Typing

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HOME ROW

Typing is a good skill for students to master. It makes writing on a computer faster, helps improve spelling skills, and reduces the distraction and time it takes to hunt for one letter at a time. But in order to find letters on the keyboard through touch, typists need to create a 'map' of the keyboard that their fingers can use to navigate accurately. They also need a position to start with and a resting place for their hands to come back to during pauses and breaks in typing.

The traditional resting place for the right and left hands is on the home row keys. The home row keys are:

• A-S-D-F and J-K-L-; 

• The little finger of the left hand sits on the A, the ring finger on the S, the middle finger on the D and the pointer on the F.

• The pointer of the right hand takes the J, the middle finger the K, the ring finger the L and the little finger of the left hand rests on the ; key.

Often, the F and J home row keys have raised lines on them, in order to guide the hand to correct finger placement. A set of upward, downward and side-to-side reaching movements is all typing is!