Week of September 16, 2024

Keyboarding

We use a program called "Typing Club" that is available on the Launchpad for all students. If your student would like to practice at home, I would suggest practicing for 10 - 20 minutes at a time and for several days a week versus once a week for 45 minutes. Practice at home is most appropriate for those students who can actually use the proper fingering which would be most second and some first graders. It does require focus, attention, and perseverance to do it properly, as well as some supervision. It is also good practice for many of our students who are used to using touchscreens. Use the following guidelines for each grade level and please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Ilene Zeff, Media Specialist

izeff@csdecatur.net

Kindergarten

Keyboarding is a two-handed activity like playing the piano.

Practicing with two hands and finding the letters are most appropriate for kindergarteners.

Sit straight in the chair and use good posture.

Practice for only 10 - 15 minutes at a time.

First Grade

Keyboarding is a two-handed activity like playing the piano.

Some first graders can use the correct fingering while others should just keep fingers as close to the correct position as possible.

Sit straight in the chair.

It is more important to use the correct fingering than to go fast as it is not a video game. This is very challenging for some students.

10 - 20 minutes of practice regularly is more effective than 45 minutes once or twice a week.

Second Grade

Keyboarding is a two-handed activity like playing the piano. Both hands and all of your fingers and thumbs should be resting on the correct letters/space bar and not your lap.
Sit straight in your chair.
When practicing at home, use the correct fingering and not just race through to get to the next level like a video game.
It is more important to use the correct fingering than to go fast. This is very challenging for some students.
10 - 20 minutes of practice regularly is more effective than 45 minutes once or twice a week.
Try to keep your eyes on the screen.

How to Identify Our Books

Here are some examples of our Winnona Park library bar codes. We still have a few "vintage" books that originally belonged to other elementary schools or have a "City Schools of Decatur" bar code. In addition, we have "Winnona Park Elementary School" stamped in the front and often the back of the books.