Religion Jigsaw Activity

In Sociology class this week we were studying about religions as a social institution from a macro level perspective.  To help students better understand the differences and similarities of some of the major religions, they worked in class on a research jigsaw activity.

Here's how it worked...

First, each student drew a card that I had already created which had the title of a specific religion written on it.  I chose to micro manage this part just so that I had the same amount of students in each group and no two groups were researching the same topic.

After cards were selected, students found their group members based upon who had drawn the same topic.  This month my classes are small, so the morning class had 3 people in a group and the night class had 2 people in a group.

The topics included:  Christianity, Islam, Nonreligious, Hinduism, and Buddism.

Students split up the work so that each person was in charge of topics such as the history of the religion, the number of followers, any similar religions, and possible examples of beliefs, rituals, and experiences.  They researched using their iPads or other computer for about 45 minutes and then collaborated with the rest of their group to share information and ideas they had discovered.  At this point, I also witnessed groups sharing not only researched information but personal experience knowledge as well.  Some even posed questions to the group that constituted a little more research for answer finding.  For example, Are Mormons Christians?

At this point in the class, a much welcome break occurred!

After break students numbered themselves as a 1, 2, or 3.  The matching numbers then created a new group so that a representative for each religion was present.  Each person shared his/her research while the others jotted down notes of the major information.  The lesson concluded with a brief analysis of how a social issue impacts or is impacted by religion.

Overall, I hope the lesson gave the students a glimpse into religions becoming more common in our community so they will be better prepared and tolerant of others' views and cultural norms.