Jig Saw
This strategy is engaging because it requires the students to act as the “teachers”. It is cooperative because initially the students work together in a small group to review and organize the information. It is a good strategy to use to cover a large amount of information in a short period of time. It would work well in the middle of a concept lesson as review, or during a lesson to break up reading. This activity promotes positive social interaction by making each student the expert on a specific section of a lesson. It requires students to teach their peers, so depending on your students’ abilities and challenges you may want to consider allowing students to work in pairs when in the teaching position.
Step 1: The teacher divides the class into small groups “jigsaw teams.”
Step 2: Each member (or pair) is responsible for one specific section of the lesson (which they will later have to teach to members of their jigsaw teams).
Step 3: The team members leave their Jig Saw group and go work with members from other teams who are responsible for the same section, the “Expert Team”. The teacher uses a timer and gives the “Expert team “an allotted amount of time to work together to find the main points (review, take notes, etc.)
Step 4: After the students return to their “Jigsaw Team”. The teacher sets the timer and gives each member an allotted amount of time to teach. Each student teaches the main points of the information they are responsible for. The other students jot down notes
Note: it is a good idea to give students a graphic organizer to help them organize information and to save time
Step 1: The teacher divides the class into small groups “jigsaw teams.”
Step 2: Each member (or pair) is responsible for one specific section of the lesson (which they will later have to teach to members of their jigsaw teams).
Step 3: The team members leave their Jig Saw group and go work with members from other teams who are responsible for the same section, the “Expert Team”. The teacher uses a timer and gives the “Expert team “an allotted amount of time to work together to find the main points (review, take notes, etc.)
Step 4: After the students return to their “Jigsaw Team”. The teacher sets the timer and gives each member an allotted amount of time to teach. Each student teaches the main points of the information they are responsible for. The other students jot down notes
Note: it is a good idea to give students a graphic organizer to help them organize information and to save time