Four Square Method for Vocabulary

Drawing the Four Square Chart

• 1

  Draw a large square on a sheet of paper. To save space, the large square should take up no more than the top or bottom half of the page.

• 2

  Draw a small square in the middle of the large square. The "small" square must be large enough to write a word and its definition in that box.

• 3

  Draw four lines that extend from each side of the small square, out to the large square. These four lines allow students to write information into four new squares that surround the word.

Fill In the Four Square Chart

• 4

  Write the word that your teacher assigned you in the small square. Write the definition in the small square below the word.

• 5

  Write the heading "Part of Speech" in the top-left square. Additionally, write the word's part of speech in that box. You can obtain the word's part of speech by looking it up in a dictionary.

• 6

  Write "Picture" in the top-right square. Draw a picture that represents the word in that box. For example, if the word is "Excited," draw a person excitedly opening a present, talking or some similar behavior.

• 7

  Write the words "Synonym" and "Antonym" in the remaining two boxes. Look up a synonym and antonym for the word in a thesaurus and write them in the appropriate boxes.