power
Science: physics
Energy transferred per second.
In a sentenceA 60 W lamp transfers 60 joules of energy each second.
Here, power is a rate of energy transfer.
01 / 06 Briefing and staff meeting
Whole-school vocabulary planning pack
Choose, teach and revisit the words learners need in your curriculum. Use this pack with a phase, subject team or small group of colleagues.
Start with one forthcoming unit and up to five words. Include essential subject terms and words whose meaning changes between subjects.
A 15-minute staff meeting
- 2 minChoose the words
Name the unit. Select up to five words needed for the next lessons.
- 4 minCompare meanings
Check the meaning in each subject. Note familiar words used in a new way.
- 6 minPlan the teaching
Complete one example together. Choose a definition, examples and a meaningful use.
- 3 minAgree the review
Set a review date in two weeks. Decide which anonymised learner work to bring.
Leave with a clear next step
A short word list, a teaching plan and a review date. Use page 2 to compare meanings, page 3 to select words, page 4 to clarify a concept and page 5 to plan use over time.
Evidence and practical choices
EEF guidance informs curriculum word selection, subject meanings, explicit teaching and repeated use [1, 2]. The 15-minute meeting, five-word starting list and two-week review are our flexible planning choices, not EEF requirements. Adjust them to your curriculum and learners.
The EEF report is secondary guidance. The primary blog illustrates a primary application. Choose age-appropriate words, examples and tasks. See page 6 for linked sources and origins.
02 / 06 Completed word map
Map the meaning in each subject
The same word can carry different meanings. Teach the meaning required by the subject and the sentence.
power
History
The ability to influence decisions or actions.
In a sentenceThe monarch's power was limited by Parliament.
Here, power concerns authority and influence.
volume
Mathematics
The space occupied by a three-dimensional shape.
In a sentenceThe cuboid has a volume of 24 cubic centimetres.
Here, volume measures three-dimensional space.
volume
Music
How loud or quiet a sound is.
In a sentencePlay the phrase at a lower volume.
Here, volume concerns the loudness of a sound.
Try the comparison with learners
Show two sentences containing the same word. Ask which meaning applies in each sentence. Learners can point to a definition, draw the meaning or explain it.
These are original illustrative planning examples. Select examples that fit the age, curriculum and subject knowledge of your learners.
03 / 06 Blank curriculum word map
Choose up to five curriculum words
Select words learners need to understand a forthcoming lesson or unit. Record the meaning in context before deciding how to teach it.
Tier 2 words are useful across several contexts, such as compare. Tier 3 words name specialist concepts, such as photosynthesis. These are planning guides, not fixed labels. Choose words for this unit and these learners. Essential subject terms may need teaching first.
04 / 06 Frayer Model planning sheet
Use the Frayer Model to clarify a word
Place the word and subject context at the centre. Add a definition, essential characteristics, examples and non-examples. Choose a concept whose boundaries are useful to discuss.
Worked example: solid in science
- Definition
- A state of matter with a fixed shape and volume under the stated conditions.
- Essential characteristics
- Keeps its own shape and occupies a fixed volume under the stated conditions.
- Examples
- An ice cube below its melting point; a rock at room temperature.
- Non-examples
- Liquid water at room temperature; air. Neither has its own fixed shape.
Complete your model
Transfer task: give a new case. Ask learners whether it is an example and which characteristic supports their decision.
05 / 06 Vocabulary teaching and revisit planner
Plan teaching, use and review
This original Structural Learning planner uses the Select, Teach, Activate, Review sequence described by Word Aware authors Stephen Parsons and Anna Branagan. It is not an official Word Aware worksheet.
Keep the task tied to the meaning
Copying a definition is a starting point. Ask learners to use the meaning to sort, compare, choose, draw or explain something in the current lesson.
Source: [3] STAR: Parsons and Branagan (2017), adapted from Blachowicz and Fisher (2010)..
06 / 06 Two-week team review
Review the learning and plan the next step
Bring anonymised learner work or brief teaching notes from the planned lessons. Use it to decide which meanings need another example or explanation.
Record what the work shows
Describe the response in this task. A copied definition or confident answer alone does not show whether a learner can apply the meaning in a new context.
Sources, origins and scope
Based upon the evidence from the EEF. These are original Structural Learning templates and illustrative examples. The sources below explain the teaching principles and framework origins.
- [1] EEF / Butlin (2024): Sowing the seeds of disciplinary literacy. Primary example.
- [2] EEF: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools, recommendations 1-2, pp. 8-13.
- [3] STAR: Parsons and Branagan (2017), adapted from Blachowicz and Fisher (2010).
- [4] Tiers: Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2013), Bringing Words to Life, chapter 2.
- [5] Frayer: IRIS (2012), modern adaptation of Frayer, Fredrick and Klausmeier (1969).