Classroom Activities

Jigsaw - Social Studies

INSTRUCTOR NOTES | ASSESSMENT | STUDENT ACTIVITY

Topic/Keywords
cooperation, geography, jigsaw, maps—physical and political, Mississippi River

Grade Levels
6–8

Time Considerations
Instructor Preparation: 30 minutes

Student Activity: two 50-minute class periods

Objectives

Using resource materials or the Internet, students should be able to:

• cooperatively investigate a “piece” of the Mississippi River’s geography.

• understand the relationship between the different regions of the Mississippi River.

Teacher Notes for Discussion

This activity is created to encourage group cooperation; however, you may structure the requirements so that each student is responsible for a certain amount of individual research, or have each student write his/her own summary of the group’s findings.

Prior to this activity, obtain a piece of butcher paper large enough to create a class mural. Using a thick black marker, draw an outline of the Mississippi River and the states that border the length of the river. Divide the mural by cutting it into six to eight large puzzle pieces—the number of students per group will dictate the way the puzzle pieces are sectioned.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw checklist	Yes! You have it!	This needs work	Criteria not present
Puzzle piece illustrates political borders.
Puzzle piece illustrates physical features of area using a legend.
There are at least 5 accurate historical facts about the area documented on the puzzle piece.
At least one natural and one human-made resource is illustrated and labeled on the puzzle piece.
The capital of the area and 4 other major cities are labeled on the puzzle piece with their individual populations recorded below their name and in parentheses.
The student(s) used the class time wisely and worked independently or cooperatively.
The presentation was well-organized and rehearsed. The puzzle piece's main features were explained and referred to on the visual product.

Jigsaw

Understand Your Mission

In this activity, you will study one area of the Mississippi River and contribute information to complete a puzzle of the Mississippi River. You will then be able to see the Mississippi River as a whole region.

Study the Facts

In a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces are put together to create a whole. If one piece is gone, the picture is incomplete. The places that border the Mississippi River are like puzzle pieces. Although each of the states along the river is geographically and culturally unique, they share the same powerful river, along with other traits. Different geographical features such as climate, land formations, and bodies of water attracted different people, adding to the diversity of each place.

Learn the Lingo

distribution map: emphasizes how characteristics present in a region, such as language, religion, population, and rainfall, are distributed throughout an area

historical map: shows information about the past or where past events took place

legend: a key found on a map that explains the symbols used

physical map: shows natural features of Earth, such as lakes, rivers, mountains, and deserts

political map: shows political divisions (national or state boundaries, cities, capitals)

population density: the number of people living in a given space

region: area with common features that set its apart from other areas

Gather Your Supplies

crayons, markers, colored pencils

large butcher paper

Internet (optional) or reference material

travel brochures, guide books, or other state periodicals

various map types showing the Mississippi River valley

Chart a Course for Exploration

Working in small groups, each group will work on one piece or area of the Mississippi River. When the requirements for the piece have been completed, the groups will present their information and place their piece onto the mural. A complete geographical picture of the Mississippi River will be the result of each groups’ participation.

1. Using different types of maps (the ones listed in Learn the Lingo work well) research important features of your piece of the Mississippi River.

2. Illustrate the puzzle piece to show its features. Include:

• political and physical regions

• major historical events in the state

• natural/human engineered resources

• population

• other important features

Note: Make sure to include a legend.

3. On a large area such as a blackboard, fit your puzzle piece together with all the others.

• How do the regions differ?

• How are they the same?

• What did you learn?

• Study the other pieces and discuss them with the other groups.

Go Beyond

Work with the math class to develop graphs and tables that reflect population and/or natural resources. You could write a summary highlighting important historical facts or design a newspaper article featuring a significant current event in your language arts class. Science teachers could coordinate with you to develop a study of the distribution of natural resources along the river.

Eye Spy a Product Jigsaw Flyways How Low Can You Go