Author: Madrasah Teacher

Sharing Madrasah teaching resources and ideas for the pleasure of Allāh | معلمة علم الدين | حياتي كلها لله ♡
Posted in Classroom Resources, Tips

Friday/Jumuah Checklist

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ⁣⁣

⁣⁣”Definitely Friday is the best of days for you” أو كما قال ﷺ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Due to most of us living in Non-Muslim countries, Friday is a “normal” working, school and Madrasah day.

⁣⁣⁣⁣In order to ensure that the sanctity and speciality of Friday is maintained, we, as the teachers of Deen need to try to revive this from our classrooms.⁣⁣⁣⁣

Let’s make Friday the BEST DAY in our weeks and in our classrooms. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Let’s show them how the best day is supposed to be spent.⁣⁣⁣⁣

This checklist will inshā Allāh assist us in making Friday a special day in the lives of our children/students and in our classrooms.⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’ve displayed this in the classroom and on the Madrasah notice board so that everyone is reminded of it.⁣⁣⁣⁣

Let us try to practise the Sunnah acts of Friday in our classroom:⁣⁣⁣⁣

  • Read Surah Kahf together with the learners. (Or the first and last ten ayāt/verses)⁣⁣⁣⁣
  • Lots of Durood/Salawāt especially the 80 durood/salawāt after ‘Asr Salāh⁣⁣⁣⁣
  • Ask the questions on the Friday checklist⁣⁣⁣⁣- Morivate them to wear their best kurta or abaya on Friday
  • ⁣⁣⁣⁣Make a special time for Duā’ after ‘Asr Salāh either individually or collectively ⁣⁣⁣⁣
  • Explain the virtues of Friday and Jumu’ah
  • ⁣⁣⁣⁣Many teachers do a special activity or craft or bring an extra special treat on a Friday for their learners and if you have the time, then that’s a really great idea also.⁣ ⭐

⁣⁣If you’d like this checklist, click the link below⚘

friday-checklist-madrasahteacherDownload

Remember me in your duās on this Mubārak day ♥️ ⁣⁣#madrasahteacher ⁣⁣#madrasahideas ⁣⁣#madrasahtips⁣⁣

Salaah Time

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Every little child that enters our classroom has to read at least 1 Salaah before going home.

Depending on seasonal time change, it should either be Zuhr, Asr or sometimes Maghrib Salaah also.

All 3 of these Salaahs are inclusive of Faraaidh and Sunan Raka’at.

As a teacher, we should ensure that all these are peformed at Madrasah (in congregation or individually) by every learner.

To ease the expectations and transition from other activities into Salaah time, here are some guidelines for teachers:

  1. Timeously ensure that bags and desks are arranged at the same time every day so that learners can form rows for Salaah
  2. Teach the importance of performing Salaah in straight rows especially for boys and appoint one learner to check each row if Salaah is not in congregation.
  3. If Salaah is being performed in congregation, the Imaam of the day should check the rows and straighten them.
  4. Honour the Imaam by placing a special Musalla/Sajjada/Prayer Mat for him
  5. If learners are reading aloud together (which proves to be effective for younger learners even upto 9/10years old) then ensure that every learner is recting aloud.
  6. The Salaah recitation can be used to revise previous/back surahs. A roster (spanning 1 a term) has been attached below.
  7. Ensure that the postures of every learner is continuously supervised and corrected.
  8. Ensure that the duas of every learner is also continuously supervised and corrected.
  9. If learners are erring in certain duas or surahs during Salaah, the onus is upon us to ensure that they learn it out of Salaah time correctly.
  10. The mood of the classroom at Salaah time should be utmost oeace and silence.
  11. Learners should be conscientised that this time is non-negotiable and utmost concentration is imperative.
  12. Girls should be made to stand at the back of the boys

The file below is a list of Salaah time guidelines. This can be placed at strategic points in the classroom and learners must be reminded of these weekly if not daily.

salaah-guidelines-madrasah-teacher-fileDownload

This file has a column for: day/date, Name of Pupil and 2 Surahs.

File 2 below is a Salaah roster that can be used to track which Surahs are going to be recited in the 1st 2 Rakaahs of the Fardh Salaah every day

The Surahs that have been added already are Surahs AdDuha to AnNaas of the Juz Amma. The 2 Surahs of these that have not been added are Surahs Al Bayyinah and Al Alaq.

And editable file of this has also been attached below.

If you’d like a roster to be created especially for your classroom, please Instagram message, comment below or email madrasahteacher@gmail.com

Happy printing and sharing.

salaah-roster-madrasah-teacher-file not editableDownload
salaah-roster-madrasah-teacher-file editable Download

Please provide feedback, suggestions and ideas on any printable you’d like to se eot have tried.

مع السلامة

-Madrasah Teacher

Posted in Classroom Resources, Tips

Madrasah Daily Checklist

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Settling into routine and setting rules and procedures at the beginning of the year are some of the most important topics that are spoken about and researched by teachers every year.

Sometimes, I feel like I sound like a broken record or I should have recorded myself and play that recording daily, haha. So instead of doing something clown-ish, I came up with a solution that has Alhumdulillah worked for me.

This post is going to provide you with a tool that will inshaAllah assist with settling into routine without repeating yourself over and over again.

This printable can be used in different ways:

  1. I printed and laminated a few of these and stuck them at strategic points and would refer to it as: “have you followed the checklist today?”
  2. This year, I’ve placed a checklist on each learner’s desk and will also refer to it like before.
  3. The printable could be printed as A3 and hung up / stuck up in the classroom also.
  4. A checklist could be placed on each learner’s shelf or personal file.

P.S: This will work effectively with lots of encouragement and incentives also.

If you would like an editable version of this checklist, please feel free to dm, email or comment below.

Click below to download. Happy printing!

my-madrasah-daily-checklistDownload

I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions so please interact via Instagram, email or in the comments below

Ma’as Salamah

-Madrasah Teacher

Posted in Classroom Resources, Tips

Welcome Back To Madrasah

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

I hope that the beginning of 2020 has been treating you well. May Allah grant us success in all our endavours.

I love welcoming my students back to Madrasah and to my classroom every year with a little treat or gift and this year has been no different.

As usual, there are so many ideas and thoughts but like I’ve said in a previous post – Practicality over novelty.

I eventually decided on HIGHLIGHTERS! Because who doesn’t love a pop of colour and cuteness in their books/study notes.

Alhumdulillah, my 20 little munchkins were extremely pleased and I can’t wait to have a successful, full of learning yet fun-filled year with them.

These tags can be used for any grade level from Grade R to even Grade 5.

20200127_123404_0000Download

All you’ve got to do is print, personalise, cut and you are ready to go!

Happy printing!

PS: don’t forget to check out @madrasahteacher on Instagram and follow for updates

PPS: Please tag us or send us your pics if you’ve used our printables

highlighter-gift-tag-madrasah-teacherDownload

-Madrasah Teacher

Posted in Tips

Why a Theme?

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Themed classrooms have been the exciting change and idea for the past few years and I really think that it’s a great idea and method of keeping children motivated and excited for each day.

Using Pinterest and Social Media is a wonderful way to collect ideas and see how other teachers make their classrooms cute AND functional.

Make your own classroom theme board and add ideas as you see them.

Consider focusing on the ways you want your classroom to run.

For effective classroom management, think about some of the following questions when searching for ideas:

  • Will you use flexible seating, tables, or individual desks? (This generally depends on your Madrasah management but if you have a flexible administration/head teacher, you might be able to incorporate other seating arrangements)
  • How will you arrange your classroom seating arrangement for smooth transitions? (Eg: entry, if learners leave the classroom for certain lessons, for Salaah time, Sabaq lesson, dismissal etc)
  • Will you have a teacher desk or work station? (I honestly prefer not to sit at a teacher desk and use a desk/table only for storage of important papers etc)
  • How will you store supplies/common use stationery?

Make It Meaningful

When choosing your classroom theme, be sure and pick something you and the learners will LOVE seeing EVERY SINGLE DAY! Learners spend a majority of their time in the classroom, so making it beautiful takes a little extra effort but it goes a LONG way! If you’re worried about choosing a theme and liking it for the long haul/rest of the year, consider sticking with a colour palette instead. Think about your learners ages, interests and even the subject matters for the year.

Check out my FAVOURITE classroom theme and decor at the bottom of this post! More inanimate, Islamic resources for classroom themes coming soon… watch this space!

Students with disabilities or special needs might struggle with a chaotic and overwhelming classroom theme. My advice is to choose a simple, calm colour palette and avoid the need to fill the walls with tons of posters and random items.

Keep it simple and clutter free.

Everything should have a purpose and provide meaning or structure to your classroom routine.

Less is MORE!

By leaving some of the walls bare at the beginning of a year, you can incorporate lots of student work instead of filling it up with printed or created resources.

  • Posters / Quotes can be structured according to topic or subject also. Examples: 1 wall for Fiqh, 1 wall for motivation, another for Ahadeeth, Islamic History, Akhlaaq etc

I’m not advocating for you to keep the walls bare. I’m simply advocating for purposeful choices that the students will use and working with your students to make the space functional.

Function OVER Fun!

This is SO IMPORTANT!! If you learn anything from this blog post, remember this: Spend the majority of your time on FUNCTION over FUN. And by fun I mean cutesy decor and fancy, Instagram worthy classroom photos. You can have the cutest classroom and hate your job every day because you struggle with effective classroom management due to a cluttered environment.

The KEY to effective theme planning:

Plan your space to make it conducive for teaching and student learning and ADJUST as needed!

I hope this has been of benefit in some way. Please like, comment and share with your teacher buddies and friends.

Happy PLANNING! May Allah Ta’ala make it easy for us to plan and allow us to be more organised in order to fulfill this responsibility of conveying this knowledge of Deen. Aameen

Watch this spaace for lots of updates..

-madrasah teacher

Posted in Classroom Resources, Tips

Ruler gift tags – back to Madrasah

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

January to April..well, it certainly has been a long time since I have posted here but if you had a been following on Instagram @madrasahteachers , you would have seen some regular updates.

For us in South Africa, it is the start of a new term.. Term 2 of 4 of 2019 and I hope everyone is having a good one so far. Hop over to our insta to see some special dates to diaries for this term and let us know what you are looking forward to this term.

May Allah bless us with a fruitful term and accept all our humble efforts. Amin.

Without much further ado from my side.. I present to you a gift tag I had made for the beginning of Term 1. This is a versatile gift tag and can be used at any time of the year. I bought colour rulers (Blue for the boys and pink for the girls) and attached this tag with tape. The tags were printed onto yellow cardstock (for a pop of colour).

Ruler Gift Tags ruler-gift-tags-templateDownload

Hope it is beneficial for all and it keeps the muhabbah (love) growing in our classrooms. “Give gifts to one another, you will love one another” – Hadith

Please tag @madrasahteachers in your Insta pics, follow, share and spread the word.

Jazakumullah khayran❤

Ma’as salamah

-MT

Posted in Classroom Resources, Tips

AIRPLANE THEME 🛫

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

I hope the title of this post has intrigued you already!😉

I am particularly excited to share these resources because I love them so much. Nope not in a conceited manner butttt because these are my favourite resources that I have made!

I made these resources last year for my beloved class of FOURTH GRADERS! But it can definitely be used for third, fourth or fifth graders.

My inspo/idea came from teaching fourth grade four years ago. I had done a battle ship theme (as I had a class of mostly boys) and the kiddos enjoyed “travelling” to different places every week.

When your learners come back from a vacation, they are going to have to adjust to working all day again rather than relaxing or enjoying a day at the beach or pool. This might make your task of getting them to adjust and be more involved in class or motivated to complete tasks a little challenging.

Madrasah teachers have it a little more challenging because Madrasah time is after school (in SA) and learners are quite tired by this time.

For this reason, it is absolutely vital to have an exciting and engaging classroom environment for learners to look forward to.

Before making my own resources, I tried hard to find what I was looking for on the internet but unfortunately I could not find them. Two of the main reasons were: animate objects and too costly.

This was my motivation to start up an Islamic classroom resources blog and this is where I am Alhumdulillah.

May Allah accept all the good intentions and make this a means of spreading Deen in a way appealing to young minds. Aameen

Resource 1: Airplane Reward Charts

These can be used in any way you’d prefer. They can be used as individual reward charts, group reward charts or points record charts as well. I laminated these and stuck them above each learner’s personal shelf/locker. (Sorry in advance for poor quality pics, I took them at the beginning of last year)

airplane-theme-reward-chartsDownload
  • Up close 🙂
  • Boys and Girls 🙂

Resource 2: Seat Numbers

I laminated and stuck these tags on to each learner’s desk. The classroom was made up of 3 rows horizontally and 6 rows diagonally (to accommodate 18 learners). Each row had a number and alphabet to give us the full effect of an airplane.

This method also facilitated ease at packing up time, dismissal time, salaah time and even testing time.

It’s a pity I don’t have a personal pic of this. I’m not a very take-a-picture-of-everything person 😆

airplane-seat-numbersDownload

That’s it from me for today! I really hope this is beneficial for you as it was for me!

Please share these resources and give credit to the madrasahteacher.

Connect with this blog Instagram @madrasahteachers for more news and info.

Please tag @madrasahteachers in your photos or dm and email them to us. Feedback on how useful you thought it was and what you’d like to see more of in future posts will be highly appreciated.

May Allah accept all of our efforts for His Deen. Aameen.

مع السلامة 🎁

Posted in Classroom Resources, Tips

WELCOME BACK TO MADRASAH GIFTS

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

It’s that time of the year again where most of us are trying to do lots of pending tasks, prepare for a fruitful year and hoping that everything happens perfectly.

I am the type of person that prefers doing something that takes less time and is perfectly practical.

Around this time last year, I was extremely excited to be taking my favourite grade again (FOURTH GRADE) and tried hard to find the perfect gift tag without any animate objects but failed to do so.

soooo… plan of action: the dreaded D. I. Y!!!

Haha, contrary to what I initially thought, it really wasn’t so bad.

So here you have it, my first D. I. Y. printable gift tag.

They are pencil tags which I used by printing and taping them on to the pencil. I also printed out the learners’ names and taped them on to avoid gettin them mixed up. Hope it is beneficial insha’Allāh.

Please share this printable without any copyright but please give credit to the madrasahteacher.

Hop on over to our instagram page: @madrasahteachers to see how these looked as the finished product. Please tag us in your pictures and comment on how useful you though it was.

PENCIL GIFT TAGSDownload
Posted in Uncategorized

The Journey to Allah.

Posted on by Madrasah Teacher

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Welcome to my blog, dearest reader/s.

This is a humble effort of a Madrasah Teacher to provide affordable and free resources as well as ideas for those who are striving on the same path as I. insha’Allāh.

Please feel free to request, message and engage at any time at madrasahteacher@gmail.com

Requesting special prayers (duās) from you.

Fī amānillāh, ma’as salamah.