Rainey Blackwell-Bullock, Marcia Invernizzi,

E. Allison Drake, and Jennifer L. Howell

Concept of Word in Text: An Integral Literacy Skill

Predictor of Reading all or nothing literacy skill - there is a develop-
Achievement mental continuum.
We’ve long known that a student’s abil-
ity to identify letters is a reliable predictor of PALS Concept of Word Task
their later reading success (Adams, 1990; Snow, The Concept of Word continuum includes
Burns, & Griffin, 1998). But did you know that developing, rudimentary, and firm levels that
a student’s Concept of Word (COW) in text can be determined by examining the Pointing,
serves as another reliable indicator of their Word Identification (ID) in Context, and
success as a reader? Current literacy research COW Word List scores on the Concept of
shows that Concept of Word development Word task on the Phonological Awareness
serves as a valid and reliable kindergarten Literacy Screening (PALS). The Phonological
predictor of first grade reading achievement Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) consists
(Morris, Bloodgood, & Perney, 2003; Warley, of two screening instruments, PALS-K and
Landrum, & Invernizzi, 2005). This evidence PALS 1-3, that measure students’ knowledge
suggests that more attention should be paid to of important literacy fundamentals, including
both identifying students’ stage of Concept of phonological awareness, alphabet recogni-
Word development and incorporating Concept tion, letter sounds, spelling, concept of word,
of Word instruction into daily practice. and word recognition in isolation (Invernizzi,
Meier, & Juel, 2005). The purpose of PALS is
What is Concept of Word in to identify students who may be at risk for lat-
Text? er developing reading difficulties. PALS also
In the past, definitions of Concept of Word in serves as a diagnostic tool to provide teachers
text have focused almost entirely on a student’s with specific information about what students
understanding of the speech-to-print match. In know and need to know about each component
fact, it’s much more. This critical literacy skill of literacy, including Concept of Word. The
represents more than a student’s ability to point Concept of Word task on PALS-K and PALS
to words on a page. Achieving a solid Concept 1-3 consists of the following subtasks:
of Word in text is actually the culmination of a Pointing
student’s automatic knowledge of letter sounds, • The student is first taught to orally recite a
their ability to isolate beginning consonant nursery rhyme using a picture sheet.
sounds, and their ability to remember words • When the student can recite the nursery
in isolation that were viewed previously in text rhyme verbatim, the nursery rhyme text is
(Flanigan, 2007; Morris, 1993). Therefore, in- introduced and the teacher models how to
corporating Concept of Word instruction into finger-point read the text, using echo and
daily literacy practice will not only strengthen choral reading.
students’ speech-to-print match, it will also de- • Last, the student finger-point reads the text
velop students’ alphabet knowledge, phonemic independently and their response is scored
awareness, and knowledge of words in print. in an all-or-none manner, one point per
However, Concept of Word in text is not an line.

30
Word ID. The Concept of Word in Text
• The student is asked to identify two tar- Continuum
get words in context per line of text, with Developing. (PALS COW scores: Pointing 0-5,
one point awarded for each word correctly Word ID in Context 0-5, COW Word List 0-3)
identified. Students on the lowest end of the continuum,
COW Word List who possess little to no Concept of Word in text,
• The student is asked to identify words from are able to learn to say the words to the nurs-
the nursery rhyme on a word list. One ery rhyme but can not accurately point to the
point is awarded for each word correctly words they are saying. These students do not
identified. yet understand the one-to-one correspondence
Figure 1 shows the picture sheet used to between the spoken words of the nursery rhyme
teach the rhyme Humpty Dumpty, as well as and the words in the text because they do not
the Student Summary Sheet used to score the have the alphabet and letter sound knowledge
COW task. to synchronize their recitation of the rhyme

31
 with their pointing. In addition, these students to print when finger-point reading a mem-
may lack left-to-right directionality. Students orized text
with a developing understanding of Concept of • identify words in the text when they are
Word in text lack automatic letter recognition, questioned randomly by the teacher
letter sound knowledge, and how these coor- • identify the same words previously seen in
dinate with the beginning sounds of words in context, in isolation on a word list
text. In short, these students are missing the
speech-to-print match. The Defining Difference
Rudimentary. (PALS COW scores: Pointing 5, What’s the biggest difference between
Word ID 9-10, COW Word List 3-7) Moving students with a developing or rudimentary
along the continuum, students with a rudimen- Concept of Word in text and those with a firm
tary Concept of Word in text can accurately understanding of Concept of Word in text?
point to or track words as they say the nurs- Students with a firm Concept of Word in text
ery rhyme. These students may temporarily can remember the words they pointed to in
get off track on a two-syllable word, but are context when presented in isolation on a word
frequently able to self-correct. Students with list. Their ability to recognize these words in
a rudimentary Concept of Word in text may isolation is a result of their:
also be able to correctly identify some words • automatic knowledge of letter sounds and
in the context of the text, but they are not yet their ability to fully map the sounds at the
able to identify those same words in isolation. beginning, middle, and end of words to
For example, a student with only a rudimen- their corresponding letters
tary Concept of Word in text might be able • ability to remember these words as hav-
to read the line “Humpty Dumpty had a great ing been included in the rhyme (Flanigan,
fall” using his/her memory for the rhyme and 2007; Morris, 1993)
only partial letter-sound correspondences, as if However, recognition of these words is
it were written “H_____ D_____ h_d a only short-term, especially if this task is one of
g___t f_ll.” This is because students with a the first times a student has encountered these
rudimentary Concept of Word in text rely on words. For these words to “stick” in their mem-
only partial letter-sound cues and voice point- ory, students will need numerous experiences
ing (rereading the entire line) to figure out with these words in context through repeated
words. Without these important context cues, interactions with text. It is critical that these
the partial letter cues alone are not enough to interactions be with the words in connected
identify the words in isolation. For example, text, not flashed in isolation.
a student with only a rudimentary Concept of Using PALS Scores to Plan
Word in text may incorrectly identify the word Concept of Word Instruction
“fall” as “fill” when presented in isolation. In PALS assessments are designed to help
order to gain a firm Concept of Word in text, teachers make instructional planning deci-
these students must also be able to fully map all sions. The following steps will get you started:
of the sounds in words to their corresponding Step 1: Enter student PALS scores online
letters. (http://pals.virginia.edu) and print the
Firm. (PALS COW scores: Pointing 5, Word Student Summary report.
ID 10, COW Word List 7-10) A student has de- Step 2: Look specifically at the student’s
veloped a firm Concept of Word in text when Pointing, Word ID, and COW Word List
they are able to: scores to determine the Concept of Word
• accurately and consistently match speech stage.

32
Step 3: Use the Concept of Word lesson frame- students: “Now let’s read it together. Eyes
work below and the student’s COW stage on the page. Read it with me as I point to
to individualize instruction. For example, each word.”
a lesson for students with a developing 3. Echo read the rhyme, line by line. “Now
Concept of Word in text should focus on we will take turns reading each line of the
modeling finger-point reading and locating rhyme. First I’ll read a line and touch each
words in the context of the nursery rhyme word. Then you will read the same line and
rather than concentrating on identifying touch each word. Ready?”
words in isolation. 4. Invite one student to recite the rhyme
while pointing to the words of the nursery
Concept of Word in Text Lesson rhyme. “This time I want you to do what
Framework I did. Point to each word as you say the
The PALS Concept of Word task provides
rhyme. Be sure to touch each word as you
the format of an effective COW lesson that can
say it.”
be used on a daily basis using a variety of nurs-
Word identification in context. After repeated
ery rhymes, songs, and other familiar texts.
readings of the nursery rhyme text, point to
When choosing a rhyme for instructional
several words from the text and ask “What
purposes, make sure that it is not one used on
word is this?” Model how to voice point or read
PALS assessments.
through the entire line of the rhyme to figure
Teach the rhyme. Concept of Word in text
out the target word. Next, model how to use
focuses on developing the voice-to-print match,
knowledge of beginning sounds and corre-
not actual oral reading ability. Therefore, it is
sponding letters to identify the target word.
critical that students know the rhyme “by heart”
Word identification in isolation. Select several
so that the lesson targets Concept of Word in
words from the nursery rhyme and write them
text, rather than decoding.
on index cards. Ask students to match each
1. Use a picture representation of the nursery
word card to its counterpart in the text of the
rhyme to model how to recite the nursery
nursery rhyme. Once the match is made, ask,
rhyme by pointing to each picture several
“How did you know that was the same word?”
times while reciting the rhyme.
Continue to ask until the student can tell you
2. Ask the students to:
that they used the first letter and letter sound
• Choral read the rhyme with you
as clues to identify the word. On subsequent
• Echo read the rhyme picture by picture
encounters with that word card, ask students
• Recite the rhyme independently while
to identify the word using the beginning letter
pointing to the picture prompts
as a cue. If they are still not able to identify
3. Repeat as many times as necessary until the
the word in isolation, scaffold this activity by
student knows the rhyme “by heart.” Please
having the student match the word card to the
note that text is not used at this point and
word in the nursery rhyme once again. Add
the student is not finger-point reading.
words the student knows immediately (without
Model finger-point reading. Once students
having to voice point) to the student’s personal
know the nursery rhyme verbatim, use the
Word Bank for daily practice and word sorting
nursery rhyme text to model how to point to
by beginning sounds.
the words while reciting the rhyme.
1. Read the rhyme to students while pointing
to each word.
2. Choral read the rhyme. Prompt the

33
 spells using initial and final consonants, knows most of the words in isolation from the
nursery rhyme, and is sounding out to decode words. The chart below illustrates the
relationships between these developing literacy skills.

Figure 2: Correlation Between Developing Literacy Skills

Spelling PALS COW
Decoding
Writing/ Stage/ Word List
Concept of Word in Text Words in
Spelling Reading Word
Context
Stage Recognition
Correct Middle Letter
short Name Knows most
Firm Accurate vowels in Speller Immediate
words (7-
COW tracking spelling recognition
10)
Vowel by Early Letter
Points to letter name Name
words, self Speller/ Uses
Rudimentary Beginning Knows beginning
corrects Initial and
COW Reader many words sounds and
when gets final
off track (3-7) some voice
consonants pointing
Points to
words
says Initial Voice
syllables consonant pointing
Points to Few words (rereads the
words says Random known (0-3) entire line to
Emergent
stressed unit letters – figure out
Developing Speller/
(syllable or Symbol one word)
COW Emergent
word) Salad Reader
4RBC
Left to right
Letter-like
directionality No words No words
symbols
but no word known known
awareness Waves

Adapted from Figure 4-10 of Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and
Spelling Instruction (2008), from Gill (1992)
How is Concept of Word in Text Meier, & Juel, 2005). In fact, Concept of Word
Related to Other Literacy develops in relation to writing/spelling, word
Skills? recognition in isolation, and word recognition
Concept of Word in text develops si- in context. For instance, a beginning reader
multaneously with other literacy skills and who self corrects when s/he gets off track while
represents a watershed event in the develop- finger-point reading a nursery rhyme usually
ment of a reader (Henderson, 1980; Invernizzi, spells using initial and final consonants, knows

34
most of the words in isolation from the nursery Beers (Eds.), Developmental and cognitive
rhyme, and is sounding out to decode words. aspects of learning to spell: A reflection of
The chart below illustrates the relationships be- word knowledge (pp.1-14). Neward, DE:
tween these developing literacy skills. International Reading Association.
Invernizzi, M., Meier, J., & Juel, C. (2005).
Concept of Word in Text – A Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening
Critical Component of Daily 1-3 Technical Reference. Charlottesville,
Literacy Instruction VA: University Printing.
Concept of Word in text is a reliable
Morris, D. (1993). The relationship between
predictor of literacy achievement (Morris,
children’s concept of word in text and
Bloodgood, & Perney, 2003; Warley, Landrum,
phoneme awareness in learning to read:
& Invernizzi, 2005). This often overlooked
A longitudinal study. Research in the
literacy skill is integral to the development of
Teaching of English, 27, 133-154.
emerging and beginning readers and relies
on students’ knowledge of the alphabet, letter Morris, D., Bloodgood, J., & Perney, J. (2003).
sounds, beginning sounds, and words in print. Kindergarten predictors of first- and
Knowing whether students have a developing, second-grade reading achievement. The
rudimentary, or firm Concept of Word in text Elementary School Journal, 104, 93-109.
will help define instructional plans and better Snow, C., Burns, M., & Griffin, P. (Eds.).
meet students’ needs. Use PALS scores and the (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in
Concept of Word in text lesson framework to young children. Washington, DC: National
provide daily Concept of Word instruction for Academy Press.
those students who have not yet mastered this Warley, H. P., Landrum, T. J., & Invernizzi,
critical component of literacy. M.A. (2005). Prediction of first grade
reading achievement: A comparison of
References kindergarten predictors. In B. Maloch, J. V.
Hoffman, D. L. Schallert, C. M. Fairbanks,
Adams, M. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking
& J. Worthy (Eds.), 54th Yearbook of the
and learning about print. Cambridge, MA:
National Reading Conference (pp. 428-
MIT Press.
442). Oak Creek, WI: National Reading
Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Conference.
Johnston, F. (2008). Words Their Way:
Word About the Authors
Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Rainey Blackwell-Bullock is the
Instruction. Upper Saddle River, New Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening
Jersey: Prentice Hall. (PALS) K-3 Coordinator, Marcia Invernizzi
Flanigan, K. (2007). A concept of word in text: is the Principal Investigator of PALS, and E.
A pivotal event in early reading acquisition. Allison Drake and Jennifer Howell are Project
Journal of Literacy Research, 39 (1), 37-70. Managers of PALS. They can be reached at the
Gill, T. (1992). Development of word knowl- University of Virginia’s PALS Office (888-882-
edge as it relates to reading, spelling, and 7257 or [email protected]).
instruction. Language Arts, 69, 6, 444-
453.
Henderson, E. H. (1980). Developmental con-
cepts of word. In E. H. Henderson & J. W.

35