Jigsaw in 10 Easy Steps

The jigsaw classroom is very simple to use. If you're a teacher, just follow these steps:

1. Divide students into 5- or 6-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms of
gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.

2. Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Initially, this person should be the most
mature student in the group.

3. Divide the day's lesson into 5-6 segments. For example, if you want history students to learn
about Eleanor Roosevelt, you might divide a short biography of her into stand-alone segments
on: (1) Her childhood, (2) Her family life with Franklin and their children, (3) Her life after
Franklin contracted polio, (4) Her work in the White House as First Lady, and (5) Her life and
work after Franklin's death.

4. Assign each student to learn one segment, making sure students have direct access only to
their own segment.

5. Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it.
There is no need for them to memorize it.

6. Form temporary "expert groups" by having one student from each jigsaw group join other
students assigned to the same segment. Give students in these expert groups time to discuss
the main points of their segment and to rehearse the presentations they will make to their
jigsaw group.

7. Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.

8. Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group. Encourage others in the group to
ask questions for clarification.

9. Float from group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a
member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually, it's best
for the group leader to handle this task. Leaders can be trained by whispering an instruction
on how to intervene, until the leader gets the hang of it.

10. At the end of the session, give a quiz on the material so that students quickly come to realize
that these sessions are not just fun and games but really count.
What is Reader's Workshop?
Reader's Workshop provides students with a supportive environment
that involves them in authentic reading experiences that focus on
the strengths and needs of each individual student.

Reader's Workshop helps kids develop strong reading skills through

the use of a mini-lesson, shared reading, read aloud, conferencing,
independent reading, paired reading, literature response, and
Reader's Chair.

The basic philosophy behind the Reading Workshop is to allow

students to spend an extended amount of time reading authentic
texts that interest them on a daily basis and to provide
opportunities to talk about literature. The ultimate goal of a Reading
Workshop is always to develop
life-long passionate readers.

What are the components of Reader's Workshop?

Reader's Workshop is an extended block of time devoted to reading,
discussing and writing about reading. The workshop begins with a
read aloud focused on a reading strategy and lasts approximately
20-25 minutes. It focuses on a skill, strategy, or behavior that will
help students become strategic readers. The lessons are based on
student need. During the lesson I model, read/think aloud using
literature, use shared reading, or have students practice a particular
skill or strategy. The mini lesson is followed by an extended period
of work time in which children practice the strategy taught or work
on an individualized learning target. Work time can last 20-60
minutes. After the work period children spread out for a 10 min.
quick write in which they reflect on their work for the day and write
about their thinking and learning. This quick write if followed by a
sharing circle. Children gather in the group area to share their
learning with others.

Choice is an integral part of reader's workshop.

During independent work times children
choose what books they want to read and how
they will work towards their learning goal. They
can choose to work alone, with a friend, or in a
small group. Choice gives children ownership
of their learning.

During independent reading work time,

students apply what was focused on during the
mini-lesson to their independent reading.
Students read books on their independent
reading level and apply skills or strategies to
their reading.

During this time I observe and work with learners one-on-one or in small
groups. Learners keep a reading workshop notebook and are responsible for
recording what they work on each week. In addition, I often jot down notes in
the journal to track student progress or to encourage learners to work on a
specific strategy or skill.

Reader's Workshop ends with a time of reflection and sharing. Learners have
the opportunity to share what they learned, what worked for them, struggles,
exciting moments, and new discoveries. This sharing allows children to learn
from each other and to take responsibility for their own learning.
 A Quick Breakdown
The Read aloud lesson- 20-25
minutes
Reader's Workshop begins with a lesson that focuses on a strategy or skill
children need to learn in order to grow as readers. We often start with a read
aloud that I use to teach and model the strategy I want the children to learn.
We create anchor charts that anchor or hold our learning so that we can refer
back to them during our work time.

See examples of our strategy and anchor charts.

The workshop time- 20-60

minutes
During the independent workshop time
students choose how they will work

Read to Someone
(alone or with a friend) and find a place in the room to get to work. They start
by checking their learning target on the target board so that they have a focus
for their work time. Our class moto is "with great choice comes great
responsibility!" The children learn that when they choose wisely they are in
control of their choices. If, however, they do not choose wise work choices
that reflect responsibility, then the teacher is forced to choose for them.

Sharing Circle- 5-10 minutes

The sharing circle follows the workshop time. During the sharing circle
children have the opportunity to share their learning, their successes,
questions or any problems they encountered during their work time. Sharing
circle is often started by asking if anyone was able to apply today's mini
lesson. Children can also share things that went well for them, things they
discovered about themselves as readers, successes at sounding out words or
model fluency by reading a short
passage.

Activities for visualizing

Guided Imagery

Purpose: To create mental images; to provide time to discuss visualizations.

1. Teacher reads a descriptive passage to students pausing occasionally to share

what he sees in his mind and the emotions he is feeling. Point out to students the
rich text that helped create the images and emotions. (Be sure to include text that
stimulates all 5 senses).

2. Teacher asks students to close their eyes, breathe deeply and relax as he reads a
descriptive passage.

3. Throughout the passage, pause to ask students what they see, hear, taste, smell
and feel. Ask the students what words helped them create the mental image and
emotions.
Story Wheel

1. Teacher prepares story wheels prior to lesson. A story wheel is a circle divided
into 6- 8 pie segments (pie pieces) with a smaller circle in the center of the larger
circle. See example below.

2. Students read a story.

3. After completing the story the students list the important events

in the story. Remind students that the events should be chosen

from the beginning, middle and end of the story.

4. Next have the students divide the list of important events into a

list of 6 8 (depending on pie pieces) most important events.

5. Students can write the events on the pie segments. Some

teachers like to have their students number the events. Some

teachers choose to skip this step and move right to step 6.

6. Next the students should illustrate their events on the corresponding pie
segments.

7. Have students write the story title and the Authors name in the center circle.

8. Post story wheels in the reading center

Story Banner

Sketch to Stretch

Here are some suggestions for ways to have students sketch to stretchuse a
visual portrayal to extend literary understandings:

Have students choose a scene or a passage and draw it, incorporating the
passage into the visual.
In groups, ask students to choose the "most important moment" in the book
and represent it graphically.
When the groups share their work with the class, they should explain the
reasons for choosing the moment they did as well as why they portrayed it as
they did.
 In groups with a partner, ask students to choose a character and portray him
or her non- representationally using colour shape and visual symbols. When
they share their work they should say why they chose a particular character
as well as the artistic choices for their portrayal.
Have students do a visual sketch in their notebooks in place of the usual
written response. You can ask them to give a brief written commentary to
help you understand their thinking.
To begin a discussion, ask students to do a quick sketch of an issue in the
reading that interests them. Use the sketches to begin the discussion.
To help students appreciate the strengths of sketch to stretch, you may wish
them to consider ways in which their

Sketches helped them see or understand things in the literature that they might
not have noticed before, or if they changed their plan for a sketch during the
process of sketching and why.

In the Drivers Seat

I often liken the process of reading to that of driving a car. We hop in our vehicles each day with very little
thought to the sophisticated and complex set of skills and strategies we use to get ourselves from Point A
to Point B Just as drivers stay active and aware, readers must do the same to as they navigate their way
to meaning. This keen awareness that their reading is "staying the course" is called comprehension
monitoring. Comprehension monitoring involves the control and management of reading and
thinking. Metacognitive readers, those that are aware of and think about their thinking, are clear about
what they do understand, what they don't understand, and what they are prepared and equipped to do
when comprehension breaks down. Using the driving analogy can help readers see themselves in the
"drivers seat" with text. We teach students to monitor their comprehension by helping them understand
the comprehension strategies that allow them to arrive at meaning and be equipped to handle themselves
when meaning breaks down.

Tic Tac Connect

Connecting prior knowledge and life experiences with reading.