Young children learn new vocabulary with great agility and speed, but their learning is dependent on the range of words they are exposed to. Teachers can naturally facilitate children's vocabulary learning using a variety of strategies, including making conversation and posing thoughtful questions. But there is also an important role for direct instruction, which is what the authors focus on in this article. Ms. Allen is an experienced Head Start teacher who welcomed the authors into her classroom to observe and mentor her as she facilitated children's vocabulary learning. To support Ms. Allen and other teachers, the authors developed a simple three-step model to inform the selection of appropriate vocabulary words from curriculum materials and activities. These steps are research-based and were field-tested in Ms. Allen's classroom, as well as university practicum experiences spanning three years: (1) Identify all the words that most children in the class are unlikely to know; (2) Select a small set of vocabulary words to focus on; and (3) Determine what methods will best support children's acquisition of the selected vocabulary. In this article, the authors explain and illustrate each step in the model using examples from a shared reading lesson. To illustrate the steps succinctly, the authors will present the decision-making steps using an activity that occurs in most early childhood classrooms--reading a story aloud. Given the importance of understanding word meanings to children's reading success, the authors hope that their model will support more teachers as they make decisions about implementing effective vocabulary teaching strategies in early childhood classrooms.