While word discrimination studies based on the subjects' conscious manipulation of words--for example, counting the number of words in a line--indicate that beginning readers are unskilled in identifying word boundaries, tests using such indirect methods of assessment as word recognition reveal a strong correlation between the ability to discriminate word units and early reading achievement. Having learned a four-line rhyme through aural coaching, 30 first grade students were asked to point to words as they read the printed poem and identify specific words within the text. The results' high correlation with the scores from an earlier standardized reading readiness test and a follow-up achievement test indicated that being able to relate the spoken with the written word was necessary for early reading success. Though the study was unable to completely isolate unit discrimination from other word recognition skills, it both offers an effective method for assessing reading readiness in young children and suggests methods for helping children develop awareness of word boundaries. (MM)