Journey to Excellence

Complex Cooperative Sample Lesson 1

Two Day or 80 Minute Cooperative Lesson

Teacher: Cruz/Lazarus Date: 19-20 June 1998
Unit: Bible Grade: 9

Lesson Title: Making Spiritual Choices in I Kings 18

Structure: Expert Jigsaw

Objectives:

  • Dimensions of Learning: Students will apply the knowledge of making choices to their lives in a meaningful manner.
  • Content:
    1. Students will learn that there are always choices to make.
    2. Students will become familiar with the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel and the issue of making spiritual choices.
  • Social Skills:
    1. Students will listen politely to each other.
    2. Students will participate in whole class discussion.

Materials:

Teacher:
Bible
flip chart/chalkboard
markers
duplicated worksheet
Student:
Bible


Warm-Up:

Anecdote (personal experience)

Situation 1: I was given theater tickets for a famous play which related to school work. The play started one and a half hours before sunset on Friday. The dilemma — to go or not to go? I went and stayed past the setting of the sun. Feeling guilty, I went home and prayed never to put myself before doing right.

Question to class: What would you have done?

Situation 2: You are undercharged for the flowers for the senior class farewell. Do you tell the clerk or do you think it is a blessing from God?

Components:

  • Group Size: 5 or more
  • Group Selection: Heterogeneous, randomly assigned by the teacher
  • Positive Interdependence: Students leave home group to form expert groups and answer questions, then return to home groups to share.
  • Group Accountability: Students note answers to questions in the expert groups and return to home group.
  • Individual Accountability: Quiz on content and journal on social skills.
  • Roles: Expert, note-taker.

Bible Passages:

  • Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-19)
  • Abraham (Genesis 12:1-8)
  • Elijah (1 Kings 18:16-46)
  • Agrippa (Acts 25:23-26:32)
  • Ananias and Sapphira (Act 5:1-10)

Directions: (Expert Jigsaw)

  1. Divide the class into five heterogeneous "home" groups. Each student in the group will have a different Bible passage written on a card which the teacher passes out.
  2. Students will leave their "home" group to form "expert" groups. Each "expert" group will deal with a particular passage of scripture and answer the following questions about their passage:
    1. In 2-3 sentences briefly recount the story/situation of the passage.
    2. Which characters have a choice to make?
    3. What choices do the characters make? Why?
    4. What is the outcome of the choice?
  3. Students reassemble into their original "home" groups to present their acquired expert knowledge to the rest of the home group members.

Monitoring Group Work:

Teacher moves from expert group to expert group to facilitate and coach, reorganizes home groups, and continues to move from group to group.

Processing Content:

  • Listen, take notes.
  • Write 2-3 paragraphs on a spiritual choice that you have had to make. Describe the situation/choice/dilemma and the outcome of your choice. (Extend into a homework assignment if not completed during class time.)
  • Why was Ahab willing to risk a confrontation on Mount Carmel?

Processing Group Dynamics:

  • How many listened politely/quietly today? (Stickers for those students)
  • Who participated willingly in the question/answer period? (Stickers)
  • How well did your groups work?

Evaluation:

  • Evaluate the process (how well the students worked together) in student journals.
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