Concept Circles: A 

Graphic Organizer
that Fosters Deeper Understanding
of Critical Vocabulary and Concepts
BARBARA MALLETTE

­Introduction

Teachers agree that success in middle and high school courses are heavily depend-
ent on learning and understanding key vocabulary and concepts. English learners
come to these classes with language skills that need to be developed further to
negotiate the texts associated with content areas and understand key vocabulary
fully. Leno and Dougherty (2007) assert that the middle school science curriculum
is intimidating. “Many of the words related to the science curriculum are extremely
specialized and many students enter the classroom with only a very loose under-
standing of a majority of the words” (p. 63). Social studies also challenges English
learners (ELs) and students with learning difficulties. Literacy experts Vacca,
Vacca, and Mraz (2014) identified poor vocabulary and lower‐level reading strate-
gies as a factor in students having trouble comprehending content area readings.
They indicated that content vocabulary is much “too important to be incidental or
accidental” (p. 242). Rather, vocabulary instruction should be intentional. The
vocabulary and concepts embedded in mathematics texts can be problematic for
ELs. Therefore, mathematics instruction must be deliberate (Monroe, 1997). Others
agree that acquisition of “academic language proficiency” is critical to ELs’ suc-
cess. They note that classroom discourse may involve “specialized language” of
teachers, textbooks, and tests, the register of which does not match the structure
and vocabulary of social language (Dutro & Moran, 2003). ELs don’t acquire aca-
demic (that is, specialized language) necessary for writing through discussions in
class. Rather, students must be offered multiple opportunities to employ academic
language via direct and explicit instruction (Dutro & Moran, 2003). How could
teachers structure multiple opportunities to use academic language?

The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching.

Edited by John I. Liontas.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0996

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 2 Concept Circles

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is a branch of the U.S. Department of

Education whose responsibilities focus on statistics, research, and evaluation. In
fulfilling its mission to collect and disseminate scientific evidence on educational
practice and policies, IES regularly produces practice guides that highlight the
challenges in educational settings and offer recommendations grounded in rigor-
ous research. One such guide, Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English
Learners in Elementary and Middle School (Baker et  al., 2014), stressed four areas
important for ELs in learning content: academic vocabulary, content‐area instruc-
tion, writing instruction, and small‐group intervention. The guide’s authors recog-
nized that “quality literacy and language instruction occur throughout the school
day, across content areas” (Baker et  al., 2014, p. 3). The practices recommended
tended to be applicable across the target areas. This entry limits its focus on one
practice, graphic organizers.

­ELT Dimensions

Graphic organizers comprise a set of visual representations used to frame content

vocabulary and concepts. They aid students in organizing and forming relation-
ships among vocabulary and concepts in content material. Graphic organizers are
employed in classrooms in a variety of formats: hierarchical arrangements, time-
lines, circles, word sorts, word maps, and charts. Graphic organizers bring organi-
zation and clarity to vocabulary and concepts in any subject. They assist in
deciphering relevant material from irrelevant material. Opportunities exist for
interacting with key vocabulary and content at a more complex level when graphic
organizers are employed.
Teachers can employ graphic organizers prior to instruction, at the beginning of
lessons to stimulate interest, trigger prior knowledge, set the stage for content,
chunk content for initial learning, organize material being presented, and provide
a format for brainstorming. Graphic organizers can also be used during instruc-
tion, in the middle of a lesson to identify important vocabulary and concepts, note
relationships among vocabulary and concepts, differentiate relevant information
from content distractions, analyze concepts, and check for student understanding.
Furthermore, graphic organizers can be utilized after instruction to summarize
lesson content, highlight important vocabulary and concepts, identify questions
about vocabulary and concepts, prioritize vocabulary and concepts for further
study, chunk content for review and retention, reflect on material presented, and
check for student understanding. Employing graphic organizers holds great
promise in teaching key vocabulary and content to ELs and in developing deliber-
ate and strategic learners.
A large research base exists on the effects of graphic organizer use on student
performance. Graphic organizers were endorsed by the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICD) (2000) because they have a solid scien-
tific base in instructional use. In their seminal piece, Moore and Readence (1984)
summarized 23 studies that examined the effect of graphic organizers. They found

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 Concept Circles 3

that student vocabulary learning was most impacted when graphic organizers fol-
lowed content presentation. Student involvement appeared to be an important
variable; post-graphic organizers yielded greater effects than advance ones.
Monroe (1997) discussed the positive impact of graphic organizers on student
learning of informational text vocabulary. She posited that this research base pro-
vided strong evidence for use of graphic organizers in mathematics vocabulary
development. A metaanalysis of research on reading instruction for ELs was con-
ducted by Hall and colleagues (Hall, Roberts, Cho, McCulley, Carroll, & Vaughn,
2016). Their analysis examined research in the past 20 years that focused on read-
ing across content areas in grades 4 to 8. Noteworthy in this metaanalysis was
examination of reading practice studies that were not solely based on pre‐pack-
aged reading programs. Eleven studies were coded for methodology, characteris-
tics of participants, instruction features, measure properties, indicators of study
quality, and effect sizes (Hall et al., 2016, p. 768). Some studies employed graphic
organizers in their instructional practices. Vocabulary instruction produced the
largest mean effects across reading outcomes. The combination of vocabulary and
comprehension instruction was more powerful in impact on student performance
than sole use of vocabulary instruction. Although small sample size was a concern,
this analysis represents an initial foray into examination of studies that include a
significant number of ELs in core content areas and reading practices.
Because ELs can struggle in social studies, Brown (2007) recommended teachers
utilize a graphic organizer, Concept Map, to negotiate required reading. She
argued that ELs may come to social studies without background knowledge of
content, with English language challenges, and unfamiliarity with social studies
discourse. Therefore, complexity of the reading and concepts can be frustrating.
Brown posited that Concept Maps help fill in gaps in background knowledge and
“help make content transparent by showing how parts of the text are related”
(p.  187). Vaughn and colleagues (Vaughn et  al., 2009) examined the impact of a
multicomponent instructional treatment including graphic organizers on ELs’
vocabulary knowledge and comprehension. Their two studies documented posi-
tive effects of graphic organizers on ELs’ vocabulary and comprehension growth.
Interventions within response to intervention (RTI) can include graphic organ-
izers. Sandford, Brown and Turner (2012) used graphic organizers with ELs to
enhance instruction. Their PLUSS Model targeted inclusion of visual and graphic
organizers in acquisition and retention of vocabulary and concepts. Sandford and
colleagues indicated that although PLUSS addresses the needs of ELs across RTI
tiers, its components would be useful to all students.
Helman, Calhoon, and Kern (2015) employed a multiple baseline design to
determine ELs’ use of the graphic organizer Clue Word Strategy (CWS) on science
vocabulary and changes in student Test of Reading Comprehension (TORC)
scores. All students demonstrated improved use of CWS during the study; two
students’ TORC subtest scores improved following use of CWS. Although the sub-
ject pool was small, Helman and colleagues were successful in teaching ELs with
reading difficulties a graphic organizer that involved analysis of context and
morphemes.

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 4 Concept Circles

What is not surprising is the vast array of graphic organizers for classroom set-
tings. Practitioners find support for graphic organizer use on many well‐visited
Web sites, such as Edutech for Teachers, Read Write Think, and Edutopia.
Furthermore, teachers share use of specific graphic organizers in journals associ-
ated with their content areas. For example, the National Science Teaching
Association publications regularly include instructional strategies for students
struggling with science content, including graphic organizers.

­Concept Circles

The Mathematics and Science Teacher Training in Educational Resources Project

(MAST2ER) was a U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language
Acquisition grant awarded to the State University of New York at Fredonia.
Although MAST2ER has ended, the impact of grant activities is evident in area
schools. MAST2ER provided professional development for teachers and teacher
candidates in addressing the needs of ELs in mathematics and science. Graphic
organizers comprised one component of MAST2ER’s professional development
activities. Selection of the target graphic organizers was based on several variables:
relatively easy implementation in classrooms; not time‐consuming; easy for stu-
dents to learn; high utility in content areas; potential for fostering deeper thinking;
capability for students to complete individually, in small groups, or as an entire
class; and enjoyable for students. One graphic organizer that met these variables
was Concept Circles; as a result, Concept Circles became an anchor of MAST2ER’s
professional development sessions.
A Concept Circle (Vacca et al., 2014) is a visual representation of a concept using
key vocabulary associated with that concept. Vacca and colleagues claimed that
Concept Circles could be employed at various grade levels and “provide still
another format and opportunity to study words critically and to relate words con-
ceptually to one another” (p. 264). In a Concept Circle, the circle is divided into
four sections or quadrants, with each section containing a word (or phrase).
Students view the words and determine the relationship among them. That is,
they will “relate words conceptually to one another” (Vacca et al., 2014, p. 264),
digging deeper into targeted content. A review of the terms appearing in Figure 1
would lead students to determine that there is a relationship among the terms —
characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Furthermore, they could note another
relationship—Oberon is king of the fairies; Titania, his wife, is queen of the fairies.
Although the basic structure remains the same in Concept Circle use, one varia-
tion requires students to identify the term or concept that does not fit the relation-
ship among the other three quadrants. After reviewing the four fractions that
appear in Figure  2, students would reduce each fraction to its lowest common
denominator. Doing so would identify the one fraction that does not reduce to 3/7;
namely, 3/6 or 1/2.
Another Concept Circle variation involves student production of a missing
term. Students determine the relationship among the completed quadrants; they

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 Concept Circles 5

Titania Snug

Hermia Oberon

Figure 1  Concept Circle Shakespeare characters.

9 6
21 14

3 30
6 70

Figure 2  Concept Circle mathematical fractions.

then complete the empty section with a term that honors that relationship. The
three terms displayed in Figure  3 represent noble gases, a fourth noble gas is
needed to complete the Concept Circle. Students could choose krypton, xenon, or
radon. Alternatively, students could identify the relationship of helium, argon,
and neon (i.e., noble gases) and then could select a gas that is not considered noble
(e.g., hydrogen).
Concept Circles have greater use than deeper understanding of key vocabulary.
One MAST2ER TESOL teacher adapted the Concept Circle for her ELs. She pre-
sented students with a blank Concept Circle. Students identified the four main
characters in the short story The Moustache, their characteristics, or actions. Next,
Concept Circle entries were used to write an essay about one of the characters.
Figure 4 displays one student’s completed Concept Circle.

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 6 Concept Circles

Helium Argon

Neon ?

Figure 3  Concept Circle noble gases.

Husband and Wife Mom and Mike

• No apoligzed • Indepedence vs.
• Too much proved • He did complied
• Died before forgives

Boyfriend and Girlfriend Grandson and Grandmother

• Cindy act like • Ages or emotions
• Mike’s mom • Confusion
• Might be break up • Compassion

What the conflict

What’s the cause
Is it external or internal

Figure 4  Concept Circle characters in The Moustache.

Although a large database of research on graphic organizers exists, there is a

paucity of research on use of Concept Circles. Nobles (1993) studied the impact of
Concept Circles on student learning in a 5th grade science classroom. The Concept
Circles group performed significantly higher on concept learning than students in
the traditional learning group. The complexity of student‐constructed Concept
Circles differed among ability groups. The higher ability students’ Concept Circles
appeared more thorough and concise than those of other ability students.

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 Concept Circles 7

The impact of Concept Circles on 10th grade students’ writing ability was inves-
tigated by Pahmi and Yoksavia (2016). They examined student descriptive writing
before and after using Concept Circles for four vocabulary words related to one
topic. Study results indicated that average students’ scores on the descriptive writ-
ing test improved significantly by almost 12 points, with almost 90% of students’
scores improving.
İlter (2017) examined the perceptions of social studies teachers and their instruc-
tional practices related to vocabulary development. Thirty‐five middle school
teachers self‐reported how vocabulary to be taught was selected, how the vocabu-
lary was taught, and how vocabulary development was assessed. Interviews were
analyzed via a content analysis in which themes, patterns, and categories emerged.
Nearly one‐third of respondents reported that they employed graphic organizers
to assess student concept development in social studies. Concept Circles were one
graphic organizer employed, even though this tool was not included in the social
studies text (İlter, 2017, p. 1152).

­Future Directions

Graphic organizers have been used in classrooms for some time. Students have
experience with use of graphic organizers in core and non‐core courses. Much
research is available that documents the positive impact of graphic organizers on
student engagement and performance. Although the results for ELs have been
typically presented as a group, subgroups of ELs by English proficiency levels
should be identified to yield greater information for their teachers to determine
the impact of graphic organizers on their performance in content areas. Additionally,
investigations into the use of specific graphic organizers, such as Concept Circles,
are warranted to ensure that teachers select and employ those organizers with the
highest demonstrated effectiveness to better serve ELs.
Teachers find Concept Circles easy to implement; students claim Concept Circles
are engaging and enjoyable. Content and vocabulary learning can be fostered
when students create their own Concept Circles, manipulating the quadrants to
identify terms that are related and a term that doesn’t fit the relationship. In regu-
lar education settings, ELs can work with their peers in figuring out Concept Circle
relationships in small groups or as a whole class. Use of Concept Circles as home-
work presents another opportunity for students to practice vocabulary under-
standing independently.
Future research efforts should focus on the use of Concept Circles in a variety
of classroom settings, across content areas, and grade levels. Intentional manip-
ulation of quadrant components within Concept Circles should be examined to
note optimal vocabulary and key concept conditions for ELs’ success.
Examination of student‐generated Concept Circles would add to our knowl-
edge of student understanding of content vocabulary and concepts. Social
acceptability (i.e., social validity) measures could be obtained to determine stu-
dent perceptions about ease of use and utility of Concept Circles. Do ELs find

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 8 Concept Circles

Concept Circles helpful in learning and retaining key vocabulary and concepts?
With what elements of Concept Circles do ELs struggle? Do the effects of Concept
Circles carry into other areas of performance (e.g., in class work completion and
accuracy, homework performance, unit exams). Because there is no certainty that
any gains would be sustained during the absence of Concept Circles, future
research efforts should address generalization measures and maintenance effects.
Graphic organizers such as Concept Circles are easy to implement, one factor
that is important to practitioners. Equally important is flexibility in their use.
Concept Circles offer teachers enormous flexibility in student vocabulary and key
concept acquisition and retention. Additionally, Concept Circles offer students,
particularly ELs, an opportunity to manipulate content vocabulary and concepts
to foster deeper understanding.

SEE ALSO: Teaching/Developing Vocabulary Using Graphic Organizers and

Modeling; Teaching/Developing Vocabulary at Diverse Age Levels; Teaching/
Developing Vocabulary Through Peer Engagement and Interactive Strategies;
Teaching Strategies for Independent Vocabulary Development

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 Concept Circles 9

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Suggested Readings

Adler, C. (2015). Seven strategies to teach students text comprehension. Retrieved December
21, 2019 from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/seven‐strategies‐teach‐students‐
text‐comprehension
Calderón, M., August, D., Slavin, R., Duran, D., Madden, N., & Cheung, A. (2005). Bringing
words to life in classrooms with English language learners. In E. H. Hiebert & M. L. Kamil
(Eds.), Research and development on vocabulary (pp. 115–36). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
Dexter, D. D., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Graphic organizers and students with learning
disabilities: A meta‐analysis. Learning Disability Quarterly, 34(1), 51–72. Retrieved May 4,
2020 from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/073194871103400104

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