Tonight, we began our journey in Education 338. We learned more about three strategies (jigsaw, Friar Model, and the Choice Model) that we can use in our own classrooms to help students with the comprehension of reading material. Of the three strategies, the jigsaw activity stands out most to me as an effective tool to use with my students.
The jigsaw method allows students to work in cooperative learning groups to complete close reading tasks. This methods allows small groups to tackle smaller reading portions of complex texts. Students work together within their groups to come up with ways to retell, summarize, and synthesize the material. They are then able to share with the class their results. To me, this relieves a lot of pressure students face with reading and comprehending large complex text. This method breaks down the process for each student and has them focus on smaller portions at a time. I work with at-risk students who lose focus when they come across difficult material. They often lack confidence and tend to read at lower levels. By implementing this reading strategy, the stress can be alleviated but allowing students to work with each other to complete tasks while conquering difficult material.
The jigsaw method allows students to work in cooperative learning groups to complete close reading tasks. This methods allows small groups to tackle smaller reading portions of complex texts. Students work together within their groups to come up with ways to retell, summarize, and synthesize the material. They are then able to share with the class their results. To me, this relieves a lot of pressure students face with reading and comprehending large complex text. This method breaks down the process for each student and has them focus on smaller portions at a time. I work with at-risk students who lose focus when they come across difficult material. They often lack confidence and tend to read at lower levels. By implementing this reading strategy, the stress can be alleviated but allowing students to work with each other to complete tasks while conquering difficult material.
First I have to say everyone's blogs are set up way nicer than mine... Lol. I have never done this before and will have to play around to figure this out. However, I do like your jigsaw activity you laid out here. I think allowing students to work in groups to collaborate is a popular thing these days. I know it happens a lot at our school, but it isn't something that I had the opportunity to do a lot when I was in school. I think it does help take some of the stress off of some students. Students are able to bounce ideas off of each other and not just learn from a lecture, but they are learning from each other.
ReplyDeleteWow, I definitely agree with you in regards to using the jigsaw strategy for struggling learners. I too feel like it would be less stressful for any of the students; to be able to read and get through the whole article, understanding all the information. Reading for comprehension is something I hear teachers talk about trying to get their students to accomplish, all the time. I wish I had knew about jigsaw reading and learning; when I taught my reading lesson to my class I was observing. It took those students way too long to read, even the short sized, article I assigned them. I should have assigned each group two paragraphs and allowed them to summarize them to their classmates. If I had done this; I would have had time to discuss the article with the students. So, lesson learned and I will be using jigsaw for reading articles in the classroom. Thank you for your post and your great ideas.
ReplyDeleteI also chose the jigsaw strategy. I remember as a student that I didn't particularly like working in groups, but I think it is so important. Using the jigsaw strategy definitely helps people to learn to work together and learn from one another. Using this strategy for those who struggle is very helpful. I remember reading the article in class and maybe we could possibly give students something that is geared more to their level. Good post!
ReplyDeleteLesli,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I love that you broke down what a jigsaw reading was and exactly how you would use it within your class! I have never thought about jigsaw reading like this but completely agree with you that it relieves some of the stress that some students may associate with a reading assignment. I think this is great and would help with student's comprehension of a reading assignment and again alleviate some of the stress they may feel! Great job!