Book excerpt: Vocabulary at the Core, the expanded and updated edition of Vocabulary at the Center (© 2009), is the definitive guide for every teacher engaged in helping students learn essential academic vocabulary. In clear, precise language, Benjamin and Crow explain why vocabulary is at the core of all learning and communicating and why word study should play a more significant role in English class and across the curriculum—as emphasized by the Common Core State Standards. You will learn... How words get learned and stay learned. Why teachers must emphasize useful academic words. Why rote memorization doesn’t work and why students need opportunities for deep processing. How and why to teach derivations, collocations, register, idioms, and gender. How and why to teach context clues, fluency, and pronunciation. The benefits of graphic organizers and word games in the classroom. Each chapter includes engaging, easy-to-implement classroom applications that are correlated to the Common Core State Standards and will fit seamlessly into your lesson plans. BONUS! Vocabulary at the Core also provides ideas for formative and summative assessments.