Purpose of text hexagonal jigsaw

An original and thought provoking 24 piece hexagonal jigsaw puzzle where pairs or small groups of learners must match examples of text (e.g. novel, board game rules, bus timetable) to their main purpose (e.g. descriptive, instructional, informative, persuasive). Use for revision or as an ice breaker or starter activity. Guaranteed to create promote discussion as learners solve puzzle.


Resource File(s)
Resource type
Physical format
Tarsia fjsw file - 24 piece puzzle


I used this with a L1/L2 Literacy group and they found it rather difficult.
The fact that most of the triangles’ edges matched with several others meant that the learners were putting together all kinds of different tiles to make a jigsaw, not the perfect hexagon as in the solution.
It was great for promoting discussion but I think they felt a little demoralised that they couldn’t get it perfectly “right” without looking at the printed solution. Perhaps better for use with a more confident class than mine.