Hello, my name is Linda Nelson and I teach 7th and 8th grade Keyboarding classes. Keyboarding is what most of us used to know as Typing. It is the very same format, learning the keys and learning to type faster and more accurate.

I look forward to teaching your son/daughter keyboarding. I have been teaching at Pine Tree for ten years, I have a Bachelor in Business Administration from Baylor University, and a secondary certification for Teaching, from University of Texas at Tyler.

My biggest request and suggestion that I can make of parents is that you make sure your child is typing correctly at home. Often times bad habits can form from a large amount of time with informal communication such as texting and instant messaging on the computer at home. What I am finding is when they are home and talking with their friends on the computer, they are going back to their bad habits of looking down at their hands or hunting and pecking. Please encourage correct finger positions.


In Keyboarding at Pine Tree Junior High students are learning to keep their hands anchored on the home row keys and not looking down at their hands. If you see this please encourage them to anchor their fingers and not look. When they keep going back to these old habits at home, class becomes very difficult and frustrating for them. If they continue to look, place a piece of paper, cardboard box with holes cut out for their arms or a pillow case over the top of the keyboard for their hands to go under and let them type that way.

The picture at the top of the page is of one of the computers in my classroom. Now you can see why it would be so frustrating for them to go back to bad habits at home and then come to class and have to use the brown board that you see to cover their hands. We have been using the boards for going on four years now and they have really improved the students' typing skills.

My lesson plans are shown below. I have also included several links to websites for practice and timed writings and a few practice pages from our book in case you feel your child needs to practice a bit more at home. Believe me, they do type enough in class - this is just extra in case you would like it. The only homework I assign is to type correctly at home. If they have been absent or get far behind, they are welcome to come in before school or make arrangements to stay after school.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I know we are going to have a good semester.

lnelson@ptisd.org
(903) 295-5081

Pine Tree Junior High
Lesson Plans
Linda Nelson
Week August 25, 2008

Keyboarding Period 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8
TEKS objectives 120.26 ( C ) (1)(A-F)
TEKS objectives 120.26 ( C) (1)(A-C)
TEKS objectives 120.26 ( C) (3)(A)

Go over class rules, expectations and procedures.
Begin learning our home row keys.

Below you will find links for practice websites. The first one is for practice on basic keyboarding and the timed writing sites test all keys.

Basic Keyboarding Skills:

www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/Index.html

Timed Writings:

www.free-typingtest.com/

www.typingtest.com/

www.FreeTypingGame.Net

Keyboarding Practice sheets


nj gf ol rf ik ed .l tf jh fr ki ft jn de lo fg l.
an do in so to go fan hen log gin tan son not sign
Olga has the first slot; Jena is to skate for her.

j j uj uj us us us jug jug jut jut due due fur fur
uj uj jug jug sue sue lug lug use use lug lug dues
a jug; due us; the fur; use it; a fur rug; is just

d d cd cd cod cod cog cog tic tic cot cot can cans
cd cd cod cod ice ice can can code code dock docks
a cod; a cog; the ice; she can; the dock; the code

in cut nut ran cue can cot fun hen car urn den cog
Nan is cute; he is curt; turn a cog; he can use it

Kae had taken a lead. Jack then cut ahead of her.
I said to use Kan. For Kansas and Ore. For Oregon

and cue for jut end kit led old fit just golf coed
an due cut such fuss rich lack turn dock turf curl

an urn is due to cut for us to use cut off such as
just in code it turn on cure it as such is in luck

Nida is to get the ice; Jacki is to call for cola.
Ira is sure that he can go there in an hour or so.


J. Fox made five quick plays to win the big prize.
It will be fun for us to try to sing the old song.
The sorority may do the work for the city auditor.

Jerry and Jason were not ready to buy a newspaper.
Polly dropped my green vase on her last trip here.
Marty opened the carton to retrieve the power saw.
Bert and I were there the week before deer season.

My niece may bring the bronze trophy back to them.
Manny broke his thumb when he spun on the bicycle.
Betty is under the gun to excel in the ninth race.
They must now face many of the facts I discovered.

A poet told us to zip across the road to get away.
Zack saw the sapodilla was almost totally sapless.
A poet at our palace said to ask for an allowance.
Was it washed when you wore it to our school play?

Thomas Jefferson was a very persuasive writer. Perhaps his most persuasive piece of writing was the Declaration of Independence, which he was asked to prepare with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to explain the need for independence.
We all should recognize parts of that document. For example, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

milk faced pill cease jump bread join faster jolly
were you up on are in fact my taxes are star gazed
My cat was in fact up a tree at my estate in Ohio.

oak box land sign make busy kept foal handle gowns
go to the it may work did he make she is he may go
Did he make a big profit for the six formal gowns?

is pin when only their dress forms puppy kept care
when fate east of right on nylon wig antique cards
Pam was born in a small hill town at the big lake.

Edward gave him a minimum rate on state oil taxes.
Their eager neighbor may sign up for a tax rebate.
He may work with the big firms to fix the problem.

Do you think someone is going to wait around just for a chance to key your term paper? Do you believe when you get out into the world of work that there will be someone to key your work for you? Think again. It does not work that way.
Even the head of a business now uses a keyboard to send and retrieve data as well as other information. Be quick to realize that you will not go far in the world of work if you do not learn how to key. Excel at it and move to the top.