Typing games for KS2

Type the spelling words set for Years 3 and 4, or for Years 5 and 6. A lap is ten words, and every right key moves the dinosaur along the road.

For England, where key stage 2 (KS2) is Year 3 to Year 6. For Years 1 and 2, see KS1 typing games.

How to play

Pick Years 3 and 4 or Years 5 and 6 above the game. Each lap deals ten of that list's words in a new order. Type the lit key and the dinosaur moves along. Press a wrong one and it waits for you. Nothing is timed, and the stars at the end are for careful typing.

The Years 3 and 4 words

actual actually address answer appear arrive believe bicycle breath breathe build busy business calendar caught centre century certain circle complete consider continue decide describe different difficult disappear early earth eight eighth enough exercise experience experiment extreme famous favourite February forward forwards fruit grammar group guard guide heard heart height history imagine increase important interest island knowledge learn length library material mention minute natural notice occasion occasionally often opposite ordinary particular peculiar perhaps popular position possess possession possible potatoes pressure probably promise purpose quarter question recent regular reign remember sentence separate special straight strange strength suppose surprise therefore though although thought through various weight woman women

The national curriculum in England sets one word list for Years 3 and 4 and another for Years 5 and 6, in English Appendix 1: Spelling. It says the lists "are statutory" and calls them "a mixture of words pupils frequently use in their writing and those which they often misspell". Of the 100 entries for Years 3 and 4, 97 are here: 3 are left out because our vocabulary rules for children do not use them. An entry such as "busy/business" is two words to type, so the game has 104 words. "February" needs a capital letter, which these laps do not ask for.

The Years 5 and 6 words

accommodate accompany according achieve amateur ancient apparent appreciate attached available average bargain category committee communicate community competition conscience conscious controversy convenience correspond curiosity definite determined develop dictionary environment equip equipped equipment especially exaggerate excellent existence explanation familiar foreign forty frequently guarantee hindrance identity immediate immediately individual interfere interrupt language leisure lightning marvellous muscle necessary neighbour occupy occur opportunity persuade physical privilege profession programme pronunciation queue recognise recommend relevant restaurant rhyme rhythm secretary shoulder signature sincere sincerely stomach sufficient suggest symbol system temperature thorough twelfth variety vegetable vehicle yacht

Of the 100 entries for Years 5 and 6, 84 are here and 16 are left out for the same reason. The game has 88 words. The full lists are in the appendix. A link that opens this page on them: Years 5 and 6 words.

Both lists are in British spelling: centre, favourite, neighbour, programme, recognise and marvellous.

What KS2 is

KS2 is short for key stage 2. In the national curriculum in England it is the four years from Year 3 to Year 6.

The table is from GOV.UK's guide to the national curriculum. The ages tell you the year group. They are not a rule for typing: a child who has never typed starts in the same place in Year 6 as in Year 3, with two keys. We read the curriculum for England. We have not read the curricula for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Is typing in the KS2 curriculum?

It is not named. We read the English and computing programmes of study for key stages 1 and 2, and neither mentions typing or keyboard skills. The computing programme asks KS2 pupils to "select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices". So there is no national typing target for these years, and this page does not set one.

Then type whole sentences

When single words feel easy, try lines from the game's stories, with capital letters, commas and full stops. For a capital, hold Shift with the little finger of the other hand. There is no clock here either.

The lines come from the game's own stories, which were written in the United States. Now and then a word is the American one, such as "truck" or "yard".

On a UK keyboard

The game draws a US keyboard. On a UK keyboard every letter and number, the full stop, the comma, the question mark and the apostrophe are in the same places. Of the signs the game asks for, three are not.

Shift and 3 types £ on a UK keyboard. On an Apple British keyboard, speech marks and @ are where the picture shows them, Shift and 3 types £, and Option and 3 types #. This comes from the Unicode keyboard charts for the UK layouts on Windows, Chromebook and Mac.

Press the key that types the sign on your own keyboard and the game counts it, wherever the picture points. One key is treated differently. No lesson asks for £, so on this site and in the web game Shift and 3 counts as #, the sign the picture shows there.

The word laps on this page use letters only. Speech marks turn up in the story lines, and @ and # wait until lesson 55 of the full game.

What suits a child in KS2

• Right before fast. A wrong key waits for the right one, and the stars are for careful typing.
• Every finger has its keys. The home row keys chart shows which finger types which key, and our guide to touch typing for kids explains the rest.
• Words, then sentences. Sentences add capital letters and full stops to what the fingers already know.
• A number, when they ask for one. The typing test for kids gives words a minute and keys right. Compare it with the same child's number from last month, never with another child's.
• This week's spellings. Spelling practice takes your own list, and the spelling test shows each word, covers it, and asks for it from memory.

For teachers

The page runs in a browser on Chromebooks, laptops and iPads, with no accounts and nothing to install, so a whole class can use it at once. Nothing typed is saved or sent. Teachers can request free classroom codes for the full game.

Where next

• KS1 typing games
• Sentence typing practice
• Punctuation typing practice
• Typing test
• Typing lessons
• All typing games

Questions