This session explores the Common Core State Standards’ focus on General Academic Vocabulary as a way to provide greater access to complex texts.  In order for students to comprehend the challenging texts called for by the CCSS, they must have a deeper understanding of the frequently occurring and highly generalizable Tier Two words.  In this session, participants will learn how to identify the three tiers of vocabulary, gain experience selecting Tier Two words for instruction using a set of criteria, and have the opportunity to work with an instructional guide to plan instruction.  It is required that all participants bring a short informational text to this session so that they may work with groups of colleagues to begin planning for explicit vocabulary instruction.