Jigsaw Memory

This is a time-pressured lead-in for a more extensive activity. Students are shown a list of statements (fact or fiction, depending on what the lead-in is) and have 30 seconds to memorize assigned portions of the list. After the time is up, they share their portions with others to put the whole together. The whole can be the beginning of the more extensive activity.

Preparation

Select the statements to be memorized and create a numbered list. Prepare an even number of statements and prepare to divide the class into groups containing half the number there are statements. E.g., If there are ten statements, tell students to get in groups of five and number off one through five. (See sample statements in the Appendix, page 257.)

When to Use It

• To set students’ schema • To memorize short information to share with others • To order information (if statements comprise a story out of order)

Level

Skills

Practice

Materials

Procedure

Statements

1. Have students get into groups (groups should contain the num- Preparation Time ber of students equal to half the total number of statements). 10 minutes

E.g., Five students if there are ten statements 2. Have students number off in groups, e.g., one through five. Activity Time 3. Instruct students that they will see ten numbered statements 10–15 minutes on the board. They will have 30 seconds to memorize their two statements. a. 1s memorize statements 1 and 6; b. 2s memorize 2 and 7; c. 3s memorize 3 and 8; d. 4s memorize 4 and 9; e. 5s memorize 5 and 10. 4. Check the instructions with the students to see if they understand — “What are you to memorize?”; “How much time do you have?”; etc. 5. Project the statements on the screen. Time the activity. 6. When the time is up, have groups share their statements orally with each other to put the story together. 7. Move on to the extended activity — reading a longer text, determining if the statements are true/false, etc.

Variations

1. The statements could tell a short story; they could be out of order when projected and the students could try to reorder the story after memorizing. 2. The statements could include information about a text that the students will then read, and they could determine whether the statements are true or false according to the text.