How To Teach Vocabulary May 2026

Explicitly teaching specific words using structured routines. This is most effective for high-utility "Tier 2" words (academic words used across subjects like analyze or contrast ) and "Tier 3" domain-specific terms (like mitosis or isotope ).

Use pictures, gestures, or real objects (realia) to create a mental anchor for the word. How to Teach Vocabulary

Say the word clearly, have students repeat it, and show it in writing to build phonemic and orthographic awareness. Explicitly teaching specific words using structured routines

Several evidence-based routines provide a step-by-step path for introducing new words: have students repeat it

Educators typically balance two primary methods for word acquisition: