The three rows of letters, and the long space bar below them.
The big ideaLetters sit in three rows. Big keys do jobs, like space, enter, shift and backspace.
How it works
Each button on a keyboard is a key. Press a key and the computer hears it: one press, one mark.
The letter keys sit in three rows: the top row, the home row in the middle and the bottom row. Number keys run above them, and the long space bar lies below.
Letter keys make a letter. Job keys, such as shift, enter and backspace, do a job and never make a letter by themselves.
Know the row, and your finger can walk straight to the key.
With the number row on top, there are four rows, and the space bar at the bottom.The top row of letters begins q, w, e, r, t, y.
Example 1: Name the rows
The top row begins q, w, e, r, t, y.
The home row holds a, s, d, f, g, h, j, k and l.
The bottom row holds z, x, c, v, b, n and m.
The home row is the middle row.
Example 2: Letter key or job key
The m key makes the letter m, so it is a letter key.
The t key makes the letter t, so it is a letter key.
Shift, enter and backspace do jobs and make no letter, so they are job keys.
Example 3: Use shift
Shift is a job key.
Hold it down.
Press a letter, and that letter comes out big.
Example 4: Fix a slip
Everyone slips sometimes.
Press backspace.
It rubs out the last mark you made, and nobody minds.
Example 5: The rows from the top down
First comes the number row.
Then the top row.
Then the home row.
Then the bottom row.
Last, the long space bar sits alone at the bottom.
Words to know
key
One button on a keyboard.
row
A line of keys across the keyboard.
space bar
The long key at the very bottom of the keyboard.
shift
A job key. Hold it, and the next letter comes out big.
backspace
A job key that rubs out the last mark you made.
job key
A key that does a job and never makes a letter by itself.
Watch out
The home row is the middle row of letters, not the top one.
Shift, enter and backspace are job keys: they make no letter by themselves.
Backspace rubs out the last mark. Shift does not.
Try it
How many rows of letter keys are there?
Which key rubs out the last mark you made?
Is the enter key a letter key or a job key?
Which row is in the middle of the letters?
Answers: 1. Three · 2. Backspace · 3. A job key · 4. The home row
Try at homeAsk a grown-up to show you a keyboard, and find the three rows of letters, then the space bar, enter, shift and backspace. Point to each one, and only press a key if the grown-up says yes.
For grown-upsSit with a real keyboard and let your child point to each row and each big key before pressing anything, and only press a key if you say yes.
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