [/list] Anyways just some ideas... teaching is not easy it's the most frustrating thing you'll ever have to do. It breaks my heart when I see a kid that I KNOW just know will become messed up in 5 years because of family/background etc. What can you teach them at that young age at 2 hours a week that will make them hold on to Islam? And to see some of your kids so messed up later on? :( But it's also the most rewarding thing you can do, the best feeling in the world when you know they like Islam, are interested in it and are enthuisiastic because of how you taught it. To be honest how a kid ends up is in my opinion 95% dependent on their family -if not more. But within that 5% I'm just hoping that warm and happy memories of the masjid, muslim friends, knowledge learned, may influence decisions later on. |
| 01/16/03 at 03:57:03 |
| jannah |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| BroHanif |
| 01/13/03 at 18:11:39 |
| Salaams Jannah, perhaps you could post the above on your resources site, it would be of aid to some of us as well. Masahallah good to hear your story of positive encouragement, it hurts my heart to think that we are so far behind in our deen, why did kids love the prophet of Allah so much ???. Sometimes it makes me think do we really love our kids. How is it that the prophet of Allah found time to hug, kiss and cuddle kids and do salaam to them when we ourselves have been brought up in a different environment all together. When was the last time we saw our imam cuddling kids or be the first to do salaam to a child. [quote]I'm just hoping that warm and happy memories of the masjid, muslim friends, knowledge learned, may influence decisions later on. [/quote] My memories are getting whacked on the back, face, hands being made to feel stupid, rejected and above all I had resentment for my ustaad for years to come, later on Allah gave me the ability to forgive him. In the mosque that I go to pray namaj, sometimes I feel I want to break the ustaads arm, when I see him hitting a child, no wonder we have lost the young when we practice such oppression in our mosques. Salaams Hanif |
| NS |
| 01/13/03 at 18:13:07 |
| BroHanif |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| Kathy |
| 01/13/03 at 22:14:02 |
| [slm] [quote]When was the last time we saw our imam cuddling kids or be the first to do salaam to a child. [/quote] Alhumdullillah ours does...! It is so wonderful to watch him. One day I was driving buy the masjid and I caught our Imam playing hoops with the local little kids. It was so moving. I actually pulled over to the side of the road and watched them as it was such a beautiful scene. You are right Br. Hanif, this madness has got to stop. Years ago Ali watched in horror as a child got hit in 'sunday school.' I think the horror wasn't as much as the kid getting hit...but that the adults did nothing... Ali never went back....and worse.. i did not want to send him.... Our Imam is so gentle with children and I have watched him approach my son with such kindness. This man will indeed make a positive influence on my son and his Islam, unlike that teacher who scarred so many.... |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| momineqbal |
| 01/16/03 at 02:26:01 |
| [slm], Jazak Allah Khair everyone and esp. sister Jannah. Sister Jannah, do you have any material you have that I could use? I do have some material gathered from here and there, but I need to organize them. If you have something that could be shared that might be helpful inshaAllah. I teach two groups one is ages 7-11 and another is 11-15 so any advice for the older group is also welcome. Eqbal |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| jannah |
| 01/16/03 at 03:57:39 |
| [wlm] wa iyyak... i have some various things.. just remind me bro in about a week.. right now i'm working on the hajj page...:) |
| 01/16/03 at 06:34:47 |
| jannah |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| jaihoon |
| 01/16/03 at 05:54:16 |
| [quote author=jannah link=board=madrasa;num=1042443327;start=0#1 date=01/13/03 at 08:02:09][wlm] Anyways just some ideas... teaching is not easy it's the most frustrating thing you'll ever have to do. It breaks my heart when I see a kid that I KNOW just know will become messed up in 5 years because of family/background etc. What can you teach them at that young age at 2 hours a week that will make them hold on to Islam? And to see some of your kids so messed up later on? But it's also the most rewarding thing you can do, the best feeling in the world when you know they like Islam, are interested in it and are enthuisiastic because of how you taught it. To be honest how a kid ends up is in my opinion 95% dependent on their family -if not more. But within that 5% I'm just hoping that warm and happy memories of the masjid, muslim friends, knowledge learned, may influence decisions later on. [/quote] Woa! jazak Allah khair sis Jannah. Educating kids is indeed a great task and an experience by itself. In this part fo the world, such opportunities are very rare. Even to teach a few kids the deen, one needs the approval of the conservative ministry, who mostly 'reacts' than 'responds'. The last time I had was a 4-day winter camp for school kids, which althogh was not a religious type, but was educational. It was fun to arrange games, group discussions etc with little one (class 5-8 ). I put up some pics here @ http://www.jaihoon.com/events/wintercamp.htm :) Jaihoon |
| 01/16/03 at 05:55:30 |
| jaihoon |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| Sabr |
| 01/16/03 at 13:10:38 |
| [slm] Sis jannah those r some really good insights. Ive been teachin maktab for the past 3 yrs and allhamdullila it is a rewarding satisfying experience. my age gp 3-7 ..and the kids are very receptive and most impressionable :). However i c the problems with the older kids,,,,,,,u try really hard to inculcate islamic values in them ,,,,,,,but some of them when they leave they succumb to alll sort of pressure (esp the teenagers)..it is a really sad feeling to c ur students "messed up" And bro Haniff u r soo right ......its pretty rare to c children being cuddled nowadays. I have bad memories as a child goin to maktaab ..i would be walking to class and crying ..my 2 younger bros refused to go after a while because of the fear instilled in them by harsh teachers. I volunteered at my masjid so to ensure some of those kids don't go tru the same things i did........it can be a real turn off esp 4 the younger ones [wlm] |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 01/16/03 at 13:48:36 |
Asalamu Alykum, Umm is it toooo much to ask if your ever get time in future insha'Allah to start a Muslim teachers resource page for Islamic schools. ;) insha'Allah i'll graduate in about 2 years, I plan on teaching in Islamic Schools and next yr teaching in our Sunday school but its so sooo sooo very heartbreaking to talk to the children and ask them if they like going to Sunday schools? Most of the younger ones i have talked to like it but majority of older kids come "just cuz" or are being forced to etc and hate their teachers :(.. Majority of the times i don't blame them because teachers really are cruel.. There is nothing more disturbing than walking through the hallways and hearing teachers yell at top of their lungs. Most of the times kids are scared stiff. **Also at the Icna/Mas convention this year they had a "mini convention" on Islamic Schools and some amazing lectures. They handed out this booklet to the teachers, about lesson planning, strategizing, how to become an effective Muslim teacher etc etc? I think have the info of the organizer who compiled them, insha'allah will post that later.. ***"Beyond Schooling" booklet and C.D/tape by Sh.Hamza Yusuf and John.T.Gatto is amazing. I believe they have it on www.jannah.com now… If you ever get a chance to read J.T.G, please do so , “Dumbing us Down” , “The underground History of American Education” and there is another one I can’t think of it right now.. It won’t help you with your lesson planning that much, however, it will make you re-think about your teaching style and what you wan’t to incorporate in your classes. subhan’Allah its so fascinating to look at the seerah of Prophet Muhmmad [saw] and read how He [saw] taught. Its important to read and know the traditional Islamic Methodology of some of the greatest Muslim teachers/Scholars from the salaf. Wallahu A'lam Insha'Allah khair wasalmu alykum |
| 01/16/03 at 13:54:50 |
| AyeshaZ |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| muslimah853 |
| 01/16/03 at 14:06:21 |
| [slm] The other important work by John Taylor Gatto is "A Different Kind of Teacher". I second the recommendation to read his works. Muslimah |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| amatullah |
| 02/12/03 at 13:25:35 |
| I came across this article and remembered this thread. I think it is a great idea. it takes alot of effort though. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/107815_mecca08.shtml |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| Kathy |
| 02/13/03 at 22:24:00 |
| [slm] Subhanna Allah... the article Amatullah posted is what we just did at our masjid. It took only about 5 women, 2 months, twice a week, to pull it off. Insha Allah, this Sunday, there will be an article in the paper... the press came and took lots of pictures. The Imam was so impressed that he added two days to the "show." The best part was a couple of kids came up to me and said how great it was and asked if they could be part of the next project. It is all about getting them involved. I said sure, only if they promised to do it when they were my age for the future kids..... If you build it.... they will come.... |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| jannah |
| 04/16/03 at 22:37:06 |
| [slm] I know i'm a really bad person.. but sometimes I do [i] try [/i] to get back to people.. even if it's a few weeks.. err months.. sometimes years...?? Here's some stuff I found on my hard drive: [list] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/jeopardy.doc] Islamic Jeopardy.. [/url] Print em out double sided on cardboardedish paper.. they come out cute.. you may want to change some of the questions... a few of them come out iffy cause there might be other answers/factors it isn't clear etc. [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/certificate.pub] Certificate [/url] Nice format in publisher to print out certificates.. you need publisher and that cool certificate paper tho.. looks NICE in color, ok in B&W as well [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/guidebook.pdf] Guide Song Book... [/url] Not sure where I found this, not sure what it is, but saved it in case I could use it one day [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/shirk.doc] Shirk worksheet thing [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/sahaba.doc] Test on Sahabah.. [/url] - After a unit on them [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/islambook.ppt] My lil book on Islam [/url] - The basics in powerpoint or can bring as a book [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/prayer.doc] Prayer Chart [/url] - Chart so they can keep track of their prayers [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/prophets.doc] Prophets worksheet [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/seerah.doc] Comprehensive test on seerah [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/exam1.doc] Exam1 [/url] - don't know if old exams can help u any but here's some oldies [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/exam2.doc] Exam2 [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/exam3.doc] Exam3 [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/exam4.doc] Exam4 [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/exam5.doc] Exam5 [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/exam6.doc] Exam6 [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/mynasonglyrics.doc] Some Myna song lyrics [/url] - good for graduation or just for listenin' and learnin' [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/hellfire.doc] Myna song hellfire [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/puzzle1.doc] A puzzle [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/puzzle2.doc] Another puzzle [/url] [*][url=http://www.jannah.org/thecave/speech.doc] Parents speech [/url] - send it home with them at the end of the year.. maybe the parents will think eh? [/list] Also good resources.. Ghulam Sarwar and Yahiya Emericks' books for kids and actually there are tons of books for kids nowadays including comprhensive curriculum books etc..so I sometimes photocopy and use those in lessons too. We usually go with their book but it's always good to spice it up a bit.. It's a good idea to sit down in the beginning of the semester with a calendar and kind of figure out how you want the semester to go and what you want to teach and the best ways to make it interesting and learnable. Aiite hope this helps??? Allahu alam... it's kind of geared towards what I do but maybe u can use something. Alot of good stuff i have is not electronic...but I think u'll do fine.. just innovate and make it interesting for them.... |
| 04/16/03 at 23:01:05 |
| jannah |
| Re: Sunday school |
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| momineqbal |
| 04/18/03 at 20:26:18 |
| [slm], Jazak Allah with lots of khair! InshaAllah this will be enormous help to me. I am carrying lot of guilt these days that I can't devote much time to preparing for classes, but inshaAllah I am improving. Another question that I might throw in here to brothers and sisters here is how to deal with the issue of gender relations among the teenage boys and girls in the class. I took one complete class on just this when the principal of the school complained to me about 2 of the students that they just can't keep off girls. One student's reponse was, why did our parents not tell this to us if its so important? Well, I guess thats why they send them to the weekend school I guess. Anyways if there are any resources I could use on that plus any ideas on what would make sense to these kids from 12-15 year range please help out a btother ;-) Wassalam Eqbal |
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