Jigsaw Groups (page 47 - 50)

Jigsaw is a reading activity that can be used across any content area and can be modified to fit almost any situation. This is great for when teachers want to cover multiple readings (4-5), but does not have the time to have each student read all of them. This is an activity where students are broken up into heterogeneous jigsaw groups of about four or five students, these are called HOME groups. Each person in the home group will choose which reading they will be responsible for. Then students will break into their EXPERT groups. An expert group is where students are all reading the same text (each expert group should have at least one member of each home group). When students return to their home groups they will be able to explain the text they read and discussed. Then every student has been informed on all of the readings you wanted without having to read every single one.

How to:

11. Break students into their HOME groups: in these groups students will determine which of the readings they will be responsible for.

22. Students go to their EXPERT groups: in these groups students will all be reading the same text and then will discuss the reading. Provide adequate time for all groups to read, discuss, and determine the key points each students needs to take back to their home groups.

33. Students return to their HOME groups: back in their home groups students will take turns explaining the reading that they discussed in their expert group. This step is vital because no students will have read all of the readings.

  Helpful Hint: Keep a time frame on the board to help you and the students stay on task.

Modifications:

1. Provide a picture that you want students to analyze

2. Word Problems in math and science

3. Different parts of the same story (so after discussions students have "read" the entire story)

4. Do not use Home and Expert Groups 

In my Algebra 1 class I like to do the Jigsaw activity with word problems. I break student into groups of 3 or 4 and provide them a word problem (you could also use homogeneous groups and provide material that would be at the level of the students in that group). Each group solves the word problem together and must check their answer with me when they are done. Sometimes I do not have students in home groups, instead I have each expert group come to the front of the classroom and become the teacher and then teach the class their word problem and have the others copy down the work and ask questions. 

You could modify this activity to fit into the way your classroom runs. You could also provide discussion question guidelines or specific questions that the students must answer when reading. Everything is up to you!