Computing
The Keyboard
The keyboard
Find the letters, numbers, space bar and Enter key, then type your own name.
A computer
A computer is a machine that helps us work, learn and play.
It has a screen to show us things. It has a mouse to point. It has a keyboard to type.
Have you seen a computer at school or at home?
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The parts
The screen shows pictures and words. Some people call it the monitor.
The mouse moves a little arrow on the screen.
The keyboard is where we type letters and numbers.
Point to each part. Say its name.
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The keyboard
Look at the keyboard. It is full of little buttons.
Each button is called a key. There are more than one hundred keys!
When you press a key, something appears on the screen.
How many keys can you count in one row?
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Letter keys
Most keys have a letter on them. A, B, C, all the way to Z.
Press the A key. An "a" appears on the screen!
Press the K key. A "k" appears.
Find the first letter of your name on the keyboard.
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Not in ABC order
Look closely. The letters are not in ABC order!
The top row starts Q, W, E, R, T, Y.
The middle row starts A, S, D, F.
The bottom row starts Z, X, C, V.
It looks strange, but you will get used to it. Can you find the letter M?
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Hunt for letters
Let us hunt for letters.
Find A. It is on the left of the middle row.
Find O. It is near the right of the top row.
Find M. It is on the bottom row, near the right.
Which letter was the hardest to find?
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Number keys
Above the letters is a row of numbers.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0.
Press the 5 key. A "5" appears on the screen.
How old are you? Find that number on the keyboard and press it.
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The space bar
The long key at the bottom is the space bar.
It is the biggest key of all. It makes a space between words.
Without it, words would run together: "Iamhappy".
With it: "I am happy". Much better!
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The Enter key
On the right side is the Enter key. It is tall or wide. It may have a bent arrow on it.
Enter means "go to a new line" or "yes, do it".
When you finish a line, press Enter. The cursor jumps down.
Can you find the Enter key?
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Backspace
Did you press the wrong key? Do not worry.
The Backspace key rubs out the last letter. It is at the top right, above Enter.
Press it once. One letter goes away. Press it again. Another one goes.
Mistakes are easy to fix on a computer!
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The Shift key
The Shift key makes big letters. We call them capital letters.
Hold Shift with one hand. Press A with the other hand. A big A appears!
Let go of Shift. Press A again. A small a appears.
Try it with the first letter of your name.
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A tour of the keys
Let us look at all the keys together.
Letters in the middle. Numbers on top. Space bar at the bottom. Enter on the right.
Watch the video and point to each key as you hear its name.
Which key is your favourite?
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Sit well
Before you type, sit well.
Back straight. Feet on the floor. The screen in front of your face, not too close.
Put your hands softly on the keyboard. Fingers curved, like holding a ball.
Are you sitting well right now?
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Press gently
Press one key at a time. Press it gently. Then let go.
Do not bang the keys. Do not hold a key down, or it will type the letter again and again: "aaaaaaaa".
One finger, one key, one tap.
Tap the letter B gently. What appears?
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Type your name: step one
Now let us type your name.
Names start with a capital letter. So hold Shift and press the first letter.
Ama holds Shift and presses A. A big A!
Kofi holds Shift and presses K. A big K!
What is the first letter of your name?
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Type your name: step two
Let go of Shift. Now press the other letters, one by one.
Ama presses m, then a. The screen says: Ama.
Kofi presses o, then f, then i. The screen says: Kofi.
Look at the screen. Is your name spelt right?
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Your other name
Press the space bar once. Now there is a gap.
Hold Shift and type the first letter of your other name. Then the rest.
Ama Mensah. Kofi Owusu.
Two names, one space between them. Can you type both your names?
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Press Enter
You typed your name. Now press Enter.
The little blinking line, the cursor, jumps down to a new line.
Now you can type something else underneath.
Type your name again on the new line. Then press Enter again!
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Type your age
Find the number row. Type your age.
Abena is 5. She presses 5.
Kwame is 6. He presses 6.
Then press Enter. Your age is on the screen!
Now type the number of people in your house.
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Type a word
Let us type a short word.
c, a, t. The screen says: cat.
d, o, g. The screen says: dog.
s, u, n. The screen says: sun.
Press Enter after each word. Which word was the easiest to type?
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Type a sentence
Now a whole sentence. Remember the space bar between words.
Shift and I. Space. a, m. Space. h, a, p, p, y.
The screen says: I am happy.
Press Enter. You typed a sentence! Can you type "I am six"?
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Caps Lock
There is a key called Caps Lock. It is on the left, above Shift.
If you press it, every letter becomes BIG. LIKE THIS.
Press it again to turn it off.
If your letters are all big by mistake, check Caps Lock!
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Arrow keys
Near the bottom right are four arrow keys. Up, down, left, right.
They move the cursor without rubbing anything out.
Press the left arrow. The cursor moves back one letter.
Which arrow would you press to go to the end of a line?
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Keyboards everywhere
A phone has a keyboard too! It appears on the screen when you want to type.
A tablet has one as well.
The keys are in the same order as on the big keyboard: Q, W, E, R, T, Y.
Have you seen the keyboard on a phone?
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Learn the keys
Watch this video to learn more about the keys.
Say the name of each key when you see it.
The more you practise, the faster you will find the keys.
Which key do you want to learn more about?
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Keep it clean
A keyboard does not like dirt or water.
Wash and dry your hands before you type. Do not eat over the keyboard. Crumbs get stuck under the keys!
Never pour water near a computer.
Are your hands clean and dry?
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Take turns
At school, many children share one computer.
Wait for your turn. Do not grab the keyboard from a friend.
When your turn is over, say "your turn" and move aside.
Sharing makes computer time fun for everyone. Who did you share with today?
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Alphabet game
Here is a game. Type the whole alphabet, a to z, in order.
a, b, c, d, e, f, g...
You will have to hunt for each key. Go slowly at first.
Next time, try to go a little faster. How long did it take you?
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Look at the screen
When you type, look at the screen sometimes, not only at the keys.
Then you will see if a letter is wrong. You can fix it with Backspace.
Type "Ghana". Look at the screen. Is it right?
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You can type!
You know the letters, the numbers, the space bar and the Enter key.
You know Shift for big letters and Backspace for mistakes.
You can type your name. You can type a sentence.
Well done! What will you type next?
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Learn more
- BBC Bitesize KS1 Computing — first computing lessons for young children
- TypingClub — free typing lessons that start with single keys
- Typing.com — free typing practice with games
- Common Sense Education — advice for parents and teachers on children and computers
- NaCCA Ghana — the Ghana curriculum that this book follows
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Watch more
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Think about it
- Which key is the longest on the keyboard? What does it do?
- What happens when you press Enter?
- How do you type a capital letter?
- Which key rubs out a mistake?
- Can you type your name with a capital letter at the start?
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This book is for reading on SchoolSpec and cannot be printed.