Abstract
This study aimed to examine the extent to which the learning outcomes of third-grade elementary school students on question-word material could be improved through the application of role-playing combined with puppet media. The design used was Classroom Action Research (CAR) following the Kemmis and McTaggart model as reviewed by Parnawi (2020), conducted over two cycles, each comprising planning, action, observation, and reflection. The subjects were 28 third-grade students at SDN 02 Mojorejo, Madiun City, in the 2025/2026 academic year, with data collected through pre-tests, post-tests at the end of each cycle, observation sheets, and structured interviews. Before the intervention, students' average score was only 58.21, with a completeness rate of 39.28%. This figure rose to 71.43 (64.28% completeness) after Cycle I and reached 83.57 with 85.71% completeness in Cycle II surpassing the minimum mastery criterion (KKM) of 75. The N-Gain calculation yielded a value of 0.61, classified as moderate approaching high. These findings confirm that combining role-playing with puppet media can enhance students' comprehension and learning outcomes on question-word material, while offering a contextual Indonesian language learning strategy rooted in local wisdom for early-grade elementary students