Jigsaw With Wakelet

Hello, and welcome to this Tech-Integrated Strategy. Whether you’re teaching online or in a face-to-face setting, learning in the modern classroom often benefits from the digital mediation of educational activities. In this resource, we’re going to talk about how to use the Jigsaw instructional strategy with the Wakelet tech tool. Jigsaw is a strategy that breaks up complex readings into smaller parts to be shared among multiple students. Doing so encourages students to share responsibility for one another's learning while developing group communication skills and practicing close reading. Wakelet is a free website that lets users curate and share collections of content from various online sources. In the classroom, these collections can be shared with students so they can view resources such as images, text, videos, PDFs, online articles, social media posts, and Flipgrid videos. Wakelet users also can invite collaborators, which allows students to add content to a collection. In the next video, we’ll go through step-by-step instructions for how to set up Wakelet to facilitate the Jigsaw strategy.

1. First, open Wakelet and click “Log in.”

2. Log in with your Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or Clever account.

3. In the top-right corner of your screen, click “+ Create Collection.”

4. Click where it says, “First, give your collection a title…”

5. Type a new title for your Wakelet.

6. Click where it says, “And add an awesome description!”

7. Type a new description for your Wakelet.

8. In the top-right corner of your screen, click on the “Design” icon, which looks like a paintbrush.

9. Click “Choose image.”

10. Upload a cover image for your Wakelet.

11. Select the “Columns” layout type.

12. Click on the X in the top-right corner.

13. Click “+ Add column” on the left.

14. Click where it says, “Enter title.”

15. Type a group number for that column.

16. In the toolbar under the group number, add the reading content using a link or a file upload.

17. Repeat steps 13–16 for each group’s reading content.

18. In the top-right corner of your screen, click “Share.”

19. Using the toggle switch on the right, turn on the option to “Publish to your profile.”

20. Select “Copy link” directly below the toggle switch.

21. To share with the class, paste the link into your slide deck, LMS, or whatever platform you use to share information with students.

Before you facilitate this activity, make sure students have access to the Jigsaw Wakelet you created. Divide students into equal groups, with one group per reading selection. Assign a number to each group. Tell student groups that their number signifies the section of the reading they will be in charge of. In Wakelet, have each student open the reading that corresponds to their group number and read it to become an expert on that section. Once students have finished reading, have them reorganize into new groups. Each group should contain at least one student expert from each section of the text. In their new groups, have students take turns sharing their notes on their assigned text, working together to ensure everyone in the group has a thorough understanding of all the material. In the next video, we will discuss Use Cases to explore how you can use Jigsaw and Wakelet across different content areas.

Jigsaw is best suited for covering a large amount of reading material in a short time while also developing students’ group communication skills. In a science classroom, you might use Jigsaw readings when teaching a unit on the effects of Earth’s changing carbon cycle. You could split the reading into three sections focused on land, the atmosphere, and the ocean and then assign one section to each student group. In English language arts, you could have students analyze a variety of famous speeches to learn about the four types of speeches. Having each student become the expert on one type of speech will encourage them to analyze more closely and focus on specific techniques before sharing with their peers. Ultimately, Jigsaw and Wakelet can be used with just about any content area. Due to the complexity of this activity, it is ideally suited for upper elementary and higher grade levels.