The Frayer Model is a widely used graphic organiser that helps students deepen their understanding of key concepts by encouraging a structured, multidimensional analysis. Originally developed in 1969, this versatile tool is popular in education for its simplicity and effectiveness in improving comprehension and critical thinking. In geography, where concepts often encompass complex interactions between physical, human, and environmental systems, the Frayer Model offers a clear and structured approach to learning.
The Frayer Model consists of a four-quadrant framework surrounding a central topic or concept. The quadrants are typically labelled:
This approach helps students engage with a concept from multiple angles, fostering a deeper and more nuanced understanding.
Over time, there has been various interpretations of the Frayer Model. Below are an editable collection kindly shared by Dawn Gordon along with templates developed by Internet Geography which can be downloaded for free.
If you are looking for other approaches that can be used to address geographical vocabulary, take a look at our post on Strategies for Teaching Geographical Vocabulary.
Internet Geography offers the geography community a platform to share great resources. If you have resource you’d like to share or have an idea for a blog post about an approach that is working for you and your students then get in touch!
