Keyboarding Teaching the First Lesson Basic Keyboarding Guide
Keyboarding… Teaching the First Lesson Basic Keyboarding Guide for Teachers by South-Western Publishing Co.
Step 1…Learn Good Position � Sit directly in front of the keyboard � Sit well back in your chair � Adjust your position so that your elbows fall naturally just in front of the sides of your body, and your curved fingers reach the second row of keys � Maintain this position as we learn good handand-finger position Approximate Time: 1 min.
Step 2: Learn Home-Key Position � To learn to proper position of your fingers on the keys, we first have to identify each finger with a number. • • Index=1 Middle=2 Ring=3 Pinky=4 � Find home row by resting hands on 2 nd row of keys on the keyboard…find F and J by feeling the ridges found on these keys…this is where your index fingers will rest! Approximate Time: 3 -5 min.
� The rest of your fingers just fan out to other keys on homerow: › A=L 4, S=L 3, D=L 2, F=L 1 › J=R 1, K=R 2, L=R 3, ; =R 4 � Now let’s get our thumbs in proper position. The left thumb is not used in keyboarding so curve it down and out of the way. The right thumb should gently rest on the space bar. � Fingers should be curved and upright on the keys. � Drop your wrists until the base of the hands touches the wrist rest.
Step 3…Reinforce Good Hand-and. Finger Positioning � Drop your hands into your lap � Now let’s see if place your fingers again in home-key position. � Let’s Check It: › Are all your fingers resting lightly on the home keys? › Are your fingers curved and upright on the keys? › Are both thumbs curved and resting lightly on the space bar? › Are your hands just slightly above the wrist rest? Approximate Time: 2 min.
Step 4…Learn Proper Keystroking on the Home Keys � Find the J key…tell and show which finger strikes this key � Strike the J key with a quick tap of the key by the R 1 finger � Dictate the letter J as the students tap the key � Proper motion to use for striking the space bar. � Demonstrate proper keystroking on the other home-position keys on the right hand. � Dictate and allow students to practice with just right hand home-position keys and the space bar. Approximate Time: 7 min.
� Switch to home-position keys on the left hand…model and present these keys in the same way as you did the right hand. � Make sure you model proper finger positioning and dictate as you move from finger to finger on the left hand.
Step 5…Learn the Home Keys � This will be teacher directed learning… � We are going to type the word “jak” which is a flower that grows in South America… › Ready? First, let’s rehearse the key locations: j (think this key location without looking) a (which finger? ) k (R 2) � Now type the word as I call the letters: jak (space) � Rehearse with several words…ask, lad, all, fall Approximate Time: 12 -15 min.
Step 6: Reinforcement Practice � Have students type drill lines reinforcing the home row keys. � Check what students learned in this lesson: › Good hand-finger position › Proper keystroking › Proper use of the space bar
Things for the teacher to remember: � Use imitation and demonstration � Keyboarding can not be taught sitting at your desk…you must be up and walking around the room monitoring student progress and nipping improper technique in the bud. � Each day review previous lesson before adding new letters or symbols � Dictation is very important in learning to keyboard successfully. � PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!! You are the keyboarding “COACH”!
- Slides: 10