The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of tier 2 instruction on the comprehension and vocabulary of first grade students identified with low language and vocabulary skills. Specifically, the authors conducted a pilot study within the context of federally funded efficacy research to examine whether students participating in interactive read alouds during regular classroom instruction (Read Aloud Curriculum--tier 1) benefited from additional small group instruction. Small group instruction was used to enhance whole class read alouds with pre-teaching and review activities. A total of 18 classrooms from nine Title I schools in the Pacific Northwest participated in the study. The preliminary results indicate that small group instruction appears to enhance the vocabulary knowledge of students identified with low vocabulary and language skills. Results are particularly noteworthy given that moderate effects were observed with modest levels of instruction. The tier 2 intervention only consisted of 20 minutes of instruction implemented twice each week. Overall, results support adding a small group component to whole class read alouds. Small group instruction enhanced tier 1 content by adding more opportunities to learn and expressively use vocabulary in text-based discourse. Teachers were able to pre-teach, enhance, and review Read Aloud Curriculum vocabulary for at-risk learners. (Contains 1 table.)