Literacy
How to choose words worth teaching and teach them so students understand them, remember them and use them. Here you'll find Anita Archer's explicit vocabulary demonstrations, classroom videos and reading on choosing words worth teaching and teaching them so they stick.
Practices in this area:Choosing Tier 2 wordsStudent-friendly definitionsWord studyRepeated encounters in talk and text
Lesson footage
ONlit · Upper primary and above · North America
Anita Archer teaches an explicit vocabulary lesson to older students, with every student actively taking part.
FreeOpens at onlit.org
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · Years 3-6 · UK
Strategies for teaching vocabulary explicitly in upper primary.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Vocabulary teaching in a secondary classroom.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Secondary · 2022 · UK
Highlights from an English lesson at Marine Academy Plymouth where Turn and Talk, Call and Response, writing and Cold Call keep every student thinking about new vocabulary.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Shared reading and talk used to build vocabulary.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Lyn Stone · About 1 hour · 2025 · Australia
Lyn Stone demonstrates her four-step process for studying a word in depth, bringing together phonics, morphology, spelling, syntax and etymology.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Mandy Nayton · About 1 hour · 2026 · Australia
Mandy Nayton gives a short history of English, explains lexical quality and outlines teaching that builds spelling and vocabulary in middle and upper primary. Part 1 of two.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Explainer
The DLD Project · 12:24 · Australia
A short video from Australia's DLD Project on why rich vocabulary teaching is hard for children with developmental language disorder. Relevant to anyone planning vocabulary lessons.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Mandy Nayton · 30 to 60 minutes · 2026 · Australia
Mandy Nayton's second session looks at teaching complex vocabulary from Year 3 onwards, using morphemes, word origins and lexical quality to strengthen spelling and comprehension.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Lyn Stone · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · Australia
Lyn Stone explains why she never issues word lists and how the books students are reading can supply the words for spelling and vocabulary teaching.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Explicit vocabulary teaching
Education Research Reading Room · with Margaret McKeown
Margaret McKeown, emerita professor at the University of Pittsburgh, discusses robust vocabulary instruction and how teachers can choose and teach words so they stick.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Alex Quigley, Alex Reynolds and guests including Jessie Ricketts discuss vocabulary instruction and its connections to reading and the curriculum.
FreeOpens at evidenceintoaction.podbean.com
Harriett Janetos (Making Words Make Sense) · Substack · 2025 · USA
Sets out what, when and how to teach morphemes, arguing for a clear progression from early sound-based spelling to prefixes, suffixes and roots as children's reading develops.
FreeOpens at harriettjanetos.substack.com
Carl Hendrick (The Learning Dispatch) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Drawing on new research and his own teaching, Hendrick argues that comprehension depends far more on knowing word meanings than on generic strategies, and makes the case for rich vocabulary teaching as an equity lever.
FreeOpens at carlhendrick.substack.com
Jen O'Sullivan · Substack · 2025 · International
Explains set for variability, the step where children adjust a sounded-out word to one they know, and why oral vocabulary is essential for making it work.
FreeOpens at readwritejen.substack.com
Teach Like a Champion · Substack · 2026 · USA
Argues that vocabulary grows through planned explicit teaching, rich texts and repeated encounters rather than guessing from context clues, with practical moves for literacy lessons.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachamp.substack.com
Five from Five · Guide · Australia
Five from Five's teacher guide to vocabulary, covering why word knowledge drives comprehension and how to teach words explicitly.
FreeOpens at fivefromfive.com.au
Carl Hendrick (The Learning Dispatch) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Hendrick explains research suggesting children form an early guess at a word's spelling from hearing it, which helps explain why oral vocabulary supports later reading and spelling.
FreeOpens at carlhendrick.substack.com
Harriett Janetos (Making Words Make Sense) · Substack · 2026 · USA
Argues that English language learners need the same systematic reading teaching as other students, plus extra attention to vocabulary and meaning so they understand the words they can decode.
FreeOpens at harriettjanetos.substack.com
Jen O'Sullivan · Substack · 2026 · International
Shows how to choose words worth teaching from picture books and read-alouds already on the shelf, with examples and guidance on planning vocabulary across primary school.
FreeOpens at readwritejen.substack.com
