Reading

# Word Match

Early reading: matching printed words to pictures, and letters

A short printed word (20 CVC words, for example cat, bus, and hen) with 3 or 5 pictures. The learner taps the picture that matches the word. Letter levels have four tasks: match a letter, match a capital letter to its small letter, find a letter that the learner hears, or select the first letter of a pictured word.

 [Open Word Match](https://aba-tools.com/tools/word-match)

## When

-   Teach early reading after the learner knows these pictures receptively.
-   Examine if the learner reads the word, and does not guess from the pictures.
-   Teach letters before or during word reading.

## Why

-   Distractors never have the same first letter as the target, never rhyme with it, and never come from the same group (animals, bugs, vehicles). Guessing strategies do not work.
-   Word levels have no sound. The printed word is the only instruction.
-   Letters that look alike (b, d, p, q; m, n, u) never show together as choices.
-   Find the letter and First sound use recorded prompts (“Find the letter B”, “What letter does cat start with?”). The first prompt plays when you tap Play.

## How

1.  On the setup screen, select **3 pictures** or **5 pictures** for words. Or select a letter level: **Same letter**, **Capital to small**, **Find the letter**, or **First sound**.
2.  In **More settings**, under **Praise**, select:
    -   **On** — After a correct answer, the app also plays a short praise phrase, for example “Great job!”
    -   **Off** — After a correct answer, the app shows the star and goes to the next turn. The app plays no praise.Praise is off at the start. A change to Praise does not change the scoring. It does not start a new phase on the graph.
3.  For **Find the letter**, in **More settings**, under **Letter case**, select **Small** or **Capital**. All choices use that case for the full round. To change the case, tap End to go back to setup.
4.  Tap **Play**.
5.  If necessary, point to the word. Then let the learner tap a picture.
6.  Correct and incorrect responses work the same as in Find It: stars, or a prompt to the correct picture.
7.  Use **Skip**, **Log**, **Reset count**, and **End** the same way. Each round has 10 trials.

**Saved to the dashboard:** The first tap on each trial, and skips. Words and letters are both targets. On letter levels, the target is the correct letter, and the most frequent errors show the letter that the learner tapped. Small and capital Find the letter sessions have different conditions. They have separate accuracy for each letter and separate Probe Day streaks. The session graph shows one point for each session for all levels.

## More learner activities

- **[Flashcards](https://aba-tools.com/guide/flashcards)** (Naming & recognition): Naming pictures (tacts) in discrete trials
- **[Pronouns Practice](https://aba-tools.com/guide/pronouns)** (Language): Pronouns: select the picture, or find and read the written word
- **[Find It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/find-it)** (Listening): Listener responding: the learner hears a word and taps the picture
- **[Which One?](https://aba-tools.com/guide/which-one)** (Listening): Listener responding by function, feature, and class
- **[Match It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/match-it)** (Matching): Visual matching to sample
- **[Sort It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/sort-it)** (Matching): Sorting pictures by class, function, or feature
- **[Put It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/put-it)** (Listening): Following instructions with in, on, under, next to, and in front of
- **[Feel It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/feel-it)** (Social): Reading feelings in social situations: how a person feels, why, and what to say
- **[Count & Compare](https://aba-tools.com/guide/count)** (Math): Early math: numerals 1–5, counting, matching numbers to amounts, more and less, and size
- **[Trace It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/trace-it)** (Writing): Pre-writing and handwriting: tracing lines, shapes, letters, and numbers
- **[My Way](https://aba-tools.com/guide/my-way)** (Communication): A functional request (mand), for example in FCT
- **[Say It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/say-it)** (Communication): A talker (AAC) for requests and first sentences, with every press counted
- **[Toothbrushing](https://aba-tools.com/guide/toothbrushing)** (Daily routines): A 9-step toothbrushing chain (task analysis)
- **[Tiny Bites](https://aba-tools.com/guide/tiny-bites)** (Daily routines): Bite shaping for food selectivity, with a choice board
- **[Token Board](https://aba-tools.com/guide/tokens)** (Motivation): A token economy: a themed token board or a gem jar, with a picture menu of how to earn

The guide has all tools, learner profiles, and questions. [Privacy policy](https://aba-tools.com/privacy) [Back to the guide](https://aba-tools.com/guide)

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From https://aba-tools.com/guide/word-match
