1 minute read
Jigsaw 2
This is a pre-text activity. The aim of this activity is to prepare students for reading a text by activating their previous knowledge of the topic as well as language. It is also an enjoyable activity that will make the approach to the text more memorable and therefore will engage learners with the text more successfully. It is a useful kick-start to top-down reading.
Preparation
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Make copies of the text you have selected for your lesson. This can be authentic or taken from the course book you are currently using with your class. Cut up each text any which way (similar to a jigsaw puzzle), making sure there is one piece of text for every member of each group.
Procedure When to Use It
• To activate students’ schema before reading a text • To work with others
Level
Skills
Practice
Materials
One copy of text (authentic or from course book) per group of 4–6 students; scissors
1. Divide learners into groups with the number of students to Preparation Timematch the number of puzzle pieces. Each group will work with 5 minutes one text that is cut up. 2. Each group member reads his/her part of the text alone and Activity Time brainstorms the type of text, purpose, source, content, etc. About 15 minutes (depends on number of 3. Students in each group discuss what they think the text will be students/groups in your class) about based on their piece of the whole. 4. If all groups have the same text, they can report out to the whole class to compare ideas. The teacher or a student writes the suggestions on the board. 5. Members of each group put their bits of text together to recreate the whole text. 6. Students read the whole text in order to refute or confirm predictions they made in Step 2. 7. Students discuss the text and compare them to the predictions on the board. 8. Direct students to the relevant page in the course book or distribute the authentic text to begin with more detailed reading.
Variations
1. Dictate some sentences from the text in random order and ask students to try to sequence them and speculate on the content of the text. 2. Cut up the title of the text into separate words. Have groups sequence words in the title and predict the content.
