Frayer Model: Free Templates, Examples and Four Sections

The Frayer Model is a four-part vocabulary organiser. Learners explain a word or concept through a definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. Its purpose is to make the boundaries of a concept visible.

A completed sheet is useful only when learners can explain why each entry belongs there. New York State RtI guidance recommends modelling the format before independent use. A fourth-grade science study used electronic charts (Reed et al., 2019). The authors' research brief documents classroom use, rather than proving that a chart improves learning.

In Year 5 maths, a teacher uses prime number. Learners place 2, 3 and 5 in the examples section, then explain why 1 and 9 are non-examples. Including 2 tests the mistaken rule that every prime number must be odd.

That explanation tells the teacher more than a copied definition. The chart can also sit within a wider approach such as Word Aware, rather than becoming a separate worksheet for every word.

‍

Set up the four sections

Put the target concept and subject in the centre. Around it, label four sections: definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. This distinguishes a Frayer chart from other graphic organisers, which serve different purposes.

The name traces to earlier work on concept mastery (Frayer et al., 1969), as attributed in the University of Iowa research brief. The modern classroom chart is an adaptation. Its four boxes should not be presented as a verbatim reproduction of the original research report.

For prime number, maths, model these entries:

• Definition: a positive whole number greater than 1 with exactly two positive factors, 1 and itself.
• Characteristics: it cannot be split into equal whole-number groups other than one group or groups of one. The number 2 is the only even prime.
• Examples: 2, 3, 5 and 7.
• Non-examples: 1 has only one positive factor. The number 4 has three positive factors. The number 9 has factors 1, 3 and 9.

Keep entries brief enough to discuss. A copied paragraph can conceal whether a learner understands a word. Before adding more examples, ask a learner to explain one choice using the definition.

‍

Model the decisions aloud

Begin with a teacher example, then complete another together. This is explicit instruction: show the decision, explain it and give learners supported practice. Do not begin by handing out empty boxes and expecting learners to discover the definition.

For prime numbers, show 9 and say, “It is odd, but that does not make it prime. I can arrange nine counters into three equal groups.” Learners then classify 11 and explain their choice. The thinking demand is comparison against a defining rule.

Invite learners to draw on prior knowledge, but check that knowledge. Someone who recognises the word prime from everyday speech still needs its mathematical meaning. Record a mistaken rule so the class can revise it after testing examples.

‍

Plan a short teaching sequence

Prepare the definition and cases before the lesson. Check that each example fits every part of the definition. Then decide which tempting non-example will expose a common mistaken rule. For prime numbers, the important contrast is not large versus small, or odd versus even.

Model 2 first. Say, “It has two positive factors, 1 and 2. It is prime even though it is even.”

Next, model 9 with counters or an array. Point out its third positive factor, 3, before placing it among the non-examples.

Complete 5 together. Ask learners to name its positive factors and explain the placement.

Then offer 15 for supported practice. Check the explanation before asking everyone to make another entry. If several learners use oddness as their rule, return to factors immediately.

End with one unseen case, such as 13. The question is whether learners can use the rule on that case. A completed four-box page is not the aim of the sequence. Keep the chart short enough for discussion and allow the teaching time needed for the concept.

‍

Keep subject meanings separate

Use two charts when a word has different subject meanings. This follows the concern with subject-specific language in disciplinary literacy. A single definition shared across a school can be misleading.

In physics, power is the rate of energy transfer. Two devices can transfer the same amount of energy over different times and have different power. Energy measured in joules is not itself power, which is measured in watts.

In history, power may describe the ability to influence decisions or events. A teacher studying monarchy could ask learners to contrast a ruler's formal authority with the influence of advisers. Those examples need the historical setting, not the physics definition.

Likewise, volume concerns three-dimensional space in maths, while in a music lesson it commonly concerns how loud a sound is perceived. Pitch and tempo are close musical non-examples: neither means loudness. Label each chart with its subject and the specific meaning being taught.

‍

Choose revealing non-examples

A useful non-example nearly fits but fails an important condition. For a Year 4 science chart on conductor of electricity, compare a metal spoon with a plastic spoon under the conditions of the classroom test. Their similar shape lets the teacher focus on the material rather than shape.

Ask, “What makes this fail our definition?” Learners should identify the missing property, rather than simply put an item in the other box. Avoid stating that every object made from a material behaves identically in all conditions.

‍

Choose concepts that warrant four sections

Use a Frayer Model when examples can test an important distinction. A science term such as solid or a maths term such as prime number fits this purpose. A word that needs a brief translation may not justify a whole chart.

Word selection also depends on the curriculum task. Beck and colleagues describe vocabulary tiers as a starting point for choosing candidate words, with blurred boundaries (Beck et al., 2013). A specialised word can be essential to the next lesson even if it appears infrequently elsewhere.

For a Year 6 lesson about solids, spend time on the state of matter. Briefly clarify a less central instruction word during the task. Do not use the same organiser for both merely because both are unfamiliar. Decide whether learners need a new label, a new concept or a distinction between related concepts.

If they already understand the idea but need the English word, a labelled object and a model sentence can be enough. If they use the wrong defining rule, comparing examples and non-examples becomes useful. That decision determines the teaching tool.

‍

Use a solid example carefully

State the conditions when teaching a science concept. A solid has a fixed shape and volume under the conditions being discussed. An ice cube below its melting point is an example. Liquid water at room temperature is a non-example for this chart.

Write solid, science in the centre and put the definition in one section. In characteristics, note that a solid keeps its own shape rather than taking the shape of its container. Avoid making hard, heavy or cold the defining rule. Those descriptions do not apply to every solid.

Use a rock and an ice cube as examples. Place liquid water and air among the non-examples. Ask learners to identify the property that separates each case. The change from ice to liquid water also shows why the stated temperature matters.

If someone says, “Ice cannot be solid because it melts”, show the difference between its present state and a later change. Ask which state it is in now, under the stated conditions. Keep melting and being a solid as separate ideas. This example is also completed in the shared planning pack.

‍

Use learner responses to choose the next prompt

Read the reason behind a placement before deciding what to teach again. A wrong answer can arise from a mistaken rule, an unclear task or missing subject knowledge. These illustrative responses show how the next prompt changes with the explanation.

For prime number, a learner says, “9 belongs here because it is odd.” Ask them to list its factors or make an array, then compare 9 with 2. Return to the two-factor definition. Asking for more examples of odd numbers would reinforce the wrong rule.

Another learner places 1 among the examples and says, “You can only divide it by itself.” Count its distinct positive factors together. The number 1 has one, not two. Keep the correction specific to that part of the definition, then check a new number.

For solid, a learner sorts the cases correctly but writes, “A solid is hard.” Compare two familiar solids with different hardness and ask which characteristic both share. Correct sorting alone has not shown a sound definition. Use the response to revise the characteristics section, then test it against another case.

Keep brief notes about the word and the rule used. They guide the next lesson. They do not diagnose a language disorder or describe a fixed learner trait.

‍

Make responses accessible

Separate the concept from the act of writing it down. A learner can sort prepared examples, dictate an explanation or use their usual communication system. Keep the conceptual demand, such as explaining why 9 is not prime, while changing the response method.

For a science concept, a labelled sketch can sit beside a spoken explanation. Our dual coding guide discusses combining relevant representations with words. This is not a reason to assign learners a fixed visual learning style.

A multilingual learner may explain the concept in another language before practising the English term. Check the idea separately from spelling or English fluency. Use scaffolding, such as a partial definition or two contrasting examples, then reduce that support when it is no longer needed.

‍

Return to the concept later

Leave the chart available during teaching, but sometimes check understanding without it. Give a new case and request an explanation. This turns review into an opportunity to find what learners can use, rather than a test of how neatly they filled boxes.

After teaching prime numbers, ask learners to classify 21 and 23 in a later lesson. If they rely on “both are odd”, return to factors. A brief retrieval practice prompt can reveal that mistaken rule without repeating the whole chart.

For a word from a text, return to the sentence where it occurs. Ask learners to explain the meaning that fits. This connects vocabulary work to reading comprehension, rather than treating the chart as the final product.

Use the concept in a sentence that requires a reason. “21 is not prime because it has factors other than 1 and itself” connects the classification to its defining rule. A sentence such as “I like prime numbers” contains the term but does not reveal its mathematical meaning.

In a later lesson, offer 17 and 25 without the completed chart. Ask learners to choose and explain. Record whether the reason names factors, repeats oddness or gives no reason. Use that evidence to choose a new case or another explanation.

‍

Recognise the limits

Frayer charts take time. They are less useful when a word needs a simple translation or when learners lack the content needed to generate accurate examples. Teach that content first. A Year 7 learner cannot produce sound examples of a chemical reaction from the organiser alone.

Research does not justify promising a fixed improvement from this template. A study compared partner and independent use of electronic Frayer charts with 92 fourth-grade learners (Reed et al., 2019).

Both groups used charts and showed similar gains. The design did not establish that Frayer caused those gains. The researchers' summary explains this classroom study.

A chart is also not a diagnostic assessment of a language disorder. An unexplained entry is a starting point for a teacher's follow-up. Consider the learner's language knowledge, teaching opportunities and usual support before interpreting it.

‍

Coordinate vocabulary across the school

Use the whole-school vocabulary planning pack to record where meanings diverge. This original Structural Learning planning resource is based upon the evidence from the EEF.

At a short staff meeting, maths and music colleagues could each bring their definition of volume, one example and one likely confusion. Agree where each meaning first appears. A focused professional development discussion can then examine learner explanations from each subject, rather than count completed sheets.

The Education Endowment Foundation places word teaching within each subject's literacy practice (EEF, 2019). That supports keeping maths volume separate from music volume. Staff can share planning methods while retaining precise subject definitions. The word map records where each meaning is introduced and revisited.

The Select, Teach, Activate, Review sequence provides another way to plan those returns (Parsons & Branagan, 2017). The Frayer chart supports the teaching stage when a concept needs examples and non-examples. Later reading, explanation or problem solving gives the word a purpose. The chart itself is not a complete vocabulary programme.

Further guidance is available from the University of Minnesota's Frayer resource and the EEF's secondary literacy recommendations.

‍

References

• Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Publisher chapter.
• Education Endowment Foundation. (2019). Improving literacy in secondary schools. Guidance report.
• Frayer, D. A., Fredrick, W. C., & Klausmeier, H. J. (1969). A schema for testing the level of concept mastery (Working Paper No. 16). Wisconsin Research and Development Center for Cognitive Learning. Origin attribution is reported in the University of Iowa research brief.
• Parsons, S., & Branagan, A. (2017). Teaching vocabulary: Getting started. The Link, Issue 7, 4-5. Authors' guidance.
• Reed, D. K., Jemison, E., Sidler-Folsom, J., & Weber, A. (2019). Electronic graphic organizers for learning science vocabulary and concepts: The effects of online synchronous discussion. The Journal of Experimental Education, 87(4), 552-574. Publisher record.

‍

Further Reading

For lesson planning and teaching resources, create a free Structural Learning account.

Next lesson, model one concept with a close non-example and ask learners to explain the difference before they write.