LESSON 1 LEARN THE HOME KEYS

2. LESSON 1 LEARN THE HOME KEYS Place fingers of left hand on A S D F. Place fingers of right hand on J K L ;. Check drawing above to be sure you are using the right fingers on the right keys. Rest your right thumb lightly on the space bar. (Your left thumb is free.) A S D F and J K L ; have a special name. They're called the home keys. Why? Because in touch keyboarding, you always start from these keys, and you always return to them. That way your fingers never lose their place--and neither do you.

3. PRACTICE THE HOME ROW KEYS Remember the home keys -- A S D F for the left hand and J K L ; for the right? Put your fingers on these keys. Keep your fingers curved and your hands in line with the keyboard. Don't let your wrists touch the keyboard frame. Key the following line in the text box below. If you keep your fingers in place on the home row, you won't have to look at the keys. Try it and see. Where there is a space after a letter, use your right-hand thumb to press the space bar asdfasdfjkl;jkl; asdfjkl; aassdd ff

4. LEARN "ENTER" TO RETURN You must now start a new line. Find the "Enter" key. Use your ; (right little finger) to reach sideways and tap Enter to return to the next line. For practice, strike Enter 3 more times. Always bring finger back to ; key. PRACTICE SPACING Practice tapping the space bar. Use your right thumb--not your left--and a quick down-and-in motion. Tap the space bar 5 times. PRACTICE HOME ROW, ENTER, AND SPACE Key the three lines below in the text box until you can key by touch -- without looking at the keys. Use your right-hand thumb to space where you see extra space between groups of letters. asdfjkl; asdfjkl; asdfjkl; aassdd ff jjkkll ;; aass dd ff jjkkll ;; aassdd ff

5. Index keys for both hands LEARN G Move your F finger sideways to G. Strike G as you return to F. Careful: Keep all other fingers on the home row. gfgfgfggfgfgfgfgffgfggfggfgf g sag sag lag lag gal glad glass flag flag a glad gal; a flag sags; a gal lags; jag LEARN H Move your J finger sideways to H. Strike H as you bring your finger back to J. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. hjhjhjhhjhjhjhjhjjhjhhjhhjhj h he he had had has has she shed held hush he had half; she has shells; a huge shed

6. LEARN U Straighten your J finger to U. Strike U as you return to J. Careful: Keep all other fingers on the home row. ujujujuujujujujujjujuujuujuj u us us fuss full dull dug jug lug gull us us dusk fuss; a dull gull; lug full jugs LEARN R Straighten your F finger to R. Strike R as you bring your finger back to F. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. rfrfrfrrfrfrfrfrffrfrrfrrfrf r ear fear dear jar rug fur read real dark read a rule; ears hear; rush her a dress

7. LEARN T Straighten your F finger to T. Strike T as you return to F. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. tftftfttft ft ftftfftfttfttftf t jet let it sit fit the then than at that turn at the trails; start the third jet; LEARN Y Straighten your J finger to Y. Strike Y as you return to J. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. Jyjyjyjyyjyjjjyyy Pyle joy My younger pony quickly ran fifty yards.

8. LEARN N Lower your J finger toward N. Strike N as your finger drops. Return to J in one smooth move. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. njnjnjnnjnjnjnjnjjnjnnjnnjnj n run fun sun end sign land find rain send find a hen; sun and rain; running inside LEARN V Lower your F finger toward V. Strike V as your finger drops. Return to F in one smooth move. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. Fvfv fv fvfvfvfvfvfvfvffvvvf Van vile viol Viva drove valley visit

9. LEARN B Lower your F finger toward B. Strike B as your finger drops. Return to F in one smooth move. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. bf bfbfbbfbfbfbfbffbfbbfbbf bf b by but bath baby busy bit bite beat been A big bug bit Bill. A bird ate the bug. LEARN M Lower your J finger toward M. Strike M as your finger drops. Return to J in one smooth move. Careful: Keep all your other fingers on the home row. mjmjmjmmjmjmjmjmjjmjmmjmmjmj m me am aim same time smile move make home Mary smiled at the woman while she swam.

10. Middle and ring keys for both hands LEARN I Straighten your K finger to I. Strike I as you bring your finger back to K. Careful: You may have to raise your J finger a little to reach I, but keep all your other fingers on the home row. PRACTICE: ikikikiikikikikikkikiikiikiki hid hide hire fire jig fig disk fish did LEARN E Straighten your D finger to E. Strike E as you bring your finger back to D. Careful: You may have to raise your F finger a little to reach E, but keep all your other fingers on the home row. see sees seed seek feed feeds deed deeds 3. see seals fed; use eggs; sell used desks

11. LEARN C Lower your D finger toward C. Strike C as your finger drops. Return to D in one smooth move. Careful: You mayhave to move your F finger a little to reach C. car ice sick such class cried luck clear such luck; cause a cheer; a chick clucks LEARN , Lower your K finger toward the , key. Strike , as your finger drops. Return to K in one smooth move. Careful: You may have to move your J finger a little. king, work, keep, rock, kite, risk, duck Kelly saw pigs, horses, cows, and sheep.

12. LEARN O Straighten your L finger to O. Strike O as you return to L. Careful: You may have to lift your ; finger a little to reach O. do to on our old book cook cost rod rode Our old book cost a dollar at the store. LEARN W Straighten your S finger to W. Strike W as you return to S. Careful: You may have to lift your A finger a little to reach W, but keep all your other fingers on the home row. will wall was went throw show town where We went to town while Wayne walked here.

13. LEARN X Lower your S finger toward X. Strike X as your finger drops. Return to S in one smooth move. Careful: You mayhave to move your A finger a little to reach X, but keep all your other fingers on the home row. six fix box fox ox flax next jinx excite Rex fixed six axes. The boxes are next. LEARN . (period) Lower your L finger toward the . key. Strike . as your finger drops. Return to L in one smooth move. Careful: You may have to move your ; finger a little. Jan. Aug. Dec. Sun. Tues. Fri. I. R. Kat I can. Lu ran. Turn left. Turn right.

14. Pinky keys for both hands LEARN Q Straighten your A finger to Q. Strike Q as you return to A. Careful: You may have to lift your S finger a little to reach Q, but keep all your other fingers on the home row. qaqaqaqqaqaqaqaqaaqaqqaqqaqa q quit quick quiet quad quote quart squeak Quincy quietly quoted the hard question. LEARN P Straighten your ; finger to P. Strike P as you return to the ; key. Careful: Don't throw your right elbow out as you reach for P. p; p; p;pp;p ;p ;p ;p; ;p; pp; pp; p; p pen pan pin plan plant pay put ship spin Pat placed the spotted puppy on the pad.

15. LEARN Z Lower your A finger toward Z. Strike Z as your finger drops. Return to A in one smooth move. zazazazzazazazazaazazzazzaza z zip zoo zebra froze hazy lazy quiz pizza Zelda saw a dozen zebra dozing at a zoo. LEARN ? Use your A finger to hold down the left SHIFT key. Lower your ; finger toward the ? key. Strike ? as your finger drops. Then return to ; in one smooth move. Return your A finger to the home row. ?; ?; ?;? ?;? ;? ;? ;?; ;?; ?;? ?;? ?; ? What? When? Where? Why? Which? Who? Shall I stay? What is it? Will he see?

16. REVIEW LESSON You must be able to key all letters of the alphabet with your correct fingers. If you have trouble with some keys, key again the lessons where you learned these keys and practice the lines below. Notice that each line gives practice on an alphabetic key.