I have conducted several workshops in Islamiat teaching and the following ideas and suggestions have emerged from my experiences. These have been tried in classes by several school teachers and have been found effective.
Before I begin discussing the classroom ideas, a few tips for the Islamiat teacher are a must:
(a) BE EQUIPPED:
Get the gooks, buy them, borrow them somehow – and read them. Don’t be ignorant; don’t, in any case, REMAIN ignorant. Get your own copies of the major titles. I am shocked to note how few Islamiat teachers have a translation of the Quran – fewer know whose it is if they have one! In a CSS Viva Report, it was found that out of 200 candidates, one had read the Quran; out of 300, only one had read a translation. And these were Muslims in Pakistan! What a sorry comment on us. Which translations should you have? I recommend very highly the following:
(i) Fuyuz-al-Quran by Dr. Hamid Hasan Bilgrami is an Urdu translation
Published by Saeed & Co. and is available in two volumes.
(ii) Abdullah Yusuf Ali is an English translation published by Sh. M. Ashraf
And is also available in two volumes.
(b) ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO SPEAK:
In so many classes that I observed, Islamiat teaching meant only teacher talk. But, let us remember that children have Islamic values, customs, celebrations coming at them from parents, maulvi sahib, newspaper, TV all the year round. Why not let them speak their own views first and then give a connecting link/narrative that makes them see the reason for, say, an observance like fasting? Increasing student talking time is a must.
Now for the ideas:
1. Give students a list of Quranic references on a topic – say, Hajj – and have them locate and write them out. Be sure to include a couple NOT in the course.
2. Divide the Prophet’s (PBUH) biography into our parts.
I. Birth to Prophethood
II. Prophethood to Hijrah
III. Hijrah to Fath-e-Makka
IV. Fathh-e-Makka to Wisal
Ask students to write 10 events (at least) under each part. (This is, by the way, is a convenient tool for teaching Seerat).
3. Provide anecdotes from the Traditions and ask the class to date them according to the four periods of the Prophet’s life as suggested in 2.
4. Ask groups of students to draw/write/do calligraphy on ‘IMAGES OF ISLAM’. Provide large sheets of paper. Old calendars are cheap and convenient.
5. Ask students to listen to (and tape) a TV religious program and take notes on the Quran/Hadis quoted by the scholars. Then look it up in the context. Does it add to their understanding of the programme? (A good idea for teachers, too!)
RECOMMENDED READING:
1. Kimya-e-Sa’adat by Al-Ghazali
2. Maktoobat-e-Sadi by Sh. Yahya Maneri
3. Aadab-e-Nabi
These are Urdu translations of the original text, easily available at good stores. They provide intellectual ammunition to one’s faith and help to deepen one’s understanding.