Typing Camp lasts for a week. Students spend the entire afternoon for five consecutive days learning about the keyboard, practicing their typing, and doing fun camp-related activities.

On the first day, students are introduced to the letter keys on the keyboard. Our students watch a short video (that is no longer being produced or available to purchase) that provides them with funny little phrases to help them remember which fingers are responsible for specific keys on the keyboard. See the examples below.

Left Pinky Finger: QAZ (Quick Ask Zoe)
Left Index Finger: WST (What Stops X-rays?)
Left Middle Finger: EDC (Even Dogs Can't)
Left Pointer Finger: RFV, TGB (Red Fish Vanish, Then Grow Bigger)
Right Pointer Finger: YHN, UJM (Yaks Hear Noises, Under Jack's Mattress)
Right Middle Finger: IK, (I Keep Commas) 
Right Index Finger: UL. (Under Long Periods)
Right Pinky Finger: P (Peanuts!) 
Thumbs (Space Bar) 

These phrases come from the instructional video we use. If you do not use the video, you could probably come up with more meaningful (and less odd) phrases to help your students learn the keys.

While watching the video, our students are not in the lab. They are using "TypeRight" keyboards that are not connected to a computer. However, using keyboards that are attached to computers (while the computers are turned off) would be just as beneficial.

After the learning the keys, students complete the keyboard page in their memory books. They can then use this as a reminder when we go to the lab throughout the rest of the week.