ASA Ayesha,
I know that in traditional methods of teaching children to read arabic, the child is required to have mastered each lesson before moving on to the next one. However, if we’re using the Doman method for younger kids it may be the case that they haven’t grasped all of the lesson. In this case do you think its better to introduce the next lesson or to wait?
What’s been your experience/what are your thoughts?
JAK
Dear KM & Everyone,
WAS. I am sooo sorry for the late reply - I have been busy with setting up additional lessons and studies.
Yes, I prefer mastery and quality over quantity when it comes to Noorani. Especially because it is a spell-reading technique and takes longer than just pronouncing a word. Noorani is unique as a reader - because it was developed by a Qur’anic Scholar, uses mostly words from Juz 'Amma, and has the tajweed rules embedded in the lessons.
In contrast, other Qur’anic Arabic readers such as: al-Qai’dah al-Baghdadeeyah, al-Qai’dah al-Madinniyyah, al-Qai’dah Mecciyyah, and Yassarnal Qur’an do not have these goals - it is for reading, but not necessarily for tajweed of Qur’an and use non-Qur’anic words in the texts.
I take my time with my girls and make sure they have mastered at least 85 - 90% of the lesson, before moving on. I also will review the previous lessons with them on a rotating schedule. This is what I was taught in the Noorani Teacher’s Training Course I took with Sheikh Muhammd ar-Ra’ee, and am certified in. And I am in the midst of setting up the daily sets for Lesson 6 - the exercise for spelling words with short and doubled vowels. And I am trying to decide how many sets of words to show them per day. As you know, the Doman method is traditionally 5 sets of 5 words with only pronunciation; and I feel this is too much in the beginning. So, I think I will show them 1 set of 5 words - because spell reading, and the pronunciation of each word, is more time consuming than just pronouncing the word, And I want to keep it short and fun. And as they progress throughout the book, at the next spell-reading exercise/lesson, I will show 2 sets of 5 words, and perhaps the next spell-reading lesson will be 3 sets of 5 words, etc., up to 5 sets of 5 words. Or maybe just 2 sets of 5 spell-reading words is all I will do to ensure mastery.
I just check and this is the traditional Doman method:
Reading - 5 Sets * 3 times * 5 days (1 Set = 5 Word Cards)
Stage 1: Single Word Cards @ 25 words
Stage 2: Couplets @ 2 sets of 5 = 10 Couplets
Stage 3: Phrases or Short Sentences @ 5 Phrases
Stage 4: Long Sentences @ 3 Long Sentences
Stage 5: Introduction of books @ minimum 1 book
What do you think and advise?
Are you doing the same with your children? And what has been your experience thus far?
JAK
ASA
Ayesha
AA Ayesha,
Many thanks for your reply. To date I have used LR to show my children flashcards of the alphabet (both standalone and combined forms) and the diacritical marks (fathah, dhammah, kasrah). I find that my son (who is 2 yrs 8 months) needs some reinforcement via other activities - I write them on the whiteboard or we make up songs etc.
My son is doing well with the combined letter forms and fathah, but still struggles with dhammah and kasrah. He calls every letter with a dhammah on it “boo” and pronounces kasrah as if it were fathah…I agree that it is important for students to have mastered the lesson before progressing. However, I am wondering if showing him some familiar words from Quran will help him understand the concepts and so am planning to show some simple three letter words next. Once he’s able to read them we’ll progress the lessons iA.
I was planning to “spell” out the words initially (i.e. jeem fathah ja, ain fathah aa, laam fathah la, ja-aa-lah) but I’m not sure if that’s the best approach to take. I have shown a few whole words in arabic which he’s grasped really quickly. Perhaps I will use LR to show him whole words and I’ll spell them out for him on paper or even in the mushaf.
I’m currently showing 5 sets of 5 cards, I think the kids are fine with the quantity right now, but your post has prompted me to review this. I think I will also introduce some review cards. In fact, maybe I will show 2 sets of the combined letter forms with the diacritical marks to review what we have covered so far and introduce 1 set of simple three letter words.
Some of my friends have advised me not to teach him to read Quran yet, but to concentrate on verbal memorisation. Ideally I would love to be at the stage where I can show him the ayat that we are memorising to form part of his review. I have resisted from doing this at the moment but I do wonder if I should do that alongside the basics we are covering now. I just dont want to confuse/overload him. Any thoughts?
As you can see from my post, this is all work in progress and I am not sure what the best approach is - any advice is much appreciated!
ASA Karishma,
The girls have learned beautifully, masha’Allah. They did and still occasionally get confused with the name of the short vowel - but usually make the correct sound for the combination of letter and the vowels. It is just learning through repetition - short and fun sessions.
I actually created a playlist that combines all of the syllables from Lesson 4 - short vowels and Lesson 5 - tanween, in a random order to strengthen their recognition and prepare them for the randomness of the syllable combinations as they occur in words. And it works out.
I also review with them a previous lesson with each session to keep it fresh in their minds. I think this is important.
Currently, they are on Lesson 6 - the exercise for spell reading words with short and doubled vowels, masha’Allah. And I created the schedule to be a gradual build up to 2 sets of 5 spell-reading words:
Day 1 Set 1 > Word 1
Day 1 Set 2 > Word 6
Day 2 Set 1 > Words 1, 2
Day 2 Set 2 > Words 6, 7
Day 3 Set 1 > Words 1, 2, 3
Day 3 Set 2 > Words 6, 7, 8
Day 4 Set 1 > Words 1, 2, 3, 4
Day 4 Set 2 > Words 6, 7, 8, 9
Day 5 Set 1 > Words 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Day 5 Set 2 > Words 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Day 6 Set 1 > Words 2, 3, 4, 5 + 11
Day 6 Set 2 > Words 7, 8, 9, 10 + 12
Day 7 Set 1 > Words 3, 4, 5, 11, + 13
Day 7 Set 2 > Words 8, 9, 10, 12, + 14
etc . . . and they are fine with it so far. We are on Day 2 sets and they recognized and correctly spell-read Day 1’s words to me this morning. They pick it up quickly, masha’Allah. Remember that you have to adjust the pace to your child.
For Lesson 7 - Minature long vowels, I will go back to the schedule of 5 sets of 5 cards, and just repeat it a few times to strengthen the lesson.
Same for Lesson 8a (Madd) and 8b (Leen).
For Lesson 9 - exercise with short, doubled, mini long vowels and madd/leen, I will begin with 2 sets of 5 words and maybe add another set set to make it three sets.
For Lesson 10 - it is sukoon, and will use 5 sets of 5 cards.
For lesson 11 - exercise for previous base lessons/syllabe combinations, I will begin with however many sets I left off with in Lesson 9, etc.
Lesson 12 - is shaddah, with 18 forms per letter, which I will have to figure out the pattern - probably in 6 sets of three for each letter.
Lessons 13 - end are spell-reading exercises on various syllable combinations, and will do either 2 or 3 sets of 5.
This is what I am doing for now and will see how it will progress. Once they are done with Noorani, then Sheikh ar-Ra’ee has his students begin spell reading 2 lines from the mushaaf, all the while, they are simultaneously memorizing audibly/orally which I have been inconsistent with thus far.
I also listen to Qur’an with my girls every/most mornings and they take turns in my lap and will point out the letters and tashkeel in the mushaaf itself. So, I am always connecting the lessons back to the Qur’an; and I this is why I choose the English edition of Noorani becuase it is the exact same script used in the Madinah mushaaf, amongst other reasons.
Sheikh ar-Ra’ee also advised me to have the girls memorize via listening/orally repeating 1 ayah at a time, and connect it to the next, and then add another ayah, etc. So, I am also teaching them to memorize via talqeen (listening/orally repeating), and began with the tawoodh, basmala, Fatihah, and short suwar in Juz 'Amma from al-Naas and backwards. I just downloaded this free software this morning that is configurable for memorization that I am trying to figure out because I work best with a schedule that can track the progress:
http://imaanstar.com/juz30.php
I also have the instructions for memorization schedule that is very effective and efficient, that I want to set up in an excel spreadsheet. And where are you located, if i may ask please? Because you may be able to get the books I am referring to for the memorization instructions, schedules, charts, etc.
JAK
ASA
Ayesha 
JAK for the very detailed reply Ayesha. It’s really useful to see what you are doing to add some sense to my own schedule!
I am currently based in London, UK. The Quran memorisation info sounds very useful for myself and the children iA. It sounds like we are using similar techniques for childrens hifz - again any advice you have would be appreciated. I have recited Juz Amma to the children a lot (bedtime routine) so my son has an idea of which ayah is coming next, even though he might not know all the words in the ayah. Unfortunately, this means he won’t sit still if we take it one ayah at a time so I have had to adapt the approach somewhat. We tend to cover a few verses at a time and it is just repetition until he gets it. Aside from that I take the children along to my tajweed classes - I think it is really useful for them to pick up how the teacher corrects students amongst other things.
A question for you…how long do you envisage memorisation via talqeen? When the girls are able to read Quran fluently do you think you would switch techniques?
Salaam dear Ayesha and all,
I have just come across this thread - and am so inspired by you all Alhumdulillah I am a full time working mum - and so struggling a bit to spend the time I want to on teaching my 23 month old as i would ideally want AH. My husband is a native Arabic speaker and teaches tajweed but as I am not native speaker my daugther’s English is more prevalent plus to date I have only done a little bit of LR in Arabic. I am also not sure if she is just learning the vocab or can read.
Jazakillah Ayesha for uploading the Noorani/Doman stuff - I have not checked it out yet but I assume it is on line and will download it as soon as I can insha’Allah. I am still not that familiar with LR and customising it so may give you all a shout in due course.
I just wanted to ask - how old are your children and what age did you start with them? Also as I am a FT working mum I only have the morning and evening to do any educating - how long do you spend a day on the Quran lessons and do you do other languages as well?
One again - JAK to you all for your inspiring posts…
fee amanillah
Umm_Amani
ps JAK Karishma for prompting me to sign up to BK!