Reading

# Word Match

Early reading: matching printed words to pictures, and letters

A short printed word (20 CVC words such as cat, bus, and hen) with 3 or 5 pictures, where the learner taps the picture that matches the word. Letter levels ask the learner to match a letter, match a capital to its small letter, find a letter they hear, or pick the letter a pictured word starts with.

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

## When

-   Early reading, once the learner already knows these pictures receptively.
-   Checking that the learner is reading the word, not guessing from the pictures.
-   Letter knowledge before or alongside word reading.

## Why

-   Distractors never share the target’s first letter, rhyme with it, or come from the same group (animals, bugs, vehicles), so guessing strategies don’t work.
-   Word levels are silent, so the printed word is the only instruction.
-   Letters that look alike (b, d, p, q; m, n, u) never appear together as choices.
-   Find the letter and First sound use recorded prompts (“Find the letter B”, “What letter does cat start with?”). The first one plays when you tap Play.

## How

1.  On the setup screen, choose **3 pictures** or **5 pictures** for words, or a letter level: **Same letter**, **Capital to small**, **Find the letter**, or **First sound**. Then tap **Play**.
2.  Point to the word if needed, then let the learner tap a picture.
3.  Correct and incorrect responses work the same as in Find It: praise, or a prompt to the right picture.
4.  Use **Skip**, **Log**, **Hold to reset**, and **End** the same way. Rounds are 10 trials.

**Saved to the dashboard:** The first tap on every trial, plus skips. Words and letters are both targets; on letter levels the target is the right letter and the most common errors show the letter tapped instead. The level is the condition on the graph.

## More learner activities

- **[Flashcards](https://aba-tools.com/guide/flashcards)** (Naming & recognition): Naming pictures (tacts) in discrete trials
- **[We & They](https://aba-tools.com/guide/pronouns)** (Language): Pronoun discrimination: we, they, he, she
- **[Find It](https://aba-tools.com/guide/find-it)** (Listening): Listener responding: hear a word and tap 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
- **[Count & Compare](https://aba-tools.com/guide/count)** (Math): Early math: numerals 1–5, counting, matching numbers to amounts, more and less, and size
- **[My Way](https://aba-tools.com/guide/my-way)** (Communication): A functional request (mand), for example in FCT
- **[Toothbrushing](https://aba-tools.com/guide/toothbrushing)** (Daily routines): A 9-step toothbrushing chain (task analysis)

Every tool, learner profiles, and questions are in the guide. [Back to the guide](https://aba-tools.com/guide)

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