Semantic Feature Analysis is a systematic instructional practice used to teach vocabulary used in content area instruction. Read more about this strategy here.
Here are the four main steps of the SFA strategy in an elementary science lesson.
Step 1: Select a category for the word analysis
Grade: Elementary science
Category: Types of animals
Purpose: Compare and contrast the features of different kinds of animals
Step 2: Add category types
Category types: reptiles and amphibians.
Types of Animals |
Amphibians |
Reptiles |
Step 3: Add features
Features for classifications of animals are body structures, reproduction, care and feeding of young, life cycles, and external features such as body coverings. With that in mind, the list of features based on those classifications that describe amphibians and reptiles are:
Features: Vertebrae, skin, scales, eggs with shells, jelly-like eggs, metamorphosis, breath through the skin, lungs, gills
Types of animals | Vertebrae | Skin | Scales | Eggs with shells | Jelly-like eggs | Meta-morphosis | Lungs | Gills | Breathethrough skin |
Amphibians | |||||||||
Reptiles |
Step 4: Determine the features for each type by completing the chart
Implementing this activity might sound something like this:
“If the amphibian has the feature listed in the columns, I will write a plus sign in that column. If it does not, I will write a minus sign in the column. Watch as I complete the chart for reptiles. I know amphibians have moist, sometimes smooth skin. That’s true of frogs. They also breathe through their skin. That sometimes makes them vulnerable to changes in their environment. They lay eggs, but those eggs are like jelly-all wiggly and jiggly, and the adult female lays those eggs in the water. For that reason, baby amphibians don’t break out of a tough shell. Amphibian life cycles change over time, so I’m going to check metamorphosis. I’ve seen frogs start out their lives as tadpoles swimming in the water and over time they change into frogs and hop onto land. They don’t breathe through lungs at the beginning of their lives, but some species develop lungs over time. Okay, that looks like everything that I’m going to put a plus under. Let’s see where I’ll have a minus sign. Amphibians don’t have dry scales, so I’ll put a minus in that column. Are there any questions?”
Types of animals | Vertebrae | Skin | Scales | Eggs with shells | Jelly-like eggs | Meta-morphosis | Lungs | Gills | Breathethrough skin |
Amphibians | - | + | - | - | + | + | + | + | + |
Reptiles |
Next, have the students work as a class to complete the chart together, discussing the features of reptiles. You provide feedback, both correction and affirmation as you complete the chart together.
Types of animals | Vertebrae | Skin | Scales | Eggs with shells | Jelly-like eggs | Meta-morphosis | Lungs | Gills | Breathethrough skin |
Amphibians | - | + | - | - | + | + | + | + | + |
Reptiles | + | - | + | + | - | - | + | - | - |
During the lesson, you can expand on the chart by adding more category types. Here is an example.
“As a class, or in small groups, we can now add more animals and expand our chart. We might add birds and mammals to the list. We will add those to the left hand side in the rows. We can start putting pluses and minuses in the features we already have. But wait, we probably need to add some features that amphibians and reptiles don’t have. Birds have feathers and they have wings. I don’t have these features. Let’s add those now. Mammals have hair or fur. Let’s add that feature. Mammals don’t lay eggs. They give birth to their young. Add that. And mammals produce milk for their babies too. Let’s add that too. They are warm blooded which means they can produce their own body heat. Now I can go back and add cold-blooded. We didn’t think about this in our first round of selecting our features for amphibians and reptiles. They are cold-blooded which means they do not produce their own body heat. They have to find heat to get warm. Let’s add that too.”
Types of animals | Vertebrae | Skin | Scales | Jelly-like eggs | Eggs with shells | Meta-morphosis | Lungs | Gills | Breathe through skin | Hair | Feathers | Warm blooded | Cold Blooded | Give birth to young |
Amphibians | - | + | - | + | - | + | + | + | + | - | - | - | + | - |
Reptiles | + | - | + | - | + | - | + | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Mammals | + | - | - | - | - | - | + | - | - | + | - | - | - | + |
Birds | + | - | - | + | - | - | + | - | - | - | + | + | + | - |
This sample elementary science lesson using a semantic feature analysis grid demonstrates how this strategy can be a living document that can be added to as your study continues. If we continued with our students we could add insects and spiders or invertebrate animals. However, as stated earlier, you can create an SFA chart with all the types and features before you teach the lesson. SFA can be used before, during, or after a lesson. At the beginning of the lesson, the chart can be introduced as the purpose for reading the text. Students can then complete the chart as they read. Or, the chart can be created and completed during the reading, introducing new types and features as the students read. Finally, it can be used to assess comprehension if students complete the chart at the end of a lesson. All three are effective ways to use SFA in your classroom.
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