Computing – learning the skill of touch-typing
In Computing lessons, the children were introduced to ‘touch-typing’ and the importance of this for being able to type quickly and accurately.
Leading up to the topic, lots of the children would ask their teachers how they typed so quickly, and were keen to match them. Therefore, when they began the touch-typing topic, they were very excited to see if they could become quick typists too,
Throughout the unit, the children built up their skills each week; they began with the home row keys and progressed to the top and bottom row keys. They learned which fingers were responsible for each key and were extremely focused when practicing. Many of the children were determined not to look down at the keyboard to improve their skills further. The children were enthusiastic about this learning and have been eager to keep improving their speed and accuracy week-on-week. They are now looking forward to trying out these new skills, when redrafting some of their English work during the summer term.
Although touch-typing is not a requirement on the National Curriculum, it is a skill that school places great importance upon, as it one to do all their computing work more competently. Following this introductory unit in Year 3, the children will continue to do touch typing for 10-minutes, once per week, at the start of most Computing lessons, throughout Key Stage 2. This will make the children faster and more confident with typing, allowing them to make better use of computers as they move into high school.
