CLIL. ACTIVITIES FOR SHARING
Card #1
JigSaw [SPEAKING]
Grade
No. students
No. Lessons
Lesson
Description
Smart Goal
4th (15-16 years)
Subject
History (Social studies)
20
Unit
French Revolution’s phases.
3 (50 min)
Study the phases of the French revolution: Timeline, main facts and characters.
a. Recognize French Revolution's phases using history vocabulary.
b. Explain their characteristics.
a. Use past tenses to explain past events.
b. Describe pictures and make assumptions.
Jigsaw (collaborative groups) https://www.jigsaw.org/
The jigsaw classroom is a research-based cooperative learning technique invented
and developed in the early 1970s by Elliot Aronson and his students at the University
of Texas and the University of California.
Expert. Need experience to be successful.
Language Smart
Goal
Main Technique
Technique
description
Complexity for
teachers
Steps
1
2
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4
5
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7
8
9
Strengths
Weaknesses
Divide students into 5-person jigsaw groups. The groups should be diverse in terms
of gender, ethnicity, race, and ability.
Appoint one student from each group as the leader. Suggestion: this person should
be the most mature student in the group.
Divide the day’s lesson into 5 segments:
1-Causes of the French Revolution
2-Phases of the Revolution: 1789-1791: The National Constituent Assembly
3-Phases of the Revolution: 1791-1792: The Legislative Assembly
4-Phases of the Revolution: 1792-1795: The First Republic and the Terror
5-Conservative Republic: 1795-1799.
Assign each student to learn one segment (1-5). Summarize each segment in only
one side of the paper.
Give students time (20 min) to read over their segment at least twice (solving
vocabulary problems) and become familiar with it. There is no need for them to
memorize it.
Form temporary “expert groups” by having one student from each jigsaw group join
other students assigned to the same segment.
Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of their
segment. (30 min)
Bring the students back into their jigsaw groups.
Ask each student to present her or his segment to the group (40 min). Float from
group to group, observing the process. If any group is having trouble (e.g., a
member is dominating or disruptive), make an appropriate intervention. Eventually,
it's best for the group leader to handle this task.
At the end of the session, show pictures (cartoons) about the different phases (40
min). Student should assign each cartoon to a phases. It will be a kind of debate, so
student should reason about the pictures and create a collaborative conversation
using the proper English structures.
[Jigsaw] Students make an effort to explain their ideas. It improves the group
cohesion. They interact in English not only talking about the subject (informal
language).
Jigsaw is a bad situation to introverted students. The intervals of time to do the
steps may be too strict. Students may need more time to assimilate content and
explain their ideas. Jigssaw activity needs time and it should repeat a lot of times to
be successful.
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