Frayer Model Generator
Type your vocabulary terms and get a printable Frayer model for each: the term in the middle and four squares for the definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. Print them blank for students to complete, or fill in the first as a model. Free, no sign-up.
Up to 12 terms.
Enter at least one term to see the organizer.
How to Use the Frayer Model Generator
- 1. List your terms. Type one term per line — up to twelve. Each gets its own page. Load example terms fills the box with three science words to try.
- 2. Add a model if you want one. Fill in any of the four squares to show students a finished organizer for the first term, one idea per line, or leave them empty for blank squares. Load example entry fills in a model for photosynthesis.
- 3. Choose the layout. Pick the square headings, the paper (US Letter or A4) and landscape or portrait, and decide whether empty squares carry writing lines and the page a name and date line.
- 4. Print. Print organizers prints one page per term. Only the organizers print; the controls stay behind.
What Is the Frayer Model?
The Frayer model is a graphic organizer for learning a concept word. It was developed by Dorothy Frayer, Wayne Frederick and Herbert Klausmeier at the University of Wisconsin and described in a 1969 report on testing the level of concept mastery. Instead of copying a dictionary definition, the student places the term in a central oval and works through four squares that approach it from different sides.
| Square | What the student writes | For the term photosynthesis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | What the term means, in their own words | The process by which plants use light to make food |
| Characteristics | The facts and features that always apply | Needs light, water and carbon dioxide; happens in chloroplasts; releases oxygen |
| Examples | Things that are clear cases of the term | A leaf making glucose in sunlight; algae in a pond |
| Non-examples | Things that are not the term, ideally close to it | Respiration; digesting a meal |
Why the Non-Examples Matter
The fourth square is what separates the Frayer model from a plain definition chart. Saying what a concept is not forces the student to find the boundary of the idea. The best non-examples are near misses: respiration is a better non-example of photosynthesis than a rock, because it is a real process that is easy to confuse with it. If students fill the square with obviously unrelated things, ask them what a student might wrongly think the term covers, and use that.
Using the Organizer in Class
- Before reading. Hand out organizers for the three or four terms a text depends on, and have students fill in what they already know. They return to the squares after reading and correct them.
- Choose the right words. Frayer squares suit concept words — terms such as ecosystem, democracy or hypothesis — that need more than a synonym. Everyday words and simple labels are better served by flashcards.
- Model the first one. Print the first organizer filled in, project it, and fill in a second together before students work alone or in pairs.
- Reuse them. Organizers kept in a notebook become a glossary students can revise from, and they make a quick retrieval check when the squares are covered and recalled.
Printing Tips
Landscape suits the classic wide layout and gives each square room for handwriting; portrait fits a binder better and gives squares more height. The page margins are 0.5 inch on Letter and 12 mm on A4, so the organizer fills the printable area without being clipped. Square headings come in two sets: the standard wording, and a plainer set (What it means, Facts and features) that younger or newer-to-English students may find easier to read. Writing lines appear only in empty squares; once you add a model entry, that term's squares show the typed text instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Frayer model?
- A Frayer model is a four-square graphic organizer for learning vocabulary and concepts. The word goes in the centre, and the squares ask for a definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. It was developed at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1960s by Frayer, Frederick and Klausmeier.
- What do you write in each part of a Frayer model?
- Write a definition in your own words, the essential facts or features of the term, clear examples, and non-examples that look similar but do not fit. The strongest organizers have non-examples that tempt a reader to make a mistake, because that shows where the edge of the concept lies.
- Which words work best for a Frayer model?
- Concept words that carry a lot of meaning in a subject: photosynthesis, supply, metaphor, fraction, theme. They need a definition, features and boundaries. Words that are simple labels or have only one meaning are better handled with a flashcard or a quick sentence.
- Can I print a Frayer model with the answers filled in?
- Yes, for the first term in the list. Fill in any of the four squares under Model entry and that organizer prints with your text, while the others stay blank. Print the model alone to project it, or print the whole set to hand out.
- How many Frayer models can I make at once?
- Up to twelve, one per line of the terms box, each on its own page. Repeated terms are used once, and any beyond twelve are left out with a note.
- Does it work on A4 paper?
- Yes. Choose A4 under Paper and the organizer is sized to the A4 printable area, in landscape or portrait. In the print dialog, leave the scale at 100 per cent and turn off headers and footers for the cleanest result.
- Is anything I type saved or uploaded?
- No. The organizers are built in your browser from what you type, and nothing is sent anywhere or stored. Reloading the page clears the box.