Frayer Model If you think about how we learn a new concept, you see that initially, we usually have a superficial, simple understanding – perhaps a kind of one‐ or two‐word definition. However, as we encounter the concept over a period of time, we begin to understand it more deeply. You probably begin to know the essential characteristics as well as secondary or non‐essential characteristics and then begin to understand that there are multiple example or ways to illustrate the concept. This process of deepening understanding is described in the Frayer Model of concept development (Frayer, Fredrecik, & Kausmeither, 1969 in Buehl, 2001). This Frayer model is a graphic organizer that contains four sections: essential characteristics, non‐essential characteristics, examples, and non‐examples. The power of this more advanced graphic organizer is that it allows learners to differentiate the characteristics that define the concept and those that are only marginally associated with it. Please note that this graphic organizer is probably best suited for secondary classrooms. INTRODUCTION, MODELING, and REFLECTION 1. Review the Frayer Model Format. Have students fold a paper in four sections and label it with the four categories or use the blackline master provided. 2. Introduce an important from your content area and write it in the center area. Have students work in pairs or small groups (no more than four) to develop examples and non examples. Record this on your list. Have students add these to their list also. 3. Have students examine the list of examples. Ask for students to make a second list of essential characteristics that all the examples have in common. 4. Ask students to read (or listen) for new information about the concept and record it in the model. 5. After students have completed the reading, go back to the original model and ask them to confirm or reject information previously generated as a class. Check for misconceptions and shift items to different sections as necessary. After reading and learning more about the concept, students may find that some of their “ESSENTIAL characteristics” may be more appropriately listed as NON‐ESSNETIAL characteristics – based on the new learning. 6. Ask students, “Why does analyzing a concept using examples and non‐examples help in clarifying concepts? How did it help you organize your thinking?” Information on this model can be used as a study guide or a writing tool. Some teachers may decide it is unnecessary to use the NON‐ESSENTIAL characteristics and have students write a definition AFTER all the reading and discussion is complete. As with all graphic organizers for vocabulary and concept definition, the power does not lie in the completion of the organizer. The true power lies within the discussions that students frame around why they choose to place information in the places they choose. Frayer Model Essential Characteristics Non‐Essential Characteristics or Definition Examples Non‐examples Essential Characteristics change
Non‐Essential Characteristics Social reform
reform
progress
Many times students will have listed Non‐essential characteristics as “ESSENTIAL” upon first reading. As they see that these can be a part of, but are not totally inclusive, they can move elements from one place to another –The discussion about this is extremely POWERFUL! economic reform trade
environmental
political change
national debt
Examples Progressivism
Pure Food & Drug Act
Federal Reserve Act
Interstate
Commerce
Act
Civil Service Commission
Women’s Suffrage
Graduated Income Tax
Sherman Antitrust Act
National Parks
Non‐examples Spanish-American War
Plessy v. Ferguson
Laissey-faire Capitalism
Lochner v. New York
Essential Characteristics property of all matter
measured in grams
measured with a balance
energy does not have mass
Examples a penny has a mass of about
2.5 grams
Definition a measure of how much matter
an object contains
Mass
a paperclip has a mass of about
1 gram
Non‐examples a can of soda contains 255 mL
(volume not mass)