Jigsaw Research

Use This Jigsaw Method Template for any and every topic with your students!

Have you ever heard of the Jigsaw Method for the classroom? 

The jigsaw method is a great way to get students working together to learn something new and teach their peers. 

Students will research a topic with one group of their peers, and then teach another group of peers what they have learned.

What is a Jigsaw Activity?

A jigsaw activity is a collaborative activity that involves the organizing of students dependent into various groups. Students are dependent on their peers to learn a new skill, and then teach the skill to another set of peers. 

A teacher will take a topic or set of skills and break it into pieces. Students will work together to assemble the pieces to complete the task.

How to do a Jigsaw Activity

1. You start by selecting a task or topic. This must be a topic that can be broken down into subtopics.
2. You will then assign students into groups that we will call HOME groups. 
3. Within the Home groups, you will assign each group member a number or colour. 
4. The students with the same number or colour will form new groups that we will call the EXPERT groups
5. The expert groups will research or learn a sub topic that has been assigned to them by the teacher
6. Through research and/or practical activities, students will gather information and learn as much as possible about their given topic. These findings should be documented somewhere (paper, online doc, poster, etc…)
7. Once students have been given enough time and feel that they have mastered the topic, students will regroup into their HOME groups. 
8. One at a time, students will teach their HOME group members about what they have learned. Group members should be recording this new information on the worksheet
9. (optional)Students will then complete a final task to show what they have learned

This product includes:

• Detailed instructions for jigsaw activities in general and how to use this specific product (I have created a video tutorial that walks you through the moment you get the product all the way through until students complete the activity)
• A Google Slides template (with clickable buttons and text boxes created)
• An editable PDF document that allows you to create Expert Group texts
• A rubric with space for self and teacher assessment