Typing. My 7th grade son has been typing for years–with two fingers.
If you’re my age, you might remember learning to touch type (eyes in the air!) in middle school or high school. I remember Mr. Tverdik pacing the classroom and calling out, “F, FF, space, F, FF, space” over and over, while we typed along.
These days, you can’t wait for ninth grade. If you are in 9th grade and still using the hunt-and-peck system of typing, you’ll be slower at getting school work done. Online tests and projects will take longer. But how do you learn to type?
I looked for online resources and found a variety of free options for a wide range of ages. Give these a try, and leave a comment to tell us what works best for your family.
For little kids through early elementary school:
- BBC offers an adorable animated octopus with a series of “dance mat” typing lessons here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr#orb-banner
- Keyboard Zoo offers keyboarding practice to kids in K-2nd grade (turn the volume down!): http://www.abcya.com/keyboarding_practice
- ABCYA has a variety of other typing/keyboarding games, too: abcya.com
For big kids and tweens:
- Wordgames.com: Not exactly teaching which fingers to use, but this website has a lot of games that involve typing. The website has animated ads on the side, and music during the games, which can be distracting, but if your child responds to learning with Spider-Man or saving the world, it’s worth a try: wordgames.com/typing
- Typing Ghost: players are required to destroy the ghots by typing the words on them. Again, might want to turn down the volume a bit. mathandreadinghelp.org/
For multiple ages and abilities:
- Typing.com: This starts off with just the “home keys” of f and j, and then works up from there in a series of silent lessons, all the way up to “specialty typing,” which would have come in handy when I was temping in my 20s! This website scores you for words per minute, accuracy, and problem keys, so you know what you should work on. You need to sign up, but it’s free. www.typing.com
- Keybr: This web application that will help you perfect your touch typing, improving your typing speed and accuracy. Shows speed, errors, and how you are improving. keybr.com/#!game
Once you’ve been typing a while:
- Ratatype: You have to sign up, but it’s free. This site helps you build speed and continually tests your typing speed. ratatype.com
