Dance Mat Typing for 7 - 11 year olds

Let's practise our typing skills

An illustration of a red-haired boy with curly hair and green eyes, engaged in deep thought.

Build and test primary Computing skills with different levels of touch type challenges.

Learn and practise:

typing letters in rows
typing keys on the home row
typing capital letters, apostrophes, slashes and full stops

Welcome to Dance Mat Typing, a fun way to learn touch typing

An illustration of a girl with blue headphones on looking at a laptop.

There are four levels to play, each divided into three stages.

You start by learning the home row keys. Each stage builds on previous lessons, introducing new letters as you progress and giving you plenty of touch type practice. You’ll soon be touch typing like an expert! At the end of each level you can test your typing speed and get a fun reward.

Level 1: Starts with the home row keys

In this level you will begin by learning to touch type the keys on the home row as well as letters e, i, r and u.

■ Stage 1: f d s a j k l ; g h

■ Stage 2: e i

■ Stage 3: r u

Play level 1 and click on the button to select the stage you want.

Level 2: Learn the six keys above the home row

In this level you will learn to type six new keys that lie above the home row including letters t, y, w, o, q and p.

■ Stage 4: t y

■ Stage 5: w o

■ Stage 6: q p

Play level 2 and click on the button to select the stage you want.

Level 3: Learn the six keys below the home row

In this level you will learn to type six new keys that lie below the home row including letters v, m, b, n, c and the comma.

■ Stage 7: v m

■ Stage 8: b n

■ Stage 9: c ,

Play level 3 and click on the button to select the stage you want.

Level 4: Learn five more keys and how to make capital letters

In this level you will learn to type the letters x and z. You will also learn how to make capital letters and type three more keys: the apostrophe, slash and full stop.

■ Stage 10: x z '

■ Stage 11: / .

■ Stage 12: Shift keys - how to make capital letters

Play level 4 and click on the button to select the stage you want.

Why learn to touch type?

When you can do it well, touch typing is the fastest way to write. Many people quickly learn touch type faster than they can write with a pen. The important things to remember are:

use the correct fingers
there's no need to rush!
find a comfortable working position with support for your wrist and forearm

A cartoon green-eyed boy wearing headphones looks down at the phone in his hand.

You should take a rest, and shake your hands and arms to relax your muscles if you get tired.

It's important not to look at your hands when you are learning to type. The best way to ensure that you don't look at your hands is to cover them up - you can make a simple box out of cardboard or wood to cover both the keys and your hands.

You will need headphones or speakers to enjoy the song and dance in each game.