Remember one of my previous blogs about jigsaws? Well, I
have completed another one! This time, we were given a chance to research and
become familiar with the different American Indian Tribes. We were first
assigned base groups, and then we each chose a tribe to begin researching. We
then, broke up into our expert groups and began researching. I chose to
research the American Indian tribe known as the Seneca.
In my group, there were three of us. Dr. Smirnova had given
us a PowerPoint template to use to create an organized and efficient
presentation of our tribes. During the presentation, you had to focus on the
following areas:
- History
- Geography
- Culture
- Language, religion, traditions, customs, songs, games, dances, toys, etc
- Clothes
- Food
- Habitat
- Famous People
After finishing research, we went back to our base groups
and began presenting our findings to the groups. Completing this jigsaw has
allowed me to see how beneficial it is to work with your peers and learn from
your peers. Not only does this type of lesson build peer relationships, but it
also allows students to have control of the classroom for once. Sometimes,
students will learn more when they hear it from their peers rather than their
teachers. It also provides the students with a fun and interesting activity.
I will most definitely be incorporating JIGSAWs into my
classroom in the future. The great thing about them is that they are very
flexible and they can be used in all subject areas. It is always a great thing
to change up how instruction is delivered to students!
