B. Jigsaw Activity – W.8.8 (30 minutes)

• Review the learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can conduct research to answer a question about factors that influence our access to healthy food.”

• Explain to students that scientists often present their ideas at conferences to give the science community and the public information about their research. Tell students that they will pretend to be scientists at a conference who have been selected to share their research to inform the public about access to healthy food. In the form of a jigsaw, they will read and analyze a text to become emerging experts on the topic, and present their findings to their audience. Remind students that they used the Jigsaw protocol in the previous unit to analyze paragraph structures in The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
• Organize students into four groups: Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D.
• Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart. Remind students that it says at the top that effective learners are people who develop the mindsets and skills for success in college, career, and life.
• Ask a volunteer to read aloud the habit of character: “I collaborate. This means I can work well with others to accomplish a task or goal.”
• Ask students to Think-Pair-Share to review the following questions:

“What does collaboration look like? What might you see when people are collaborating?” (See Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart [example for teacher reference].)

“What does collaboration sound like? What might you hear when people are collaborating?” (See Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart [example for teacher reference].)

• Explain that this activity requires everyone in the class to collaborate in order to be successful.
• Distribute Research Text: “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Pesticides” to Group A, Research Text: “Food Desert” to Group B, and Research Text: “Organic Food” to Group C. Instruct Group D to read pages 94–96 and 121–122 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, beginning with “There’s more corn in the meal . . .,” and ending with “. . . field of corn and soybeans,” to analyze the subject of high-fructose corn syrup.
• Instruct students to read the text assigned to their group. Students may read independently, in pairs, or take turns reading aloud as a group. Give students several minutes to read.
• Refocus the whole class.
• Focus students’ attention to the top section of the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher. Instruct students to write the central research question they will answer in their research. The research question should mirror the GMO research question from the previous lessons of this unit (i.e., How do(es) _________ influence our access to healthy food?).
• Remind students that the central research question has been refined, so they will answer the question by identifying how their topic increases our access to healthy food in the first chart in their note-catcher, and how it decreases our access to healthy food in the second chart.
• Focus students’ attention on the additional related focused questions and read them aloud.
• Instruct students to fill in the blanks with the name of their case study. Explain to students that these questions are similar to the additional related focus questions they used in their GMO research and that they will begin using these questions to guide their research and generate additional questions as they conduct their research independently.
• Tell students to leave the section for search terms blank for now.
• Instruct each group to work independently, in pairs, or as a whole group to complete the two charts in their note-catcher, citing evidence from the text that supports how their food topic both increases and decreases our access to healthy food. Explain to students that they may not find evidence that supports both increases and decreases of their topic’s influence on our access to healthy food (e.g., food deserts, high-fructose corn syrup).
• Circulate as students gather their evidence, and support students who may struggle with identifying evidence that answers the research question. Refer to the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher (example for teacher reference).
• Refocus the whole class.
• Instruct each group to select scribes to record two rows from their chart(s) on chart paper to present to the class, and a spokesperson to share the group’s ideas with the class. Give students one minute to assign the scribe and spokesperson roles.
• Instruct students to work in their groups to identify two of the strongest quotes and/or paraphrases from their text that they recorded in their note-catcher, and copy the evidence, explanation of evidence, citation, and explanation of credibility on their chart paper. As students share ideas in the group, the scribes will record their responses on chart paper. Give students at least 5 minutes to complete their chart paper.
• Circulate as students work in their groups to ensure they are on track, and support struggling students.
• Refocus the whole class.
• Display the Access to Healthy Food: Independent Research note-catcher.
• Invite Group A’s spokesperson to display their group’s chart paper and share the evidence they found that supports their research topic. As Group A’s spokesperson shares, instruct students in groups B, C, and D to jot down questions they have about Group A’s topic that they can use as additional related focus questions to guide their research. Repeat this process with Group B, Group C, and Group D. Circulate as each group shares to ensure the students who are listening are jotting down potential additional related focus questions for the group that is sharing.