AAC Symbol Match — Activity Vocabulary
Match activity symbols to pictures.
Words
Match
How to run it
Match a few pairs, then leave the board and use the same verbs in an activity. Recognition on a screen and retrieval on a device are different skills, and this board builds the first. Say the word as the student selects, so the auditory label and the symbol arrive together. Ten minutes is a full pass; running it twice in a session gives you a clean before-and-after within the same day.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentSet up the moment, then wait with an expectant look for 10 seconds.Log as correct
- GesturePoint toward the device or the right area of the page.Log as cued
- ModelTouch the symbols on the device yourself while you say the message.Log as cued
- Partial physicalOnly if the team agrees and the student accepts touch: a light touch at the elbow toward the page. Never press the symbol for them.Log as cued
Adjust it
Fewer symbols on the page, and model the message several times before you expect it.
Wait longer before prompting, or expect one more symbol in the message.
Matching IEP goal
During structured activities, Student will use their AAC system to say target words such as 'play', 'eat' and 'read' in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a gestural prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve activity verbs matched to their symbols: play, eat, read, sleep, draw, wash, run, sing, swim, ride, paint, build. Verbs are the load-bearing part of an AAC vocabulary — they are what turn a noun into a message — and they are harder to recognise as symbols than concrete nouns, because a picture of running is a picture of a person.
What to listen for
Watch which verbs are confused with each other. Draw and paint share a picture logic and are frequently swapped, as are run and ride. That is a symbol discrimination issue rather than a vocabulary one, and it is fixed by contrasting the two directly rather than by more repetitions of each. Notice also whether the student searches or goes straight to the symbol — speed is what separates a symbol they have hunted down from one they know.
Carrying it home
Name the verb while it is happening. As the child washes their hands, say wash; as they ride, say ride. Symbols learned against a real action stick better than symbols learned against a picture of one.
What's in this activity
- play 🛝
- eat 🍽️
- read 📖
- sleep 🛏️
- draw 🖍️
- wash 🧼
- run 🏃
- sing 🎤
- swim 🏊
- ride 🚲
- paint 🎨
- build 🧱
Questions
- Does this teach my student's specific device layout?
- No. It builds symbol-to-meaning recognition for common verbs. The motor plan on the student's own system still has to be practised on that system.
- Is an account needed?
- No. It plays in full with no login and no card.
- What age is it written for?
- Kindergarten through fifth grade, and any emergent symbol user working on core verbs.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.