In the Mtakuja, Morotonga and Nyamombara primary schools in Tanzania, singing and clapping are a part of daily lesson plans. This is play with a purpose-designed to support students to remember letters, numbers and pictures. The result: their literacy rates are continuously increasing.
Leonarda Munishi, a teacher in the Nyamombara primary school, discovered that 20 of the children in her grade four classroom were unable to read or write. A Right To Play-trained teacher, Leonarda began incorporating our play based-methodology into her lesson plans. Five months later, 95 per cent of these children are now completely literate. Teacher Leonarda's approach to learning created a safe and positive space to succeed. And as their confidence grew, so did their desire to attend classes regularly.
OUR HOLISTIC,
QUALITY EDUCATION IS
THE KEY TO THIS KIND
OF TRANSFORMATION.
Right To Play teachers are positive role models for their students. They participate in classroom games, creating an inclusive, accepting and friendly environment that promotes learning. And it works.
In Tanzania, 90% of our teachers use child-centered methodologies versus the 21% of teachers who do not. In Burundi, 79% of the children in our programs demonstrate a high level of self-esteem—a 15% increase in just two years. In Ghana, 86% of the children in our partner schools have improved confidence and communication skills, while...
... IN PAKISTAN,
children in schools taught by right to play teachers scored
10% higher
on standardized tests
than children in schools with no right to play teachers.
Our play-based learning games are designed to get children into school and fully engaged in their learning and then, keep them coming back for more.
Play is a powerful and productive teaching tool. By using a range of educational games to teach formal subjects like math, English and science, as well as critical life skills like, confidence, gender equality and inclusion, teachers in our partner schools are creating an active and participatory approach in the classroom.
In Tanzania,
our teachers use play
to engage their students
in learning English
In Tanzania, attendance rates in our Bomo primary school went from 78% to 88%, while at our Gibaso school attendance increased from 68% to 89%. And in Thailand, 76% of the children in our partner schools are confidently making decisions in the classroom.
Remember our story about eight-year-old Divin from Rwanda? The shy and timid boy who did poorly in school and believed he was inferior to his twin brother, Yves—all because he was struggling in class?
His math and science teacher Marthe turned this young boy's school experience around. By participating in Right To Play's teacher training, Marthe knew how to integrate our specialized, play-based activities into her curriculum to fully engage Divin in his learning and to keep him coming back to school every day. Innovative and fun games like "Organized Basket" quickly made understanding addition and subtraction easier for Divin and as a result enabled him to learn his math lessons faster and to achieve better marks on his homework and tests.
Playing nudged Divin out of his shell, boost his confidence and empowered him to participate. And he is not alone. The impact of our play-based learning has a wide reach that continues to grow.
Play and Games Lead to OPPORTUNITIES
This is incredibly important, particularly for many of the girls in our programs as they struggle with attending school regularly, our teachers and our play-based games are helping break down barriers. These games also help girls attend and stay in school. Our gender equality games promote empowerment for girls, teach boys about equality and allow all children to discover the power of their own possibility.
