Dance Mat Typing

Students will:

• Be able to learn where to place their fingers on the keyboard 
• Be able to type without looking at the keyboard.

Vocabulary Words:

1. Support Characters: The characters will give you some tips when you cannot type on the right key, and they will pay you compliments when you finish a task
2. Typist:  A typist is able to type fast without looking at the keyboard. 

To prepare for this lesson:

• Go to the website https://www.dancemattypingguide.com.

• This website lists 12 different stages of typing.

• You can go here to start Stage 1 of typing. 

• Add the Dance Mat Typing website as an icon on the computer desktop for students to click on or use a bookmarking tool like Symbaloo or Wakelet. (The students will not need to type in the URL. If you have a website for the students to access, you can also add the URL for easy access by your students. 

Note: Dance Mat Typing is also located at BBC's Bitesize. There are less advertisements on this site. 

See Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students.net site in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. Have kids go to website https://www.dancemattypingguide.com/.

2. Advanced students can take the typing test here https://www.dancemattypingguide.com/typing-test/

3. Have students start at level 1 on the website. 

4. You can choose to use this as a whole class or individual students.  You can use this as a station. 

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding

• Typing Test - The result includes the words per minute, keystrokes, correct words and wrong words.