Frayer Model

Concept Mapping/Clarifying Routine (Ellis10)

Research by Frayer et al. supports the strategy of teaching concepts by

  1. identifying the critical attributes of the word.
  2. giving the category to which the word belongs.
  3. discussing examples of the concept.
  4. discussing nonexamples.

Others have had success extending this approach by guiding students through representation of the concept in a visual map or graphic organizer. The Clarifying Routine, designed and researched by Ellis et al.,13 is a particularly effective example of concept mapping. These are the steps:

  1. Select a critical concept / word to teach. Enter it on a graphic clarifying map like the sample for satire.
  2. List the clarifiers or critical attributes that explicate the concept.
  3. List the core idea—a summary statement or brief definition.
  4. Brainstorm for knowledge connections—personal links from students' word views/prior knowledge (encourage idiosyncratic / personal links).
  5. Give an example of the concept; link to clarifiers: "Why is this an example of ___?"
  6. Give nonexamples. List nonexamples: "How do you know ___ is not an example of ___?"
  7. Construct a sentence that "shows you know."

Term: SATIRE
Core Idea: Any Work That Uses Wit to Attack Foolishness
Example
A story that exposes the acts of corrupt politicians by making fun of them
Nonexample
A story that exposes the acts of corrupt politicians through factual reporting
Example sentence
Charles Dickens used satire to expose the problems of common folks in working-class England. / Clarifiers
• Can be oral or written.
• Ridicule or expose vice in a clever way.
• Can include irony exaggeration, name-calling, understatement.
• Are usually based on a real person or event. / Knowledge Connections
• Political cartoons on the editorial pages of our paper.
• Stories TV comics tell to make fun of the President—like Saturday Night Live.
• My mom's humor at dinner time!

10 Ellis, E. (1997). The Clarifying Routine. Lawrence, KS: Edge Enterprises 1997.

Tips for Using the Clarifying Routine

  1. Provide all students with a blank clarifying map, and guide them in filling it out while you model your thinking on an overhead projector.
  2. In the "knowledge connections" (step 4 above), encourage students to generate their own idiosyncratic links—anything to remind them of the concept. Total accuracy is not as important as forging the cognitive linkage to the core idea.
  3. Focus on nonexamples. This challenges students to explicate "why ___ is not an example of ___." This level of analysis will greatly assist understanding.
  4. Vary use of the routine as students become familiar with the steps, turning more and more of the process over to student direction / control; for example, providing students with a partially-filled-in map if their prior knowledge or proficiency in English requires more support.
  5. Challenge students to fill out their own clarifying maps.

Frayer Template Below