<p>This descriptive study investigates the prevalence and nature of explicit vocabulary instruction during read-alouds of informational texts in high-poverty schools. Kindergarten teachers’ (<i>n =</i> 51) read-alouds of informational texts were recorded and coded for instances of explicit vocabulary instruction, or vocabulary teaching episodes (VTEs). Results revealed that teachers explained new words during read-alouds relatively frequently (about five words per read-aloud on average) and that those words were often domain-specific and conceptually related to other taught words. However, there was wide variation in the amount of vocabulary instruction across classrooms, and teachers rarely explained words more than once, made limited conceptual connections, and occasionally gave inaccurate explanations, potentially leading to shallow word learning. This study contributes to understanding the current state of knowledge-building practices and vocabulary instruction in high-poverty school settings and emphasizes the need for more professional learning and higher-quality curricular resources for supporting content-area literacy development.</p>