Not all pieces of instruction need to be given to all children, but teachers need to know them to make informed decisions on what methods to use. I want to see professional development seminars at conferences like the IRA conference for teachers to discuss this issue. They learn by hearing. If you talk to, talk with children twice as much they'll learn twice as many words. Have interesting conversations with lots of words.
Older children acquire vocabulary through reading itself.
That's why reading instruction needs to work. One hour a day of reading provides two times more vocabulary development than a half-hour of reading a day. Television words are on a first grade level. Children need to have interesting and organized conversations with adults. Teachers need to think about these conversations and how to organize and promote them.