That’s because semantic maps offer a visual way of viewing “meaning-based connections between a word or phrase and a set of related words or concepts” (source: Reading Rockets).
The Frayer model puts the vocabulary term students need to learn in the center of the diagram. Students then consider and describe the word or concept. Per the Reading Educator, some of the ways include:
Defining the term
Describing its essential characteristics
Providing examples of the term
Offering non-examples of the term
Listing subordinate, superordinate, and coordinate terms
In the early days of the Frayer Model, a graphic organizer was not used. Others adapted it and reduced the framework to five steps (source), shown in the organizer (left).
Twitter from @SizerSchool featuring Mrs. Hartenstein’s high school Academic Support class. For Halloween, students chose spooky words and made Frayer models with each.
Discuss key vocabulary before reading a text.
Have students identify desired concepts in the text.
Invite students to complete the chart for each key concept.
Have student share what their takeaways are with the group (adapted from source).
Special thanks to Meredith Akers for making a Frayer Model Collaborative Slide Deck. She shared her version via Twitter, and you can make a copy of it easily.