In this qualitative, grounded theory, pedagogical action research study, we, as mathematics teacher educators, sought to develop a conceptual framework in which we could help elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) construct understanding of, and then fluently use, mathematics vocabulary essential to PSTs' future work as elementary teachers. The resulting Guided Mathematics Vocabulary (GMaV) Conceptual Framework represents growth in our PSTs' constructed knowledge of mathematics vocabulary as the intersection of our explicit mathematics vocabulary focus using contextualized problems embedded within guided notes as a scaffolding device. With the GMaV framework, we will then be able to conduct future inquiry into this conceptualization of our PSTs' learning process to test our theoretical understanding of how our PSTs are understanding mathematics vocabulary.