The MatchWord CD-ROM is a valuable resource for teachers. The package allows teachers to create self devised worksheets which steers away from commercially produced sheets often criticised by inspectors.

A huge bank of words is available for different purposes, this means great saving of time for teachers not having to search / compile lists of their own when making word banks.

Programme content is very diverse and provides development of worksheets for many different purposes.

MatchWord is particularly useful for supporting activities that might be identified on IEPs for children with special needs. Supports Literacy Hour activities at word and sentence level.

MatchWord is a useful product for teachers to build up a bank of resources for current and future use in classroom. Could be used to devise activities for assessment purposes. Provides another string to teacher's bows in the development of spelling strategies.

The CD ROM sleeve is a good idea. It effectively keeps the manual and disk together.

Alison Francis, Croesonen Infant School

All of the staff had the opportunity to trial the MatchWord programme. They all found aspects of it extremely useful particularly the bank of words as you can never think of the words you need when you need them. This, matched with the picture bank, provided an invaluable resource. Also, the wide variety of activities and templates were very useful.

Altogether a very useful resource which, once mastered, could be an invaluable teacher resource.

Our school liked the way the programme is packaged with CD ROM at the front in a little packet. We found it easy to use – it is multi screened and initially I did need to use the handbook your guidance. I found the activity guidance useful.

We liked the way you can make the programme specific to your needs i.e. your own word lists. Activities on face value seem to be quite simple but can be made into complex activities.

I felt the worksheet, game, etc was specific to you and your class needs to be useful in inspections. I used it at home when I was planning my activities.

MatchWord is great for differentiation and homework activities for all age groups. I used it with reception and year 1 but I can see lots of use with older children. We liked the maths activities too. MatchWord provides a good bank of illustrations.

Mrs Joy Ganesh, Rogiet Primary School

What TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia) had to say about MatchWord:

"This CD ROM is a valuable tool for teachers, which allows them to create specific picture / word matching games, word card or sentence activities, mainly related to early literacy skills. It is intended for teacher use alone, to create resources for sure in the Literacy Hour and beyond.

Teachers are able to select from a vast bank of pictures, words and sentences according to initial letter sounds, rhymes, letter strings, letter families and word endings. More complex concepts such as compound word, contraction, suffix, homophone and antonym are also covered thoroughly, making the resource also suitable for use in upper Key Stage 1.

Each activity and worksheet is easily printable and can be reproduced for classroom use. Student instructions and notes on preparation, including the materials needed, are also available.

A clearly written manual containing thorough instructions, directions and suggestions is included with the CD ROM, and instructions to set up and run the programme are concise and clear.

The resources within the programme are very practical and appropriate for classroom use.
Each screen having a dedicated page, where the menu options and function keys are explained, provides technical support. The programme is intended to enable teachers to create specific literacy-based resources quickly and cheaply.

All pupil resources are relevant to the Curriculum and Year Groups stipulated. They promote interaction and learning in a lively and fun way. The non-writing-based games are particularly relevant to acquiring and developing early literacy skills. All pictures and fonts used are clear and suitable for Key Stage 1. The ideas represent good practice in all classrooms, including supporting Literacy Hour PIPs activities and ideas.

This package would be very useful within the classroom environment for both Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. The content is appropriate and valuable to the intended age group in every way. The activities are pitched at the correct level, and all vocabulary is appropriate for use with the targeted children.

MatchWord reduces the time a teacher must spend searching for activities and word lists suitable for the whole class, small groups, homework tasks and independent reading practice.

No more hours spent trawling through word lists, dictionaries and books searching for a specific phoneme blend contained in short, easily readable words! By simply selecting the blend/ending/concept, a suitable list is generated in seconds. It is rare to find so many appropriate, interactive, fun and useful resources available from one source".
TEEM (Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia)

“Kings court/McGraw-Hill, known for their super Inside Stories and Sounds Great programs have brought out Matchword a useful program for teachers. It enables teachers to generate a wealth of games and activities for reading and spelling practise from a wide selection of words and pictures with the facility to add your own. Games such as Snap, Bingo, Word and Picture Matching, flash cards and many more ideas, are included. Fonts can be chosen. (I suggested using an open font and allowing pupils to colour in key phonic and spelling patterns – they made a note of the idea too!) It would be invaluable in a school or Dyslexia workshop situation. Materials are quick to produce, look professional and can be tailored easily for individuals. Duplicate sets can be made for home practice too.”

‘Bits and pieces from BETT 2001’ by Victoria Crivelli, Computer Newsletter.

What a brilliant teaching tool for language activities! Once you have sampled this, you won’t want to manage a class without it. It allows teachers to create professional-looking classroom materials for use with their pupils. The program allows teachers to create clear worksheets linked to phonological awareness, phonics, word study, spelling and comprehension and it is possible to make up bingo cards, word searches and cryptograms. With more than 19,000 words and 500 pictures, MatchWord provides materials for all pupils within the primary sector - the eight-page activity list is an indication of the extent and range available. A must for every primary teacher.

Junior Education

We have been using MatchWord since October 2001. We have found MatchWord particularly useful in producing resources for special needs children. We have been able to create specific resources for children's individual education plan targets i.e. to support the development of specific speech sounds e.g. SH, F, S.
I particularly value the way Kingscourt have introduced the use of Software / Interactive into their resources and made them extremely pupil / teacher friendly.
The service given, via our local rep, is excellent and our life is made easier due to the speed and ease with which resources can be made using MatchWord and revised as children's targets are amended.

We value the 4 aspects most about Kingscourt/McGraw-Hill:
1. The relationship we have with our local representative
2. The Easy to follow teacher support guides
3. The broad and balanced, good quality resources which enchance the curriculum
4. The ease of ordering through our rep and the speed of delivery

Grange Infant School, Gloucestershire

Materials are quick to produce, look professional and can be tailored easily for individuals.

British Dyslexia Association Computer Newsletter

We can make individual works sheets/games for children quickly and professionally.
Children enjoy personal touch to the sheets (MatchWord can cater for individual interests).

There is an extremely diverse set of activities and so many of them - I still haven't discovered them all! Everyone wants to borrow the CD in school because they have heard it is so versatitle.

West Park First and Middle CE Primary School

“I have discovered a brand new and what I believe is the most wonderful resource for teachers. Published by Kingscourt (a division of McGraw-Hill), it is called Matchword, a CD holding a 20,000 word database from which teachers can make hundreds of resources very easily, e.g.:

• Bingo with or without pictures
• Anagrams
• Cryptograms
• Word searches
• Crosswords
• Worksheets using sentences

Today I started work with year nine group on –dge patterns, I just typed in *dge and all the words containing the pattern in the database were there before me. I chose 16 of them and within ten minutes I had five different A4 worksheets, quite enough for over learning! I reckon starting from scratch it would have taken me about two hours to compose them myself. One can request one syllable words, two syllable words, prefixes and suffixes, synonyms, plurals, etc.
One can also access subject related lists (I used a chemistry list to try and impress the chemistry teacher!) There is an activity section containing over 100 lesson plan and activity ideas. Organised by skill as well as type of activity, teachers can easily search and find a variety of lessons to meet their needs. There is also a teacher tricks and tools category, which includes various classroom management and organisation ideas. We have only had this program for one week at our school and so are still learning how to use it”

Anthea Beale, Edington & Shapwick School, Issue 23 BDA Computer Newsletter

We have been using Kingscourt / McGraw-Hill resources for three years. The Maths Links Plus resources have helped our teachers deliver the Numeracy Hour more effectively by using a structured scheme.

The Inside Stories CD ROMs and MatchWord CD ROM have been an excellent resource for introducing Software / Interactive into the Literacy Hour, which can also be used in conjunction with big books.

We feel that Kingscourt / McGraw-Hill understand our needs in school. The resources have been an excellent support for implementing Numeracy and Literacy strategies. They have given teachers lots of ideas and confidence.
We value the differentiation of products, the variety i.e. choice of books and CD ROMs, the straightforward teacher notes and the service of our local rep, who is always helpful and spends time looking at our school's individual needs.

Air Balloon Hill Infant School, Bristol