A puzzle, of course, is an activity in which several small groups of students each get only part of a reading text. They must figure out how to explain their part to members of other groups so that the full story can be pieced together. It’s good practice for students, promotes cooperation, and gives less competent students a chance to be the ones who know for a change.
Callan’s Puzzles by Nancy Callan brings you nineteen reproducible, ready-to-use puzzles, and much more.

Topics include daily routines, health, shopping, banking, and Christmas (including an easy version of O. Henry’s famous tale, “The Gift of the Magi”). Each chapter contains a text already divided into four sections, four images corresponding to the sections, and several follow-up activities (clozes, true/false questions, sentence strips to put in order, and others). Several come in beginner and intermediate versions. Each one is labeled with the language points it reinforces.

Each chapter can serve as the basis for a class session. Of course, they work best in a class large enough for at least four small groups, but the author gives suggestions on what to do when this is not the case. I used the texts successfully in puzzle form (for other reading and listening activities) when I didn’t have enough students for a puzzle.

This book can save you a lot of preparation time and increase your students’ interest and engagement levels.

Callan’s Jigsaws, by Nancy Callan, is published by Snug Harbor Publications (ISBN 0-9730398-1-7) and is available from the author’s site, esljigsaws.com