A pupil can read every word accurately and still struggle to understand the text if important words or ideas are unfamiliar. Brief preparation can make the text accessible without explaining everything in advance.

Choose three to five words that carry essential meaning and provide only the background knowledge needed to begin. Reading should still add new knowledge.

Select words that unlock the text

Choose words that:

• are necessary for understanding the main idea;

• cannot be worked out easily from the text;

• represent a concept rather than a minor detail;

• are likely to be useful again.

Do not teach every unfamiliar word. A long list overloads the pupil and removes opportunities to learn from context.

For a text about animal adaptation, essential choices might be habitat, camouflage and predator. A rare descriptive word that does not affect the explanation can be dealt with during reading.

Teach each word briefly and clearly

Use this sequence:

1. Say the word and ask the pupil to repeat it.

2. Give a child-friendly meaning.

3. Use it in a sentence linked to the text.

4. Contrast it with a non-example where useful.

5. Ask the pupil to explain or use it.

6. Keep the word visible during reading.

For camouflage: “Camouflage is colouring or a pattern that helps an animal blend into its surroundings. A stick insect on a branch is camouflaged; a bright red toy on a white table is not.”

This establishes a usable idea rather than a definition to copy.

Provide the minimum background knowledge

Ask what the writer expects the reader already to know. A map, image, short explanation or quick recap may be enough.

Before a text about Roman roads, pupils may need to know that the Romans controlled a large area and needed to move soldiers and messages. They do not need a complete lesson on Roman Britain before they read.

Connect new information with what pupils have already learnt: “Last week we saw why armies need supplies. This text explains how roads helped move them.”

Distinguish meaning from decoding

Teaching what a word means does not ensure the pupil can read it. If the written form is likely to be difficult, also model the pronunciation and identify a useful sound or word part.

Likewise, successfully decoding predator does not show that the pupil understands the concept. Check both where needed.

Return to the words during reading

When a prepared word appears:

• point it out;

• ask what it means in this sentence;

• connect it with the surrounding idea;

• update the initial explanation if the text adds detail.

After reading, ask the pupil to use one or two words to explain the main content. This checks whether the vocabulary has become part of their understanding.

Keep the prepared words on a class word wall for the rest of the topic. When pupils use a word well, they can add a word with a similar meaning, an opposite or a sentence of their own beside it. A quick starter in a later lesson brings the words back: give one word and ask pupils for a linked word and the reason for the link.

Build independence gradually

At first, select and explain the words for the pupil. Later, ask them to identify a word that seems central, use a glossary or suggest what background knowledge might help.

Do not expect independent previewing without modelling how to distinguish an essential term from an incidental unknown word.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Pre-teaching every unfamiliar word.

• Asking pupils to copy dictionary definitions.

• Giving definitions without examples.

• Assuming pronunciation and meaning are the same teaching task.

• Providing so much background that the text adds nothing.

• Removing the visible vocabulary before the pupil uses it.

• Teaching words that are interesting but not important to the reading purpose.

Evidence and further reading

The Department for Education’s Reading Framework explains how vocabulary and background knowledge contribute to comprehension. The Education Endowment Foundation’s Key Stage 2 comprehension guidance provides a practical overview of the knowledge and processes involved.