When teaching vocabulary, what is one of the key instructional focuses?

The correct focus in this context is on teaching phonemic awareness, which is crucial for vocabulary development. Phonemic awareness involves recognizing and manipulating the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words, which lays the foundation for understanding how words are formed and pronounced. This understanding enhances students' ability to decode new words, which is essential for expanding their vocabulary.

While developing a writing portfolio, creating visual aids, and exploring literacy themes all play important roles in a comprehensive literacy program, they do not directly target the foundational skills needed for vocabulary acquisition as robustly as phonemic awareness does. Recognizing sounds and their relationships to letters helps students build a solid base for learning new vocabulary and enhances their reading and spelling skills.