Home row: start touch typing
A short captioned lesson on where your fingers live on the keyboard, for older children. Free, with a full transcript and teaching notes.
Read the whole lesson
Home row Welcome to touch typing. Today you will learn where your fingers live on the keyboard. It is called the home row, and it is the key to typing fast.
Sit well First, sit well. Feet flat on the floor, back straight, shoulders relaxed. Your screen should be at eye level, and your wrists should float lightly.
A S D F J K L ; The home row is the middle row of letters. Your left fingers rest on A, S, D and F. Your right fingers rest on J, K, L and the semicolon.
Find F and J Feel for the bumps. There is a small bump on F and another on J. Your index fingers rest on those two keys. Your thumbs rest on the space bar.
One finger, one key Each finger has its own keys. Little finger on A, ring finger on S, middle finger on D, index on F, and the same on the right hand with J, K, L.
Press, then go home Try some home row letters. Say each one as you press it. A, S, D, F. Then J, K, L. After each key, return your finger home.
Eyes on the screen Do not look at your hands. Look at the screen, and let your fingers learn by feel. It feels slow at first, but it speeds up quickly.
Five minutes a day Short practice every day works best. Five to ten minutes is plenty. Next, head to the typing course for your first lesson. See you there!
For grown-ups Teaching notes
- The home row is the middle row of letter keys: A S D F for the left hand and J K L ; for the right hand. Index fingers rest on F and J, which have raised bumps.
- Posture first: feet flat, back straight, wrists relaxed, screen at eye level.
- Accuracy before speed. Short daily practice of five to ten minutes beats a long weekly session.
- Cover the keys or the hands for practice so children learn by feel, not by looking.
Tip: pause the video after each picture, ask the child to say the answer, then press play.