Curated OER
Jigsaw Reading Keeps Readers Accountable
Utilize the jigsaw reading strategy to keep pupils accountable and encourage cooperative learning.
Novelinks
Words By Heart: K-W-H-L Strategy
How can we heal our hearts through forgiveness? The third activity in a series of six prompts readers to answer questions about Words by Heart by Ouida Sebestyen. Not only does it activate background knowledge on the text, but it also...
Curated OER
Pre-Reading Strategy Instructional Routine: Maus I and II
Vladek's attitudes are difficult for many young learners to understand. Prepare your class for the events represented in Art Speigelman's graphic novel with a pre-reading activity that has them read articles about and interviews with...
Curated OER
Dandelion Wine: Questioning Strategy
Readers of Dandelion Wine work in groups to develop questions on four levels (right there, think and search, the author and you, and on my own) about Chapter 34 of Ray Bradbury's reflection on the joys of summer. Groups jigsaw and then...
Curated OER
The O Zone-Code Read Alert
What are the effects of an air quality alert? Expert groups receive one component of air quality information resources to study. Pupils then jigsaw into new groups and share their knowledge. Finally, they draft a statement of what they...
Curated OER
The Jigsaw Strategy: Students Put Pieces of Reading Together
Students demonstrate the jigsaw strategy by individually reading different selections of a text, and then coming together to share what they have learned.
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Jigsaw to Build and Share Expertise about the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, Part 2
Calling all experts! Using the educational resource, pupils work together in small expert groups, reading an article about the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As they read, they record two main ideas and supporting details from the text.
Curated OER
Flipped: After Reading Strategy
Everyone can be an expert! After finishing Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped, divide your class into small groups. Then, assign each group a topic to become experts on. The resource suggests topics such as characters, themes, setting,...
Novelinks
Touching Spirit Bear: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...
Curated OER
Mystery Spinners
Take a spin with probability. Given a set of clues about the probability of events on a spinner, groups create their own device to match the clues. Using a jigsaw strategy, groups share their spinners and strategies with other groups....
Curated OER
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Civil Rights Movement Speeches
Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Connecting to the Past
Young historians research the connections between their personal histories and the histories of our country to gain a deeper understanding of who they are. To begin, class members write about an object that they consider significant to...
Curated OER
Cooperative Jigsaw Expert Report of Fables
Students research literary elements of fables. In this literature instructional activity, students analyze literary elements of fables. Students work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.
Curated OER
Autobiographies: A Jigsaw Puzzle
Students read The Autobiography of Ben Franklin. Using construction paper, they cut out five jigsaw puzzle pieces in different shapes using the entire sheet of paper. They write events from their own lives on the puzzle pieces, thus...
Curated OER
Effective Writing is More Than a Five Paragraph Essay
Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...
K20 LEARN
Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Reconstruction Era
High schoolers examine the Reconstruction programs instituted following the American Civil War, the potential for change these efforts offered, and the realities that occurred. Guided by a PowerPoint presentation, class members read a...
EngageNY
Analyzing Interaction: Categories of Water Management in The Big Thirst
It's puzzle time! Pupils participate in a jigsaw activity to discuss the various uses of water, including personal, agricultural, and industrial uses. They also conduct a close reading of The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman and answer...
EngageNY
Summarizing Informational Text: “Hawaii’s Endangered Happy Face Spider”
Put on a happy face. Using an interesting resource, pupils read an informational text about Hawaii's endangered Happy Face Spider. Next, they participate in a jigsaw discussion to find the gist of the article.
EngageNY
Identifying Opinions and Evidence: The Importance of Sports in American Society, Part I
What's the gist? Learners determine the gist of an informational article about sports in America. They also participate in a jigsaw activity, rereading the article and discussing the author's opinion and supporting evidence.
K20 LEARN
Taking a Bite! Exploring Cultural Identity Through Food
High schoolers are asked to consider the connections between food, culture, and identity. They read articles and share what they learned in a jigsaw activity, read a short story, and make a claim about the story's theme, backing up their...
Indigo Daya
Coping Skills
Adolescents experience strong amounts of stress during the formative teenage years. An excellent printable and worksheet can help learners discuss and develop coping skills for dealing with difficult times.
Novelinks
The Westing Game: Anticipation Guide
Are all criminals bad people? Pupils answer this and other compelling questions in an anticipation guide for The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Designed for learners to complete before reading the text, the...
Curated OER
Build a U.S. Strategy for Responding to the Crisis in Sudan
Students work together in groups to discover the situation in Sudan. They discuss what problems arise from helping a foreign country. They answer questions and watch a video as well.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 8: Nonfiction Close Reading
As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a close reading of a section of Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Jigsaw groups then compare the voice in the essay...