I get this question a lot from readers and purchasers of my technology curriculum: How fast should kids type? What about Kindergartners? When are their
brains mature enough to understand speed and accuracy?
When I reviewed the literature on this subject, it is all over the place. Some say third grade, some leave it until sixth. I say–make this decision based on your own set of students. Me, I’ve come to conclusions that fit for my particular K-8 students. Their demographics include:
- private school
- parents support emphasis on keyboarding
- most have computers at home; actually, most have their own computer at home
- students are willing to practice keyboarding in class and submit homework that is oriented to keyboarding
Based on this set of students, here’s what I require:
Kindergarten
An introduction. We use Type to Learn Jr. in class. We also use Brown Bear Typing as a challenge for students, an activity that moves them into another of their choice. I focus on:
- posture
- hand position (hands on the keyboard)
They tolerate TTL Jr. and love Brown Bear. Often, even when they’ve achieved a score that allows them to move on, they continue. When it’s free choice time, they often select this program.
I also use a variety of games to support learning the most common keys on the keyboard–enter, spacebar, backspace, delete, etc.
First Grade
More of the kindergarten introduction, but my focus becomes:
- posture, including general elements of
- elbows at side
- feet in front
- hands on home row and their own side of keyboard
And, we move on to Type to Learn midway through the year. This I tell them is the ‘big kids’ program, one they’ll use throughout Lower and Middle School. They love that.
Second Grade
I still don’t time them, but I focus more on traits that will allow for speedy, accurate typing:
- good posture
- elbows at their side to force hands into the correct position
- use thumb for space bar
- hands on home row
- pointers on f and j
- use the finger closest to the key while keeping pointers on f and j
Third Grade-Fifth Grade
We now start on keyboard quizzes for speed and accuracy. We use all of the good traits they’ve acquired in K-2. I give them a five-minute typing test once a trimester. They’re graded on speed and accuracy (though I allow one minute at the end to correct spelling errors using a right-click on the red squiggly lines). As students are typing, I anecdotally notice who is using all fingers. Those that aren’t lose points.
Grading is as follows:
20% improvement: 10/10
10% improvement: 9/10
0-10% improvement: 8/10
No improvement: 7/10
Slowed down: 6/10
I post a list of keyboard speedsters in each class on the bulletin board. I also post the winning class (fastest) for all to see. Students who reach the grade level standard for speed and accuracy get a free dress pass (we are a uniform school). This is quite exciting for them:
Grade level standards are:
K-2 None
3rd Grade: 15 wpm
4th Grade: 25 wpm
5th Grade: 30 wpm
What do you use for Lower School keyboarding? I’d love to hear from you.
Jacqui Murray is the editor of a technology curriculum for K-fifth grade and creator of two technology training books for middle school. She is the author of Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy midshipman. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com, and a weekly contributor to Write Anything and Technology in Education. Currently, she’s working on a techno-thriller that should be ready this summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Thanks for sharing! I am working with my elem tech teachers on curriculum. Nice to see what others are doing and how you are grading, etc. We have decided to put formal instruction into 6th and focus on familiarity in K-5.
There’s a lot of research that supports that approach. My nod to over-focusing on keyboarding was sending it home–students practice keyboarding as homework rather than in class. I’m not sure how that’s working.
No, no no no no no. This is completely wrong. The average WPM for an 11 year old who is concentrating very hard, is around 83. If they are just doing casual typing, probably around 64.
For 6th grade?. Sounds fast in my experience. There’s a leap in typing speed at that age because 1) they have the right habits, 2) they need it for homework, 3) they want to do it. I set the 6th grade goal at 35 wpm which isn’t that hard for them to hit. Many get 45ish but few hit 64 or 83. Though some do.
Have you tried it with kids at your school?
My son types really fast.
Kindergarten: 5 WPM
First Grade: 15 Wpm
Second Grade: 30 WPM
Third Grade: 50 WPM
Fourth Grade 70 WPM
Fifth Grade: 100 WPM
Sixth Grade 120 WPM
Seventh Grade: 130 WPM
Eighth Grade: 150 WPm
Ninth Grade: 170 WPM
I’m so proud.
That is stunning. It’s his talent (among others, I’m sure). I hope he realizes how exceptional he is.
I’m only in 8th grade and I can type about 110 to 150?
You are impressive, JS! Set the pace.
I am a 7th grader and I can type at least 180 words per minute! My teacher says I am impressive and exquisite!
Well you sure are! That’s faster than any of my students.
Im 3rd and I type 28wpm
You’re doing great, Quqi. Keep that up!
I hope you’ve called the Guiness Book of World Records because professional typists only type 65-75 words per minute.
That is definitely the fastest I’ve ever heard from someone so young!
Im 6 grade i got 71 average wpm and i do not look while typing! My brother’s in 8th with average of 96 wpm.
You two are doing great. I wouldn’t change anything.
what would you set as a recommendation for 6-8 students? What target should they work towards?
Hi Melissa
I go up 5wpm per grade level from a speed of 30 in 5th. To reach 30wpm, students have to be efficient, skilled, accurate. All they’re working on after that is speed. That comes with practice, 5wpm per year is a reasonable increase.
I begin teaching typing with my second graders. I set their goal at 5 wpm and increase by 5 wpm each year. I only teach up to seventh grade and by the time they leave my keyboarding program, the goal is for them to be typing at 30 wpm or higher with a 98% accuracy or better. I have had a nice success rate. I use http://www.typingweb.com and Typing Instructor for Kids to teach typing skills. Occassionally, I use Dance Mat Typing on BBC.
That accuracy and consistency is more important than speed. You want a long-range goal of 45wpm+ and it sounds like your headed there.
In my school, students start typing in first grade using Talking Fingers then continue in second grade. There is no requirement for first and second grade. However, by the end of third grade, you must be able to type at 30 WPM because of the PARCC tests and a lot of it is typed. Same requirement for fourth and fifth grade. 3rd-5th Graders use typing training.com (formerly custom typing). 3rd graders have 30 minutes of typing homework a week for eight weeks, then 15 minutes a week of typing homework. 4th and 5th graders have 45 minutes a week for eight weeks, then 30 minutes a week of typing homework.
1/2: N/A
3-5: 30 WPM
I am impressed. I have always felt good that students reached 15 wpm in 3rd grade. Kudos to you. I am unfamiliar with Talking Fingers–I’ll have to check on it. Thanks for your comment.
Hello Jacqui, my school district is on a mission to start a keyboarding program K-12 in the 2014-15 school year. We participated in the SBAC testing this year, and over 80% of our teachers reported that one major challenge is that our students don’t know how to keyboard. They know how to use their thumbs proficiently for on-line games, but keyboarding at an accurate and speedy rate is a big area of need.
I love what you wrote above…do you have suggestions for how a district can start this work at the elementary, middle, and high school? Where to incorporate keyboarding into our curriculum during the day, after school, and at home? Any guidance is welcome.
Hi Nia
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I just got back from ISTE and didn’t stay up to date as well as I could/should have!
I have a keyboarding curriculum that I edited here. It lays out what skills to cover at what age, how to scaffold each year on prior years, and the best way to integrate keyboarding into the K-8 classroom.
Additionally, I have a lot of posts here on keyboarding keyboarding here. This one–How do I teach keyboarding in a 25-minute class?–and this one–Dear Otto: How do I prepare students for PARCC Tests?–seem to be specific to your questions.
I hope that helps. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.
BTW–I moved my tech blog to http://askatechteacher.com. That will avail you of a lot of new material on topics like keyboarding.
I just finished 3rd grade at 38 wpm and shortly after, I reached 48 wpm (at home)! Here is the “schematic” for Rheem’s hand tokens:
3rd grade MAX tokens (5) – 21 wpm
4th grade MAX tokens (5) – 27 wpm
5th grade MAX tokens (5) – 33 wpm
I can’t count how many of my classmates got 1 token! I’m pretty sure I was one of the only 3rd graders in the school that got 5 tokens!
That’s impressive, Winston. Congrats!
My wpm was about 40-50 in 6th grade, is that slow or average? Now my wpm is 80-90 and I’m in 8th grade, is that slow or average?
You’re doing great, Anish. 6th grade speed is usually pegged at 35 wpm; 8th at 45 wpm–you’re well above that!
I’m 11 and I type 94 words per minute. However, I can barley type half as fast when there are periods, and commas, etc. So far I’ve taught myself , and the students at my school praise my speed. I’m afraid to tell them i’m not that fast. I started typing when I was in 3rd grade, and I got 46 wpm.
You definitely know key placement. I’m impressed with your speed. Unfortunately, most of life includes commas and periods. My advice: Force yourself to add all the ‘little finger’ keys to your mastery. As you say, it will be slow, but it will pick up. You’ll need them as you progress through middle school, high school, and college.
about 6 months ago I typed 30wpm in mid 7th grade with 2 fingers but I practiced a lot and went 55 wpm. But About 1 month ago I decided to learn home row and I now average 71 wpm. I practice a lot on a game called Nitro Type.
I appreciate your input on Nitro Typing. I recommend it a lot as a fun way to improve speed. Glad to hear your thoughts on it.
about 1 year ago I mean. And I now am in 8th grade.
An excellent anecdotal story, Zack. Thanks for sharing.
@Jacquie Murray how fast do you type? And I just broke my finger sadly so I type super slow right now! Lol
I did type 105 wpm but everyone wanted to make me a typist (back in the day) so I stopped!
Wow that is fast!
It sounds fast but taken a step at a time, is completely doable.
I now type 95 wpm. I am still going with Nitro Type and that has really helped!
Good grief, Zack. You must be the fastest at your school! I’m happy to hear the feedback on Nitro Type!