Frayer model
The Frayer model is a four-box graphic organizer for learning a word or concept. The term sits in the center, and the four boxes around it hold a definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. It was developed by Dorothy Frayer and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1960s, and teachers use it mostly for vocabulary.
In more detail
A dictionary definition is easy to forget, because you can recite it without understanding it. The Frayer model asks you to test the edges of the word: what must be true of it, what real cases exist and what looks similar but is not. The non-examples box is the key part, because it forces you to separate the concept from its neighbors.
Some versions swap the boxes. You may see a drawing, a sentence in context, synonyms or antonyms in place of characteristics or non-examples. The four-box idea is what matters, so use the version your teacher gives you.
It works for any concept, not only vocabulary words: photosynthesis, supply and demand, a prime number. It fits one term at a time, so save it for the ten to twenty hardest terms in a unit instead of every word.
The four boxes, filled in for the term mammal
| Box | What goes in it | Example for mammal |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The meaning in your own words | A warm-blooded animal that has hair or fur and feeds milk to its young |
| Characteristics | Facts that are always true | Has hair or fur, makes milk, breathes air with lungs, is warm-blooded |
| Examples | Real cases | Dog, whale, bat |
| Non-examples | Look-alikes that do not fit | Shark (a fish), penguin (a bird), crocodile (a reptile) |
Example
In math, Leo puts the term prime number in the center. Definition: a whole number greater than 1 with exactly two divisors, 1 and itself. Characteristics: only two factors, and 2 is the only even one. Examples: 2, 3, 7, 13. Non-examples: 1, which has only one divisor, and 9 and 15, which have more than two. The non-examples are what stop him from mixing up prime numbers with odd numbers.
How to use it
- 1
Pick one term and write it in the center of the page.
- 2
Write a definition in your own words before you look at the source.
- 3
List two or three characteristics that are always true of the term.
- 4
Add two or three real examples.
- 5
Add two or three non-examples that look close but do not fit, and say why.
- 6
Check every box against your source and fix mistakes.
- 7
Cover the boxes the next day and rebuild them from the term alone.
How StudyPDF does this
StudyPDF does not draw Frayer boxes, but it gives you the raw material. Ask Bo what a term means in your course, with its key features and an example, and the answer comes from your own lecture with a citation to the page, so you can check it. Then put the term on the front of a flashcard and the four boxes on the back, and test yourself. Flashcards can also carry figures from your slides.
See also
Common questions
Who created the Frayer model and when?
Dorothy Frayer and her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin developed it in the late 1960s. It is still one of the most common vocabulary strategies in classrooms.
What goes in the non-examples box?
Things that look or sound similar but do not fit the term. For mammal, a shark is a good non-example because it lives in water like a whale. Writing why it does not fit is what builds understanding.
Put it to work on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.