Here is a quick lesson I put together using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning technique for 3D solids. We learned the surface area and volume formulas for prisms in a direct instruction model and because we have such little time left in the year with testing and such, I decided Jigsaw-ing these concepts would be the best way. Overall, it went well…I did have to model how to have students teach each other and not simply copy, but after doing that, I was very pleased with how they communicated their understanding to each other.

I gave each expert group some cards of one of the solids I found here: http://math.about.com/od/formulas/ss/surfaceareavol_2.htm. With these cards, they had to talk through what the variables meant, what the lateral vs. total areas were, and how to use the volume formula. After each group finished completing their row of one assigned solid (writing the formulas, defining variables in their own words, solving a given example, and creating their own example), I mixed up the groups to have one solid represented in each new group. Then each expert taught the others how the formulas work and what they learned.

Here is front and back of the student worksheet I created, the rest can be found here: .