Students’ age range: 08-10

Topic: Using the Jigsaw Strategy to learn about Water

 

Description: Students were invited to listen to a song called “Water, Water” and questioned to determine what the lesson would be about. Having determined it would be about wáter, pupils were told that they would be using the Jigsaw Strategy to research different facts about wáter in their groups in order to compile a class booklet on the topic. Through questioning, the Jigsaw method was reviewed.

Students were placed in Jigsaw groups (small groups of four students. The students were asked to number themselves one through four in each Jigsaw group until everyone had a number. All the students numbered one were asked to leave their original groups to form an expert group. This was repeated for the other numbers until four expert groups were formed. The different topics to be researched were placed in a box- uses, sources, properties, conservation, pollution, workers associated with wáter. Each group was instructed to select a leader who was then invited to pull a topic from the box.

In their expert groups, pupils used the Internet, reference books and prior knowledge to find at least 6 facts related to their topic. Students used questioning, brainstorming and other strategies to gather the needed information. Each person also completed the part of the concept map which related to their topic.

After the alotted time, each student was asked to return to his/her original group (Jigsaw group) to share what they had learned.through discussion and recording on chart paper. Concepts maps were also completed as various group members shared the information learned in their expert groups.

The teacher walked around during this process, making notes of students’ participation, etc. and recorded on the rubric whether they were exhibiting the appropriate behaviours during the activity.