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Text
Match is one of the 8 exercise groups included in the TaskMagic
package. Text Match creates a wide range of exercises based on a
list of text items. These can be questions and answers, L1 and L2,
words and definitions, beginnings and ends of words or sentences,
etc. See below for more ideas, or click this link. |
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Edit
Screen in TaskMagicCreate |
Front
Page in TaskMagicPlay |
Worksheets |
The
edit screen in TaskMagic Create allows the teacher
to input up to 16 matching pairs of text information.
The number of exercises created depends on the number
of matching pairs of text input. If all 16 items
are input, 20 or 21 games and exercises are automatically
generated by the TaskMagic software. 7 worksheets
can now be printed in Text Match, including a new
Dominoes worksheet. Scroll down or click
here for more information about using Text Match
files, or click on any of the game screens below
to find out more: |
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Flashcards |
Drag
& Match |
3
in a row |
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Against
the Clock |
Pelmanism
1 Player |
Pelmanism
2 Players |
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True
or False? |
Multi-Match |
Invaders |
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Maze |
Spin |
Tower
Block |
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Pool |
Type |
Football |
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Doors |
Hangman |
Maze
II |
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Invaders
II |
Snake |
Jumbled
Words |
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Some
Suggested Ideas for Making Text Match Files |
The
exercises below are intended to give users a few ideas of the kinds
of things that can be matched using Text Match. There are plenty
more possibilities, but the list below is a good starting point.
Of course, many of these exercise formats can be used with languages
other than English. |
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on any file above to open it in TaskMagic Play, or right-click and
save it to your computer, which will allow you to open it in TaskMagicCreate
or TaskMagicPlay. |
| FREE
Text Match Demo |
 A
FREE Text Match Demo containing the above 20 exercise ideas is now
available to download.
The
Text Match Demo is ideal for those who want to familiarise themselves
with using the Text Match component of TaskMagic, but without the
need to create their own exercises.
Download
the Text Match Demo zip file (1.15MB)
Once
the zip file is downloaded, you will need to extract the exe file
before running it. |
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A Multiple TextMatch Maker downloadable extra is now available from
the Other Downloads page. |
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Making
Use of Text Match Files |
The
order in which exercise types are displayed on the TextMatch front
page does not represent a particular sequence. It was never intended
that students should attempt all of the exercises for a particular
file in a particular sequence. In fact, nor was it intended that
students should attempt to complete all of the available exercise
types for a particular file. |
Users
of TaskMagic (teachers & students) should select the most appropriate
exercise types available depending on: the context; whether they
are using a whiteboard or individual PCs in a computer room (or
at home); the level of text input; the type of information being
presented; the point they are at in the learning sequence; whether
it’s for a starter, a plenary, a presentation or the main
element of a lesson; the time available etc. |
When
working with an interactive whiteboard, the teacher has total control
over the exercises and activities selected. When working in an IT
room, however, it is important for teachers to maintain control
over the exercises and activities that the students attempt. It
was never intended that students should be told to open a particular
file and then attempt the available games in any order they like.
Teachers should make it clear to students which activities they
are to attempt and in which order, or alternatively they should
make it clear which activities they don't want them to attempt.
For example, many teachers tell their class to start with Multi-Match
and not to move on to the next exercise until they have a 100% score.
The activities you choose will depend on your own professional appreciation
of the value of each activity bearing in mind all of the factors
mentioned above (time, context, stage etc.). A useful strategy is
to reserve many of the more game-based activities (such as Maze,
Invaders, Pool etc.) until the end of the session, then allow students
5 or 10 minutes to choose freely from the activities available.
It is also possible to limit the exercises available by making direct
hyperlinks to individual game files - these can be created in TaskMagicCreate. |
This
section looks at all of the exercise types available in Text Match
and attempts to put them into some sort of order of difficulty.
This is very difficult to do, however, as various elements need
to be weighed up in deciding just how difficult a particular exercise
is:
- the level of support (e.g. number of options in match activities)
- the type of activity (eg. matching, reordering, text input)
- time pressures
- penalties for incorrect answers
- whether items are displayed in a particular order or randomly
The following list is just a suggestion / a guideline / a starting
point. Some of the activities, such as Flashcards and Jumbled Words,
are appropriate for different stages of the learning process, while
others, such as Doors, combine different types of linguistic challenge
within the same activity. |
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This is probably the easiest of the exercises.
- 1 in 3 multiple choice activity.
- If a student answers incorrectly, they can keep trying until
they get the correct answer.
- There is no time pressure.
- Items appear in their original sequence.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students write answer on mini-whiteboards or in books before
checking answer and moving to next question
- a Multi-Match worksheet is also available to print from
within the TaskMagic program |
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1 in 3 multiple choice activity dressed as a Maze game. The
aim is to steer the yellow prompt onto the green block containing
the correct match.
- There is a time pressure - students have 60 seconds to get
the correct answer (but usually get it in about 10 seconds).
- An incorrect answer results in the loss of one of the three
lives.
- Items appear in random order.
- Requires the use of the keyboard.
Suitable for use on individual PCs, not for interactive whiteboard.
In
terms of linguistic demands, this game is one of the least
challenging, and for this reason it appears number two in
this list. It is probably best not to use Maze as the next
step up from Multi-Match, however, as students are likely
to spend a lot of time on this because of the game element. |
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1 in 4 multiple choice activity, where the aim is to answer
15 questions in a row and build a 15 storey tower block.
- No time pressure.
- 1 incorrect answer results in the Tower crumbling and the
student has to begin again.
- There is support in the form of four ‘play safes’,
where clicking on an incorrect answer incurs no penalty.
- This exercise requires a minimum of 15 inputs.
- Items appear in random order.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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students write answer on mini-whiteboards or in books before
checking answer and moving to next question
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play the game as if it were "Who wants to be a millionaire?",
with the teacher offering a "50/50", students showing
hands or using mini-whiteboards for "ask the audience",
or choosing a class mate for "phone a friend"
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1 in 6 multiple choice.
- No time pressure to answer the questions, but a time limit
to pot the ball.
- 1 incorrect answer incurs a 15 second time penalty. A second
incorrect answer results in the loss of that ball (ie. the student
doesn’t get to play) and the student is shown the correct
answer.
- The ball has to be potted in the pocket over which the correct
answer was located. Potting the ball in the wrong pocket or
potting the white incurs a 100 point penalty.
- Items appear in random order.
Can be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard,
although it may be a bit time consuming in a whole-class environment.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board |
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1 in 12 multiple choice.
- A football game for 2 players or teams.
- There is a time pressure to answer the questions, as failing
to answer in the time provided results in play passing to the
other team. The speed for answering questions can be changed
using the difficulty setting before starting the game.
- Players can opt for a timed game or a ‘first to…’
game.
- During play, the ball doesn’t always go to the intended
player when you pass or shoot. Shorter passes or shots have
a higher chance of being successful, so students are encouraged
to make short passes and therefore answer more questions.
- This exercise requires a minimum of 12 inputs.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs, with students working in pairs,
or on an interactive whiteboard, where the class is split
into 2 teams.
IWB options:
- for each pass or shot, invite an answer from a member of
the relevant team. The teacher clicks the text as suggested
by the student. If they are wrong, they lose the ball to the
other team. Quickly invite an answer from a member of this
team. etc
- for each pass or shot, invite/select a student from each
team to come to the board. The student with control of the
ball has the first go at the question. etc.
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All of the items are on display, so the level of difficulty
depends on the total number of matching items. If all 16 matching
items are included, you have a 1 in 16 multiple choice activity.
- No time pressure.
- No penalty for incorrect answers, as incorrect answers are
removed when ‘Check’ is clicked, leaving only the
correct ones in place. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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students write answers on mini-whiteboards or in exercise
books. Once they have finished the written exercise the teacher
can go through the answers in class, either by inviting answers
or calling students up to the board
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a Matching worksheet is also available to print from within
the TaskMagic program
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For 2 players or teams - like Os and Xs, but the game continues
until the grid is finished.
- All of the items are on display.
- No time pressure.
- An incorrect answer means that player doesn’t put his
O or X in the grid.
- You can flip the grid items and the text at the bottom by
clicking the ‘Flip’ button. It is preferable to
have the prompt at the top and the target response at the bottom.
- This exercise requires all 16 inputs. Can
be used on individual PCs, with students working in pairs,
or on an interactive whiteboard, where the class is split
into 2 teams.
IWB options:
- invite/select students from each team to give answers
- invite/select students from each team to come to the board
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students draw mini 4x4 grids in their exercise books (or use
a mini-whiteboard). They take turns to play the game in pairs,
using the IWB screen display as the basis for their game.
Students have to agree on which is the correct answer each
time. Teacher can go round class and monitor performance
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All of the items are on display (up to 16).
- Time pressure - the aim is to make all of the matches before
the time runs out. The time available depends on the number
of matching items.
- No penalty for an incorrect answer. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the fastest times for a particular file, to
introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board - this will
involve a lot of moving around the room quickly in order to
get the matches before the time runs out
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All of the target items are on display, with one prompt appearing
at a time. Essentially a multiple choice activity with up to
16 possible answers.
- Time pressure - if the prompt falls to the coloured bars,
one of the three lives is lost. The speed of the dropping item
increases the closer you get to the end of the game. You can
choose a difficulty setting, which alters the drop speed but
also affects the score available.
- An incorrect answer deducts points from the total score.
- Items appear in random order.
Can be
used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board - this will
involve a lot of moving around the room quickly in order to
get the matches without losing a life
A
note of caution: Discourage students from clicking randomly
to shoot the correct answer down! This can be done if you
click quickly enough, but incurs a high negative score. It
has been known for students to compete to get the highest
negative score (ie. the highest number of clicks in a game)!
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All of the target items are on display, with one prompt appearing
at a time. Essentially a multiple choice activity with up to
16 possible answers.
- Time pressure - if you don’t shoot the correct answer
in time, one of the three lives is lost.
- An incorrect answer causes one of the three lives to be lost.
- Items appear in random order.
- Requires the use of the keyboard.
Suitable for use on individual PCs, not on interactive whiteboard.
Because of the time pressure, and the fact that a life is lost
for an incorrect answer, students will find this a difficult
exercise to complete. It is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the highest score for a particular file, to
introduce an element of competition. |
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Memory game - finding the matching pairs.
- No time pressure.
- Keeps a record of the number of attempts, so the aim is to
find all of the matches in the lowest number of attempts.
Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the students who manage to find all the pairs
without any incorrect guesses, to introduce an element of
competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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a Pelmanism sheet can also be printed out from within the
TaskMagic program, allowing students to play the game using
cut-out paper squares
- a Dominoes sheet can also be printed out from within the
TaskMagic program, allowing students to play in pairs or small
groups
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Memory game for 2 players or teams.
- No time pressure.
- Players / teams take alternate turns irrespective of whether
or not they find a pair.
- The winning player / team is the one with the most correct
matches. Can
be used on individual PCs, with students working in pairs,
or on an interactive whiteboard, where the class is split
into 2 teams.
IWB options:
- invite/select students from each team to give answers
- invite/select students from each team to come to the board
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a Pelmanism sheet can also be printed out from within the
TaskMagic program, allowing students to play the game using
cut-out paper squares
- a Dominoes sheet can also be printed out from within the
TaskMagic program, allowing students to play in pairs or small
groups
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Hangman game - guessing the word or phrase based only on its
shape.
- No time pressure.
- Overall score based on the number of correct guesses.
- A record of how many men have been saved and how many hanged
is kept at the top of the screen.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the the highest scores for a particular file,
to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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you can ask students to play their own Hangman game in the
back of their exercise books or on mini-whiteboards, using
appropriate vocabulary from the current exercise (eg. by displaying
the Drag & Match screen, or the Type screen)
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A bit like a game of ‘Snap’ - you click when you
recognize a correct match.
- Time pressure - you have three seconds to recognise a correct
match. If you don’t click in this time, the game moves
on to another pair.
- A record of correct and incorrect clicks is kept, and these
are combined to give a total score.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite choral “sí” / “oui”
/ “vrai” etc from class, each time the items change,
if there is a correct match (a bit like “repeat if it’s
true”)
- invite/select students to come to the board in turns until
they have found a True match
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playing Pelmanism in pairs using the Pelmanism sheet (which
can be printed out from within TaskMagic) is a good way for
students to play True or False? together
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The target word or phrase is blanked out, but the shape of the
word or phrase is shown. (If the word or phrase is longer than
10 letters, then a group of 10 letters is blanked out.)
- The missing letters are displayed underneath the game box
in random order, and students have to click them in the correct
order.
- Time pressure - the student must click all of the letters
before the blocks fall to the bottom.
- 5 incorrect letter attempts results in all the blocks falling.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the the highest scores for a particular file,
to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board - best to have
the next student ready to ensure a swift changeover
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The target word or phrase is blanked out, but the shape of the
word or phrase is shown.
- The missing letters are to be found in the grid in snake form.
The grid is made up mainly of letters which appear in the answer,
which helps the student to think of the answer, but not in the
same way as with Invaders II.
- The aim is to click and drag through the missing letters in
the correct order.
- Time pressure - 40 seconds are available. After 10 seconds
the first letter is displayed. After 20 seconds the shape of
the word snake is shown. After 40 seconds the answer is given.
The score depends on how quickly the correct answer is found.
- No penalty for incorrect answers.
- Items appear in random order. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the the highest scores for a particular file,
to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to come to the board - best to have
the next student ready to ensure a swift changeover
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a Snake worksheet is also available to print out from within
TaskMagic. The worksheet includes a list of prompts and all
of the answers hidden in snake form in the printed grid
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The target word or phrase is blanked out, but the shape of the
word or phrase is shown. (If the word or phrase is longer than
10 letters, then a group of 10 letters is blanked out.)
- The missing letters are to be found in the game grid. The
grid is made up mainly of letters which appear in the answer,
which helps the student to think of the answer.
- Time pressure - running out of time results in the loss of
one of the three lives, as does being caught by the monster(s).
- An incorrect letter click results in the player getting stuck
for 2 seconds, increasing the risk of their being caught.
- Items appear in random order.
- Requires the use of the keyboard.
Suitable for use on individual PCs, not interctive whiteboard.
Because of the time pressure students will find this a difficult
exercise to complete. It is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the highest score for a particular file, to
introduce an element of competition. |
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All of the items are on display (up to 16).
- The shape of the target word or phrase is shown, but no other
support is given.
- A score is kept, which is the percentage of correct letter
attempts.
- No time pressure.
- An incorrect letter causes the text to go red and stops the
typing. Incorrect letters are shown in the letter grid on the
screen. The student cannot proceed until they find the correct
letter. Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the the highest scores for a particular file,
to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to come to the board
- students can write answers to specific questions (as suggested
by the teacher) on mini-whiteboards; students can then be
invited to the board to check their answer
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students can write answers to all questions as a written activity
in their exercise books, before going through the exercise
to check answers using the IWB
- a Type worksheet can also be printed out
from within TaskMagic. As with the screen version, this contains
the left-hand prompts and the shape of the required answer.
Students could complete the worksheet before checking answers
in class using the IWB
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The student answers questions in order to open doors, in order
to collect the 6 items required to move on to the next level.
A plan of all of the rooms is shown at the top of the screen.
The higher the level, the fewer the doors available, so it becomes
more of a maze.
- Doors uses a variety of question forms / linguistic demands,
depending on the level:
Level one is a 1 in 10 multi choice.
Level two takes letters from the word or phrase, which must
then be clicked in the correct order (eg. as with Invaders II)
Level three shows the shape of the word or phrase but requires
the student to type in the missing information.
Higher levels combine elements of all of the above.
- Time pressure - you are being chased around the maze of rooms
by a death figure. At first he moves very slowly, but he gets
progressively quicker.
- Penalty for incorrect attempt: the door doesn’t open.
Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard. When
used in an IT room, it is a good idea for you to keep a record
on the board of the the highest scores for a particular file,
to introduce an element of competition.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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Jumbled
Words is only available if the teacher makes it available when
they create their exercise. It is intended for situations where
the left and right text items, as well as matching with eachother,
are also a continuation of eachother. eg. where the left text
item is the first part of a sentence and the right text item
is the second part:
1) Je vais à la /// piscine
2) Tu vas à /// la plage
3) Je vais /// au cinéma
etc.
NB. It is important here that the matches are exclusive. i.e.
that there can only be one correct match for each left text
item.
Jumbled words takes all of the text in each row above and jumbles
it up:
1) à la vais piscine Je
2) plage à vas la Tu
3) au vais Je cinéma
Jumbled words is excellent for practising sentence structure.
Can
be used on individual PCs or on interactive whiteboard.
IWB options:
- invite/select students to give answers
- invite/select students to come to the board
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students can write answers to specific questions (as suggested
by the teacher) on mini-whiteboards; students can then be
invited to the board to check their answer
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students can write answers to all questions as a written activity
in their exercise books, before going through the exercise
to check answers using the IWB
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a Jumbled Words worksheet can also be printed out from within
TaskMagic. This contains all of the words for each line jumbled
up, with a space for the studetn to write the correct answer.
Students could complete the worksheet before checking answers
in class using the IWB
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Flashcards simply runs through the matching items, showing them
either in the original sequence or in random order.
- It can be used to present new language to the class using
a whiteboard or projector, or for individual work at a PC.
- When used on a PC, it allows the student to test themselves
(by saying or thinking what the correct match will be) to see
if they know the answers.
- First look at the information in sequence, then again in random
order. You can do the same thing with an interactive whiteboard.
- No penalty for getting it wrong, as there is no input to be
assessed.
- When working alone with a PC, the student can click the "correct
answer" button if they knew the correct answer, or click
the "wrong answer" button if they didn't know it or
were unsure. Wrong answers are then repeated later
This is possibly the most difficult exercise in terms of its
linguistic demands, as no support is provided at all, although
there is no requirement to spell the words, and no evidence
of a 100% score is shown. From a 'test yourself' perspective,
it could be seen as the end objective of the TaskMagic session.
IWB
options:
- present the language in sequence
- at the end of a session (as a plenary) or to revise previously
taught language as a lesson starter: run through the information
in random order and invite/select students to provide an answer
- students could write the answer for each
question in exercise books or on mini-whiteboards, before
checking the answer and moving on to the next question
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