Literacy Focus

<==:) Before Reading <==:) Fluency

Jigsavv

As content teachers, we want our students to understand that knowledge is not fixed and
static, and that new information shapes our current understandings of the biological, social,
and physical world. This means that we incorporate additional source materials into our cur-
riculum to broaden our students' exposure to written text. History teachers use primary
source documents to foster document-based questioning (Stovel, 2000). Art teachers require
students to view a wide range of works of art to understand cultural influences and aesthetic
principles (Efland, 2004). However, the logistics of introducing worthwhile written materials
into a classroom and providing students with quality time to read and discuss them can be
challenging. A jigsaw method of collaborative reading and discussion can solve some of these
issues.
Jigsaw was first developed by Aronson (1978, 2000) to promote social and cooperative
development among diverse groups of students. His initial intention had less to do with learn-
ing content than with breaking down barriers between students in a recently desegregated el-
ementary school in Texas. Before long, teachers and researchers discovered that students were
reaching more sophisticated levels of understanding about the content, as well as the material.
Studies indicating deeper levels of student learning have been conducted in such diverse con-
tent areas as atomic structures in middle school chemistry (Eilks, 2005), complex numbers in
intermediate algebra (Lucas, 2000), and Thoreau in high school English (Kohleffel, 1996).
The selection of the texts to be read can vary depending on the intended purpose. The
readings may all be closely related to one another (complementary), or they may offer differ-
ent points of view on the same topic (conflicting) (Hartman & Allison, 1996). A third approach
divides a single reading into sections, so that it can be fully understood only when each group
member has had the opportunity to discuss his or her portion of the reading (Aronson, 1978).

i STEP-BY-STEP
A jigsaw lesson requires that each student be a member of two groups-a home group and
an expert group. Students begin and end the activity in a home group. The students in this
group are responsible for teaching one another each aspect of the reading. Students then
travel to an expert group. The members of the group read and discuss the same text, or por-
tion of the text. They question and clarify their understanding until they are comfortable with
the content of the reading. Students return to their home group to listen to each member ex-
plain their reading, and to teach their own. A procedural map for grouping students in a jig-
saw activity appears in Figure 15.1.
Divide students into heterogeneous groups and distribute reading materials. We recom-
mend that groups be no larger than four or five students, as the discussion portion is often
j. 43
Figure 15.1 Jigsaw Procedure
Phase One: Home Groups

~
~

Students meet in home groups to divide the readings among themselves.

Phase Two: Expert Groups

Students meet in expert groups to discuss one of the readings.

Phase Three: Home Groups

...
Q.~~c.~
EW
Students reconvene in expert groups to discuss all of the readings.

Source: From Language Arts Workshop: Purposeful Reading and Writing Instruction, by N. Frey and D. Fisher, 2006, Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Used with permission.

44
 Jigsaw 45
rushed in larger groups. Review the jigsaw procedure with them in advance of the activity.
We find that displaying a schedule with times is useful.
1. Provide a brief overview of each reading, or portion of the reading if you are using a
single piece of text. Give students a few minutes to determine who will be responsible
for each assigned reading.
2. Remind students that the desired outcome is for each member of the class to
understand all of the readings. Because no one is reading every text, it is incumbent
upon the members of the expert group to understand their assigned reading well, and
to be able to present it effectively to others. As well, each student in the home group is
responsible for listening carefully to each speaker and taking notes as needed.
3. Instruct students to go to their expert groups to read and discuss a common piece of
text. This part of the activity involves an extended period of silent reading, followed by
discussion, therefore it is helpful to physically separate the groups. Consider labeling
areas of the classroom with a number or name of the reading to minimize lost time in
transition.
4. After the expert groups have finished reading their assigned text, provide time for the
group members to discuss and clarify their understanding of the content. Their meeting
should end with a plan to summarize the text for their home groups. Encourage groups
to highlight key information (if possible) or to make notes to speak from.
5. After the expert groups have finished their tasks, invite students to return to their
home groups. Each member returning to the home group will now be an expert on one
text. Direct them to discuss each text, marking time with a signal to keep a discussion
from dragging on too long at the expense of another student. Remind students to take
notes about key concepts, and to make connections as they learn about the other
pieces of text.

I APPLICATION AND EXAMPLES

Art history teacher Ms. Velasquez is introducing a unit on how death is represented in art
from around the world. She has decided to provide a large photograph of each piece, ac-
companied by text explaining its origin, significance, and information about the artist. She has
selected four works for her students to examine today. The first is a French fresco from 1355
called The Black Death. The informational text accompanying the photograph provides an
overview of the bubonic plague, as well as a discussion of the use of arrows in Christian
iconography as a representation of this disease. The second is a photograph of a Hemba
death mask representing a chimpanzee, or So'o. In this African tribe, the chimpanzee repre-
sents death but also transforms into a clown figure, appearing in funeral processions to
disrupt the mourning and cause people to dance instead. The third is a photograph of the city
taken soon after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. The
accompanying text explained the historical circumstances of the event, and asks the students
to consider why the photographer would choose to represent the event through a photograph
of the damage to structures, rather than the human toll. The fourth photograph was taken
in modern-day Oaxaca, Mexico, on the Day of the Dead (Dia de las Muertos). A large family
is gathered around a colorful altar constructed in their home to honor the memory of a
loved one.
Ms. Velasquez introduces the jigsaw lesson to students by first dividing them into groups
of 4. Since she has 32 students in her class, there will be two expert groups for each artwork.
She explains the task and previews each work, then asks the students to determine which
artwork they will be responsible for. They quickly move to their expert groups, which have
been denoted by a sign bearing a photocopy of the work of art.
As students examine the art and read the accompanying text, Ms. Velasquez circulates
among the groups, providing guidance and asking questions of the members. After 15 min-
utes of lively discussion, they return to their home groups to share their works of art.
 46 Chapter 15
The home groups now reconvene and students take turns displaying the artwork and
sharing information about it. They make observations about how death is viewed in each of
these places and times. After all the members have shared their work of art, the conversa-
tion moves to deeper analysis across the pieces. One by one, the groups reach the conclu-
sion that the cause of death seems to affect how it is represented. The plague of the 14th
century and the bomb blast in Japan were catastrophic events that provoked artistic repre-
sentations that were disturbing. The African and Mexican examples came from ceremonies
involving death as a part of life. These artistic representations seemed to have the mourners
in mind as they encouraged those still living to resume their lives and remember the dead
with fondness and humor.
"These students seem to reach a level of critical thinking that I can't get to through lec-
ture alone," commented Ms. Velasquez. "When I give them the space and time to discuss
important ideas, it's truly amazing what they'll come up with."

References
••
Aronson, E. (1978). The jigsaw classroom. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Aronson, E. (2000). Nobody left to hate: Teaching compassion after Columbine. New York: W. H.
Freeman.
Efland, A. D. (2004). The entwined nature of the aesthetic: A discourse on visual culture. Studies in
Art Education, 45, 234-251.
Eilks, I. (2005). Experiences and reflections about teaching atomic structure in a jigsaw classroom in
lower secondary school chemistry lessons. Journal of Chemical Education, 82, 313-319.
Hartman, D. K., & Allison, J. (1996). Promoting inquiry-oriented discussions using multiple texts. In
L. B. Gambrell & J. F. Almasi (Eds.), Lively discussions! Fostering engaged readings
(pp. 106-133). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Kohleffel, R. (1996). Docendo discimus: Understanding H. D. Thoreau's Walden using the jigsaw
reading technique. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 39, 650-653.
Lucas, C. A. (2000). Jigsaw lesson for operations of complex numbers. Primus, 10,219-224.
Stovel, J. E. (2000). Document analysis as a tool to strengthen student writing. History Teacher.
33,501-509.

Source:
Fisher, D., Brozo, W., Frey, N. & Ivey, G. (2007). 50 content area strategies for adolescent literacy. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.