Start on the home row and add a pair of keys when a lap feels easy. By the last choice, real words appear.
Where to start in 1st grade
The choices above the game are a starting point for 1st grade: F and J, S and L, G and H and E and I. They are not a rule. Children start typing at different times, so pick the one that feels comfortable and move on when a lap feels easy. Every other skill is on the practice page.
The focus at this stage: Knowing where the home row is, and using the same finger for the same key. Short words come next.
What schools publish for 1st grade
No source we opened sets a typing speed for this grade. A keyboarding pacing guide from Omaha Public Schools in Nebraska, revised in 2016, says "Grades K and 1 do not work on touch-typing, but instead focus on developing keyboard awareness." The New York State Education Department says children in kindergarten and grade 1 should explore keyboards.
Schools set their own goals, and they differ. Our guide to average typing speed by age and grade puts the published targets side by side with their sources. Our guide to typing practice for 1st and 2nd grade has a plan for grown-ups.
Is there a typing test for 1st grade?
Not one we would suggest yet. Finding the keys is the job at this stage. When your child knows the home row, the typing test for kids has a Home row choice.
For teachers
Every page here runs in a browser with no accounts, so a whole class can use it on Chromebooks or iPads. Teachers can request free classroom codes for the full game.
Other grades
Kindergarten · 2nd grade · 3rd grade · 4th grade · 5th grade
Questions
How fast should 1st graders type?
No source we opened sets a speed for 1st grade. The schools we could check ask 1st graders to get to know the keyboard, not to type by touch.
Is this free?
Yes. There are no ads and nothing to sign up for.
My child is in 1st grade and has never typed. Where should they start?
At the beginning, with F and J on the home row. The first lessons go quickly, and nothing is lost by starting there.