ALEX Learning Activity

This strategy guide will provide teachers with the background knowledge needed to implement the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique in their classrooms. The digital tool explains the research basis of this technique, provides tips for integrating this strategy in the classroom, and offers links to related resources. 

• Students will conduct research on the distribution of fossil fuels on Earth.
• Students will use evidence from research to explain how non-renewable resources are the result of ongoing natural geological processes. 
• Students will conduct a short research project to answer essential questions related to the science content. 
• Students will draw evidence from a variety of informational texts to support their research on fossil fuels.
• Students will engage in collaborative discussions with diverse partners, building on their classmates' ideas and expressing their own ideas.

During Strategy/Explore & Explain: 60+ minutes

Note: This portion of the lesson will make use of the "Jigsaw" literacy strategy. If the teacher is unfamiliar with this method, the following websites provide additional information about the implementation of this research-based strategy.

"Using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique" from readwritethink.org 

"Jigsaw" from adlit.org

1. Students should be divided into groups of four. This will be the student's "home group". Each student in the home group will be assigned a different essential question to research:
   

   • How do we use fossil fuels in everyday life?
   • How are fossil fuels created?
   • Where on Earth and within Earth are fossil fuels located?
   • How can we conserve this non-renewable resource, and what alternate forms of energy could we use?

2. After the teacher assigns each student in the home group one essential question, the students who are researching the same topic will meet in "expert groups". These are students across the home groups who are assigned to research the same essential question.
3. Students will use the "Jigsaw Research" handout to guide their research and take note of important information. 
   

   Note: If the students have access to digital devices, the teacher could allow students to research the answer to their assigned essential question online. Alternatively, the teacher can lead students to the following websites to conduct their research. If the students do not have access to digital devices, the teacher could print the information from the websites or provide other resources (books, encyclopedias, etc.) for students to use for research purposes.

   "Energy Sources: Nonrenewable"-from Energy Kids U.S. Energy Information Administration

   "Non-renewable energy"-from National Geographic

   "Adventures in Energy"-from adventuresinenergy.org

   "Fossil Fuel Energy"-from kidzworld.com

   "Learning About Fossil Fuels"-from the U.S. Department of Energy

4. After students complete their research with their "expert groups," students will return to their original "home groups." Each student will share their research with their home group. As students discuss their findings, students should take notes on the "Home Group Discussion" handout. Be sure students know they will be responsible for knowing the answers to all of the essential questions in the culminating activity.

The students will be informally assessed as they conduct research on the distribution of fossil fuels on Earth to ensure students are focusing on pertinent information. The teacher could formally assess the students by evaluating their research notes on the "Jigsaw Research" handout.

The students will be informally assessed as they meet with their home groups to discuss their research. The teacher could formally assess the students by evaluating their research notes on the "Home Group Discussion" handout.

Teacher Background Information:

Our planet contains a variety of natural resources that help support life on Earth. The products that we use every day are developed from these natural resources. For example, notebook paper is a product made from the pulp of trees. Natural resources are generally divided into seven categories: plants, animals, soil, minerals, air, water, and energy sources (including sunlight, fossil fuels, the wind, and hydropower). Some resources are considered renewable because they are naturally replenished in a relatively short amount of time. Some examples of renewable resources are plants, animals, and solar energy. Other resources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, are considered to be non-renewable resources because there is a limited amount available on Earth, and they take millions of years to form. This lesson will focus on the non-renewable resource of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas.

This lesson will utilize the "Jigsaw" literacy strategy, in which students will become members of a home group and an expert group as they research and discuss their assigned topic. The following websites will provide additional background information regarding this research-based literacy strategy: "Using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique" from readwritethink.org and "Jigsaw" from adlit.org.

The teacher will need to make a copy of the "Jigsaw Research" and "Homegroup Discussion" handouts for each student. The teacher should preview these two handouts prior to teaching the lesson to be aware of the specific instructions for these parts of the activity. The teacher should copy the "Research Project Rubric" from readwritethink.org to formally assess each student's work at the conclusion of the lesson's activities.

Visit The Distribution and Creation of Fossil Fuels: A Collaborative Jigsaw Research Project lesson plan to learn more about this activity and additional lesson procedures to redeliver this Science activity in the classroom. 

For more information about incorporating the Jigsaw strategy in your science classroom, please visit "Literacy Strategies in the Science Classroom: Using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique."