Vocabulary Word Map Templates with Filled-In Samples

Print a blank word map with a line for the word in the middle and four boxes around it.

For a PDF, choose Save as PDF as the printer.

Sheet

Paper size

Press a line to type on it.

Four-box word map One map to a page. A line for the word in the middle, and 4 boxes around it: Meaning in my own words, Synonyms, My sentence and A sketch. The sketch box is open; the other 3 are ruled.

More options

Line color

Line weight

Next step Hide the same words in a word search

How it works

This vocabulary word map prints blank: a line for the word in the middle, then boxes for the meaning, synonyms, a sentence and a sketch. The Sheet menu adds six-box maps, top-down maps, charts and 6 filled-in samples.

Read the full guide

Pick a layout for the word

Press Print the word map for the four-box sheet, or open the Sheet menu. The six-box map adds part of speech and antonyms, and one version asks for word parts. The top-down map asks What is it, What is it like and What are some examples. A vocabulary chart template gives each word one row. Every word map template prints on Letter or A4, and most come 2 or 4 to a page.

Show a sample word map first

Each sample word map is filled in the way a pupil might do it, for enormous, habitat, transport, fraction and tiny. Show one, fill in a second word together, then hand out blanks. For a vocabulary word map pdf, choose Save as PDF in the print window.

Own words first. Have pupils close the dictionary before they write the meaning, or the box fills with copying.
Non-examples do the most work for science and math words. Ask what is close to a habitat but is not one.
For grades 1 and 2, pick the sheets with simpler labels: What it means, My picture, My sentence.

Questions and answers

What is a word map graphic organizer?

A page with one word in the middle and labelled boxes around it: the meaning, words like it, a sentence, a sketch. Filling the boxes makes a pupil use the word several ways instead of only copying a definition.

Can I see an example of a word map?

Yes. For enormous the sample reads: meaning, much bigger than most things of its kind; synonyms, huge, giant, massive; sentence, An enormous wave washed our sandcastle away; sketch, a whale next to a rowboat. All 6 samples are in the list under the tool.

Is a four-box word map the same as a Frayer model?

Close. A Frayer model is a square of four boxes with the term in the middle, and its boxes are definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples. Pick Four-box word map with examples and non-examples for that set.

Is there a vocab chart template for a whole word list?

Yes. The vocabulary charts hold 5, 6, 8 or 10 words on one landscape sheet, one row a word, with columns such as Word, Meaning in my own words and My sentence. A vocab word map goes deeper on one word.

All 25 sheets

Filled-in samples 6

Sample vocabulary chart, filled in The 10 word chart with its first 3 rows done and 7 left for the class. fragile, adjective: easy to break; Carry the fragile vase with two hands. ancient, adjective: from a very long time ago; We saw ancient tools at the museum. migrate, verb: to move to another place when the season changes; Geese migrate south before winter.
Sample word map, filled in: enormous A four-box map done for the word enormous. Meaning in my own words: much bigger than most things of its kind. Synonyms: huge, giant, massive. My sentence: An enormous wave washed our sandcastle away. A sketch: a whale next to a rowboat.
Sample word map, filled in: fraction A top-down map done for the math word fraction. What is it? A number that names part of a whole. What is it like? It has a top number and a bottom number; the bottom number tells how many equal parts make the whole; the top number tells how many parts we have. Examples: 1/2 of a sandwich, 3/4 of an hour, 2/3 of the class.

Show all 25 sheets (22 more)

Filled-in samples, continued

Sample word map, filled in: habitat An examples and non-examples map done for the science word habitat. Meaning: the place in nature where a plant or an animal lives. What is it like? It has the food, water and shelter that living thing needs. Examples: a pond for a frog, a desert for a cactus, a forest for an owl. Non-examples: a cage in a pet shop, a fish bowl, a plant pot on a desk.
Sample word map, filled in: tiny A grades 1 and 2 map done for the word tiny. What it means: very, very small. My picture: an ant next to a shoe. My sentence: A tiny ant carried a crumb. Words that mean the same: little, small.
Sample word map, filled in: transport A six-box map with word parts done for transport. Meaning: to carry people or things from one place to another. Part of speech: verb, and also a noun. Word parts: trans (across) + port (carry). Related words: portable, import, export, transportation. My sentence: Trucks transport fruit from the farm to the store. Where I might hear it: at a bus station, on the news, in a lesson about trade.

Four-box word maps 8

Four-box word map One map to a page. A line for the word in the middle, and 4 boxes around it: Meaning in my own words, Synonyms, My sentence and A sketch. The sketch box is open; the other 3 are ruled.
Four-box word map with examples and non-examples The word in the middle and 4 boxes: Meaning in my own words, What is it like?, Examples and Non-examples. Made for concept words in science, math and social studies.
Four-box word map with examples and non-examples, 2 per page The examples and non-examples map, 2 to a page with a cut line between them.
Four-box word map, 2 per page The same 4 boxes, 2 maps stacked on a page with a cut line between them. One sheet covers 2 words, or 2 pupils.
Four-box word map, 4 per page 4 small maps on a page with cut lines, for a quick check of 4 words. The boxes are open, because ruled lines this small are hard to write on.
Four-box word map, grades 1 and 2 One map to a page with simpler labels and wide ruled lines: What it means, My picture, My sentence and Words that mean the same.
Four-box word map, grades 1 and 2, 2 per page The grades 1 and 2 map, 2 to a page with a cut line between them.
Four-box word map, open boxes One map to a page with no ruled lines in any box, for pupils who draw, list or web their ideas instead of writing sentences.

Six-box word maps 4

Six-box word map One map to a page: the word in the middle and 6 boxes. Meaning in my own words, Part of speech, Synonyms, Antonyms, My sentence and A sketch.
Six-box word map with word parts For upper grades: Meaning in my own words, Part of speech, Word parts, Related words, My sentence and Where I might hear it. The Word parts box is for a prefix, a root and a suffix.
Six-box word map, 2 per page The six-box map, 2 to a page with a cut line between them. The boxes are short, so it suits single words and short phrases.
Six-box word map, grades 1 and 2 6 boxes with simpler labels: What it means, Kind of word, Words that mean the same, Opposites, My sentence and My picture.

Top-down word maps 2

Top-down word map The word sits in a box in the middle. Above it, What is it? To the side, 3 boxes for What is it like? Below, 3 boxes for What are some examples? One map to a page.
Top-down word map, 2 per page The top-down map, 2 to a page with a cut line between them.

Vocabulary charts, one row a word 5

Vocabulary chart with dictionary meaning, 8 words 8 rows. Columns: Word, Dictionary meaning, Meaning in my own words and My sentence, so a pupil looks the word up and then says it their own way.
Vocabulary chart with synonyms and antonyms, 8 words 8 rows. Columns: Word, Meaning in my own words, Synonyms and Antonyms.
Vocabulary chart, 6 words A landscape chart with one row a word and 6 rows. Columns: Word, Meaning in my own words, My sentence and A sketch.
Vocabulary chart, 10 words 10 rows on a landscape sheet, for a whole weekly list. Columns: Word, Part of speech, Meaning in my own words and My sentence.
Vocabulary chart, grades 1 and 2, 5 words 5 tall rows with 3 columns: Word, What it means and My picture.

How this list was compiled: Laid out and written in-house. The box labels are plain classroom wording, every sample is in our own words with no dictionary text, and no publisher's organizer is copied. Licence: own work