#WORD VS WORD CONCEPT HOW TO#

The first step with COW instruction is to teach the poem for memory.

You can use them to build sight vocabulary, work on fluency phrases, review rhyme patterns, work on decoding new vocabulary, and even for teaching basic comprehension of poetry Now, when I began using these poems, it was with struggling readers who had not developed a concept of word, but what I ended up discovering is that they work well with kids who are beginning readers too. Once the student can accurately track print and return to the text and identify words in context, then COW is stable meaning the child’s ready to read. Gradually, they’ll be able to track many words, but will get lost with longer words or longer sentences. At first, the student will just slide through words with no connection at all. That’s not right!!” For me, that is the ah-ha moment where they are beginning to read. I love it when kids are making that connection and come to a full stop, “Wait. In addition to tracking, there is also the connection that students can use the beginning sound as confirmation that the print matches spoken words.

You’ll see this when their tracking gets off. A common challenge for early learners is recognizing multisyllabic words as they often miss the second syllable. What does a fully developed concept of word look like? Well, having a concept of word means that the student accurately connects print to the spoken word and recognizes the space between words demonstrated by tracking print. We can not say about every piece of curriculum we use, but I hope to show you how these poems naturally differentiate.

#WORD VS WORD CONCEPT HOW TO#

This post explains how to work on developing a concept of word with emergent readers using my animal themed poetry sets.Ĭoncept of Word (COW) poems can serve all levels of emergent and beginning readers. Kids LOVE learning about animals, and there is a plethora of great animal themed literature we can use to our advantage that will draw them in! I have yet to meet a kid who wasn’t curious about bears, penguins, bats, and snakes! Have you? Well why not use this enthusiasm with poetry too.

Word vs word concept