ENERGIZERS FOR STUDENTS

ACTIVITY 1

TONGUE TWISTERS

A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Some tongue-twisters produce results which are humorous when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their amusement value.

Tongue twisters can be extremely interesting energizers and can be very tempting, provided that the teacher knows how to make them interesting enough. Saying aloud tongue twisters is fun enough! Why not try singing it?! Here we've provided you with a tongue twister song that will surely twist you tongue to no ending! Are you ready? Let's sing!

OCTO THE OCTOPO by BRYANT ODENT

Octo the Octopo was driving in Morocco
Down a busy roado in his purple turbo
he had one armo on the steering wheelo
he had 7 armos left

One was picking up a cup of cocoa mocha
One had a big ol’ loco burrito
One was in the back picking up a pack of gumo
One was at the radio searching for a songo
One was on his phono texting Marco Polo
One was making sureo his hairo was perfecto
one was at his noseo scratchingo an itcho

I guess you knowo what happened to Octo
And his purple turbo in Morocco
He wasn’t payingo enougho attentiono
His turbo hito phono polo
He has no armos left
He has no armos left
One was on his phono texting Marco Polo

ACTIVITY 2

PEER COMMAND

Peer Command is a game conducted similar to how the game "Simon Says" is conducted. This game is especially effective when teachers intend to gather students' attention towards him/her by making the students listen to his/her command in a fun and physical way. Only in this case, teachers are not going to give command, but instead, students will have the opportunity to give command to their peers. 

Students know what best and most fun for them. So, by letting them choose their command, teachers will help them to feel like they have at least a little control over the situation. Teachers do not have to be the people in charge all the time, right? 

This is how Peer Command is conducted:

1. Divide students into few big groups.

2. Elect a leader. The leader will give commands.

3. Once everybody is ready, start the game.

4. Whoever fails to follow the chain of commands given by the leader will be eliminated.

5. The person standing until the end of the game will be the winner.

*Note: This doesn't have to be long. Three to four minutes would be enough. The primary aim is to get the students energized and get them ready for the lesson. 

ACTIVITY 3

SOUL TREATMENT (RECITING A JAZZ CHANT)

Building the spiritual side of a student is a part of the teacher's responsibility. Every teachers have their own creative ways of giving soul treatments to their students. Some might instill the religious part in a form of prayer reciting, others might do the same thing by using songs and poems. Any ways are encouraged. 

Here, we suggest teachers to conduct a jazz chant recitation for energizers. Jazz chant is a poem that use jazz rhythms to illustrate the natural stress and intonation patterns of conversational American English. Jazz Chants provide an innovative and exciting way to improve your student's speaking and listening comprehension skills while reinforcing the language structures of everyday situation. Poems meant for jazz chants are usually written with lots of repetition in it. Children likes repetition and repetition is proven to be helpful in memory retention. 

Here, we have provided you with a fruit poem, written specially for the purpose of introducing children to different types of fruits and to eventually be grateful to their Creator for such beautiful and beneficial gifts. This is a way of teaching children to be grateful for what they have in life.

Just remember teachers, REPETITION is the key to success in memorizing. And don't just teach them to memorize by heart, but teach them to PRACTICE by heart as well. Knowing without practicing results to nothing.

WHO AM I?

Poem written by Dayang Khairunnisha binti Abang Mohammad

Who am I? (2x)

I’m a MANGO (2x)

So sweet and yellow

So soft you can just swallow

Who am I? (2x)

I’m a PEAR (2x)

With a flesh so fair

Eat me with the skin or bare

Who am I? (2x)

I’m an APPLE (2x)

As sweet as your dimple

Always red, sometimes green, but never purple

Who am I? (2x)

I’m a CASHEW (2x)

I might be something new

My fruit and my seed? Both are useful to you

Remember friends,

Before you eat us, say Bismillah (Bismillah)

After you eat us, say Alhamdullilah (Alhamdulillah)

Remember us, remember Allah

*Note : the poem can always be adapted to students' needs.

Alhamdullillah.... Those are the 3 activities we suggest teachers bring into their class, not just for the purpose of energizing the students, but also for the other element of them that will surely help with the holistic development of the students. Please do try them. May Allah bless us all...

The Best Teacher

Written by:

Amatul Wadood.

Posted on:

March, 18, 2008.

Bismillah.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an,

Translation: It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom although they were before in clear error. [Suratul Jumu'ah, verse 2]

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) sent Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) to do four things:

1. Recite the verses
2. Teach the Qur’an
3. Teach the Wisdom (sunnah)
4. Purify his followers.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) nurtured the sahaba and taught them in such a way that the whole of Arabia drastically changed in a matter of 23 years. He had six amazing qualities of teaching that inshaAllah we can implement and follow as teachers, parents, siblings, and any other roles we have in our communities.

Mu’awiyah ibn Al-Hakam said, “I have never seen a teacher before him (Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) or after him better in teaching than he.”

The attributes of a good teacher:

• Desire and keen for goodness for students: In surah At-Tawbah, Allah says, in the translation of ayah 128, “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) also advised Abu Dhar (رضي الله عنه‏), “I see that you are weak, and I love for you like I love for myself, so if someone gives you a position of leadership, don’t take it."

• Kindness. Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “Allah is Kind (Rafeeq) and He loves kindness, and confers upon kindness which He does not confer upon severity, and does not confer upon any thing besides it (kindness).” [Muslim] We see his kindness throughout his life (صلى الله عليه و سلم), when he would pass by children in the street he would play with them–unlike nowadays, where people think it is righteousness to never smile. Anas ibn Malik (رضي الله عنه‏) narrated that whenever the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would pass by children he would smile fondly and greet them. [Bukhari and Muslim].
• Anas also narrated, “I served him for ten years, and he never said “uff” (an expression of disgust) to me. He never said, ‘why did you do that?’ for something I had done, nor did he ever say ‘why did you not do such and such’ for something I had not done.” [Bukhari and Muslim].

• Hikmah (wisdom). Hikmah is defined as saying the right thing at the right time to the right people in the right manner. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed.” A man inquired: “O Messenger of Allah! I help him when he is oppressed, but how can I help him when he is an oppressor?” He (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, “You can keep him from committing oppression. That will be your help to him.” [Bukhari]. Another example is the story of the bedoin who urinated in the masjid. SubhanAllah, while all of the sahaba ran to admonition him and beat him, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) simply said, “Leave him alone and pour a bucket of water over it. You have been sent to make things easy and not to make them difficult.” [Bukhari].

• Humilty and humbleness. Abu Rifa’a (رضي الله عنه‏) narrated that, “I came towards the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) while he was giving the khutba. I said ‘O Messenger of Allah, an estranged man has come asking about his religion, he does not know what his religion is.’ The Messenger of Allah came towards me and left his khutba until he reached me, and was brought a chair, I thought the legs were made of iron. The Prophet sat on it and started teaching me from what Allah had taught him. Then he returned to his khutba and completed it.” [Bukhari]

• Saying “I don’t know” if you don’t know the answer. Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would only answer a question if Qur’an had been revealed answering it, or he would wait for revelation. Once, Jaabir ibn Abdillah (رضي الله عنه‏) came and asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سل) about inheritance, and Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) stayed quiet until Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) revealed the ayah in Surah an-Nisaa.

• Speaking slowly. ‘Aishah (رضي الله عنها‏) reported that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) did not summarize his speech, and he spoke in such a way that if one were to count his words, they could be counted. [Bukhari] Anas ibn Malik also reported that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would repeat his words three times.

These are only a few of the qualities of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) as a teacher, indeed in him we have an excellent pattern–as Allah himself says:

Translation: There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often. [Surah Ahzab, verse 21].

Reference:

AbdulBary Yahya. Lecture. Al Maghrib Institute,

Chain Of Command: Hadeeth Sciences,

University of Maryland, Rockville. July 2007.

Read more:

http://www.ilmfruits.com/2008/the-best-teacher/

Characteristics Of An Effective Teacher

Are you an effective teacher? See for yourself!

1. An effective teacher loves to teach!

The single most important quality that every teacher should possess is a love and passion for teaching young people. Unfortunately there are teachers who do not love what they do. This single factor can destroy a teacher’s effectiveness quicker than anything else. Teachers who do not enjoy their job cannot possibly be effective day in and day out. There are too many discouraging factors associated with teaching that is difficult enough on a teacher who absolutely loves what they do, much less on one who doesn't have the drive, passion, or enthusiasm for it. On top of that, kids are smarter than what we give them credit for. They will spot a phony quicker than anyone and thus destroy any credibility that teacher may have.

2. An effective teacher demonstrates a caring attitude!

Even teachers who love their job can struggle in this area, not because they don’t care, but because they get caught up so much in the day to day routine of teaching that they can forget that their students have lives outside of school. Taking the time to get to know a student on a personal level takes a lot of time and dedication. There is also a line that no teacher wants to cross where their relationship becomes too personal. Elite teachers know how to balance this without crossing that line and once a student believes the teacher truly cares for them, then there is no limit to what that student can achieve.

3. An effective teacher can relate to his/her students!

The best teachers go out of their way to find ways to relate to each of their students. Common interest can be hard to find, but good teachers will find a way to connect with their students even if they have to fake it. For instance, you may have a student who is a Lego fanatic. You can relate to that student if you do something as simple as ordering a Lego catalog and then going through it and discussing it with that student. Even if you have no actual interest in Lego’s, the student will think you do and thus naturally create a connection.

4. An effective teacher is willing to think outside the box!

There is no one set cookie cutter way to teach. If there was, teachers and students would both be bored. What makes teaching so exciting is that kids learn differently and we have to find and utilize different strategies and differentiated learning to reach every student. What works for one student, will not work for every student. Teachers have to be willing to be creative and adaptive in their lessons, thinking outside the box on a continual basis. If you try to teach every concept in the same manner, there will be students who miss out on key factors because they aren't wired to learn that way.

5. An effective teacher is a good communicator!

To be the best possible teacher you must be an effective communicator. However, in this area you are not just limited to being a good communicator to your students although that is a must. You must also be a great communicator with parents of your students as well as your faculty/staff team within or in your building. If you have a difficulty communicating with any of these three groups, then you limit your overall effectiveness as a teacher.

6. An effective teacher is proactive rather than reactive!

This can be one of most difficult aspects for a teacher to conquer. Intense planning and organization can ultimately make your job all the more less difficult. Teachers who plan ahead, looking for aspects that they might have issues with, and proactively looking for solutions to solve those problems will have less stress on them, then those teachers who wait until a problem arises and then tries to address it. Being proactive does not replace being adaptive. No matter how well you plan, there will be surprises. However, being proactive can cut down on these surprises tremendously, thus making you more effective overall.

7. An effective teacher works to be better!

A teacher who has grown complacent in what they do is the most ineffective kind of teacher. Any teacher who is not looking for new and better teaching strategies isn’t being an effective teacher. No matter how long you have taught, you should always want to grow as a teacher. Every year there is new research, new technology, and new educational tools that could make you a better teacher. Seek out professional development opportunities and try to apply something new to your class every year.

8. An effective teacher uses a variety of media in his/her lessons!

Like it or not we are in the 21st century and this generation of students was born in the digital age. These students have been bombarded by technological advances unlike any other generation. They have embraced it and if we as teachers do not, then we are falling behind. This is not to say that we should eliminate textbooks and worksheets completely, but effective teachers are not afraid to implement other forms of media within their lessons.

9. An effective teacher challenges his/her students!

The most effective teachers are often the ones that many students consider to be their most difficult. This is because they challenge their students and push them harder than the average teacher does. These are the teachers who are often students’ least favorite teachers at the time, but then later on in life they are the ones that we all remember and want to thank, because of how well they prepared us for life after our time with them. Being an effective teacher does not mean you are easy. It means that you challenge every one of your students and maximize your time with them so that they learn more than they ever thought possible.

10. An effective teacher understands the content that they teach and knows how to explain that content in a manner that their students understand!

There are teachers who do not know the content well enough to effectively teach it. There are teachers who are truly experts on the content, but struggle to effectively explain it to their students. The highly effective teacher both understands the content and explains it on level. This can be a difficult skill to accomplish, but the teachers who can, maximize their effectiveness as a teacher.

Read more: 

Effective Teacher-Qualities of an Effective Teacher