Children will learn a great deal of vocabulary in the read-aloud, extended, and close reading sessions. Explicit vocabulary instruction should take place frequently. Short bursts of instruction...can support vocabulary development...

Planning vocabulary instructions sessions involves the following four steps:

1. Word selection: It is critical to focus on words that students won't hear, or use, in conversation. The most useful words to teach are those in the middle - Tier 2 words. Tier 2 words are highly useful, appear primarily in print, and are likely to appear in multiple contexts or with varying meanings (for example, chameleon, inflection, disparate).

Here are some types of words to consider when selecting words for vocabulary instruction.

• Words that appear in a text you are reading, that students may not know, and that are critical to understanding it.

• Words that relate to the content or themes of the novel or other content being taught.

• Words that relate to other vocabulary words that can be compared, contrasted, or used as a group (for example, tyranny and oppression; embellish and exaggerate; glance, gaze, and gawk).

• Words that enable students to upgrade their word choice, replacing common words used in a book discussion or literary analysis. For the word good, for example, they might use acceptable, favourable, satisfactory, or pleasing; for the word bad, they could instead use evil, wicked, atrocious, dreadful, or inadequate.

2. Definition: Once you have selected a word (or perhaps several, depending on the grade level), provide students with a definition that is both simple and clear. It should not contain jargon or phases that students are unlikely to understand. Provide a student-friendly explanation of the word and the different contexts that the word will be shown in, preparing pictures where necessary. Although ensuring that a definition is student-friendly is important, it's just as important that a definition remains as accurate as possible.

When a word has multiple definitions, start with the one that is most applicable in the context of your reading and/or the one that will be most frequently used in other contexts (for example, 'serene describes a situation or setting that is quiet and calm').

Once you have drafted an accurate, student-friendly definition, it's also important to think about how to make it 'sticky'. In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath define ideas that stick as those that 'are understood and remembered and have a lasting impact' - certainly something we want for the vocabulary words we teach. Making words stick for students increases the likelihood that the word enters their working memory, as well as their speech and writing. Here are a few tricks to make words stick.

• Model Use - an important part of giving students a clear and accessible definition is to model how the word can be used in a sentence. Modeling provides a familiar context for students.

• Add a Visual - using a visual image for students to associate with a new word can help them remember not just the word but also nuances of its depth and context of use. Consider using pictures that demonstrate a literal illustration of the word (for example, 'What in this picture establishes a tone of serenity?' or ' I chose this picture as an example of serenity. In it, you can see a woman meditating. She's sitting with her eyes closed thinking deeply. What else about this picture shows serenity?')

• Act it Out - you can also have students act out a word (for example, 'Show me what you would look like if you were furious' or 'Who can swagger across the room?') Have students develop gestures to help them remember words.

3. Parameters of Use: When one is using any new tool for the first time, it helps to have some guidance. When those new tools are vocabulary words, students need clear and specific guidance about how to accurately use and apply these new additions to their proverbial toolkit. Building good habits from the outset is easier than breaking bad ones. Four parameters of use - common use, word partners, forms and prefixes, and similar/different words - can help students.

• Common Use - it usually helps to start with an explanation of how a word is commonly used. Explaining common use (and asking students to practice it) allows students to have better access to and command of new words.

• Word Partners - along with explaining a word's most common use, it's helpful to describe words that often appear with - either preceding or following - the new vocabulary word you are teaching. Be sure to introduce the kind of partners words - often prepositions - without which a word isn't accurately used. Word partners help ensure that students appropriately use new words in speech and in their writing.

• Forms and Prefixes - Be explicit about the alternate forms a word might take, providing examples of how and when to change its speech. Knowing the variety of forms a word can take is helpful not only in ensuring proper usage but also in supporting both depth and breadth of vocabulary development. If a student knows the different forms that occupy can take, for example (occupation, occupied, occupies, unoccupied, preoccupied, and so on), and how those different forms may be used in different contexts, they will have a better command of the word and will have discretely increased the number of words in their vocabulary. Understanding the change that adding a prefix can make increases the likelihood that a student will be able to recognise, define, and understand multiple forms of the word in a text.

• Similar To/Different From - Help students understand the shades of meaning words can have by explaining (or asking students to explain once they know the definition) how a word is similar to and different from the new vocabulary word. For these purposes, choose a similar word and intentionally describe the similarities and differences. (For example, 'Serene is similar to quiet because serene things are always quiet, but quiet things aren't always serene. You could be quiet and tense or worried or angry and some people feel serene even if there's nouse around them.')

In many cases, the discussion of the relationship between these two words is the perfect time to highlight the differing degrees of the meaning of words. For example, a person who is feeling glum is not experiencing as strong an emotion as someone who is feeling sorrowful. If you opt to use similar words to support the rollout of your vocab word of choice consider the following:

• The similar word should be a word that students are already familiar with, but ideally one with depth and rigor.

• The two words may share a definition at the most basic level (for example, gaze and glance are both types of looks).

• The similar word may have the same basic meaning but differ in degree (for example, glum is not as strong as dejected.)

• Plan how to clearly articulate what the two words have in common, but also why they should not be used interchangeably (the more concisely you can explain this, the better).

• Ideally, the similar word will be the same part of speech as your vocabulary word.

Carefully describing a new vocabulary word with the four parameters of use helps students begin to grasp and understand new words deeply - and, ideally, develops a passion for learning them.

4. Active Pratice: The last step in any successful vocabulary session - active practice. As Beck et al. discuss, we learn words by using them and seeing them, over and over, in different settings. Vocabulary instruction becomes most rigorous when it puts students in situations where they must apply their nascent knowledge of a word in challenging ways or even problem-solve ways to use words in new settings. Remembering and problem-solving at the same time - builds strong and lasting memory. To better ensure that a vocabulary word will be remembered and used in the future, give students a myriad of quick exposures after introducing it.

Three Keys to Active Practice:

• Say the Word - The first key is to ensure that students actually use the new word in their answers. Instead of using a new word, students will often describe it. For example, if a teacher asks a student to describe a time when they feel sentimental, the student might answer,' when I look at photos of my baby brother when he was little.' That may demonstrate an understanding of the word's meaning, but unless the teacher urges the student to use the word in their sentence - 'Looking at photos of my baby brother makes me feel sentimental' - the student doesn't actually practice using the word and isn't as likely to be able to use it again.

• Push for Precision - The second key to active practice is ensuring that student answers illustrate their understanding of the word. When asked to use the word detest, for example, we often hear students say something like 'I detest broccoli.' Without further explanation, it is not clear whether they truly know what it means to detest. In this case, push students a bit further to expand their sentences to illustrate the meaning of the word, as in 'I detest broccoli because it's bitter.' To ensure that students have to rigorously apply a word and its definition, avoid obvious or mundane questions.

• Make It Right - The final key is for students to practice using different forms of the word - correctly. It is essential to consistently correct inaccurate parts of speech or tenses. Do not accept, for example, 'The pond was scarce of water.' If we accept incorrect forms of new vocabulary words during practice, then students will most assuredly make those mistakes in their writing and beyond the classroom.

(Reading Reconsidered, Doug Lemov)