WPM Test Procedures & Info.

Prepare to take the test:

• Schedule the computer lab for a time to assess your students. 
• Submit the form to Schedule the WPM Test. You will receive a confirmation by email the following day. Please make a note of this date  in your plans.
• Click on the image in the sidebar to *get the three handouts you will need. 

Here is how the test day will work:

• You will receive an email reminder about the test on the morning of your scheduled test date. If you don't receive the reminder, the test has not been assigned. Please contact me via email to try to get the test assigned.
• Students will start with a warm up lesson, then move on to type a paragraph. While students are typing, teachers can use the *Keyboarding Checklist to assess technique. This is now available through PowerTeacher, its a report.
• After students have completed the testing, you can access the *Exercise Summary Report to access a list of students' wpm scores. 
• Use the *Technique Grading Rubric to assign a technique grade, based on your assessment.

*Handouts are available in the sidebar, see Get Handouts for Trimester Assessment.

Conferences are coming soon. Here are some handouts you might want to give parents to encourage home practice, which is the preferred method of keyboarding training.

• Parent Letter
• Techniques Grading Rubric

Remember, its important to find a way to provide positive reinforcement for students practicing at home, so they keep it up. Suggestions include:

• Learn to use a great report
• Asks students to log home practice, electronically through a form or on paper

Word Per Minute Test Opportunity for 4th & 5th Grades

It's hard to believe that report card season is already here. This message is to offer you the easiest and most reliable way to obtain accurate keyboarding grades for report cards, commonly known as the WPM test.  


Prepare to take the test:

• Schedule the computer lab for a time to assess your students. 
• Submit the form to Schedule the WPM Test. You will receive a confirmation by email the following day. Please make a note of this date  in your plans.
• Click on the image in the sidebar to *get the three handouts you will need. 

Here is how the test day will work:

• The test will be assigned to your students on the morning of your lab session so they don’t accidentally complete it when they are practicing at home the night before. You will receive an email reminder about the test on that morning .
• Students will start with a warm up lesson, then move on to type a paragraph. While students are typing, teachers can use the *Keyboarding Checklist to assess technique. This is now available through PowerTeacher, its a report.
• After students have completed the testing, you can access the *Exercise Summary Report to access a list of students' wpm scores. 
• Use the *Technique Grading Rubric to assign a technique grade, based on your assessment.

*Handouts are available in the sidebar, see Get Handouts for Trimester Assessment.

Week of November 1st

A handy form for assessing keyboarding techniques has just been made available to you in PowerTeacher. This is a remake of the old, familiar Keyboarding Techniques Checklist that used to be available through My Home. Tthis handout is populated with student names and lists the techniques at the top of the page to facilitate a quick skills check. While assessing technique is only included on the report card for 4th and 5th grade students, the form and method of assessment is a good tool for all since the focus of early keyboarding instruction is on technique, not speed.

Week of October 12th

Conferences are coming soon. Here are some handouts you might want to give parents to encourage home practice, which is the preferred 

method of keyboarding training.

• Parent Letter
• Techniques Grading Rubric

Week of September 28th

This week it's time for a little housekeeping. Here are some things to know about Custom Typing:

1. The link for students to access Custom Typing has been moved just a bit. It can still be found on the D97 home page, but now it is farther down the page under a subheading called Students. If you can't quite find this link, click to view a snapshot.
2. If you need a student account, please click on the button to Request an Account. It is located on this blog and also right on the page students go to when logging in to Custom Typing.
3. Don't forget to check student practice records this week and provide them with positive feedback if they've been practicing.  If you have found a really great way to provide that positive feedback, please share in the comments section below.
   

Week of September 21st

If you haven't already introduced Custom Typing to your students, you might want to use a document I created to help guide teachers through the key points. It is meant to be projected to the screen when you are working with students and there are even links to graphics. This Custom Typing Kickoff Lesson can be found right on the  Custom Typing Login Page

If you have kicked off Custom Typing, it's time to find out whether or not students will practice at home. Try this:

1. Choose a night and actually assign keyboarding homework. 
2. Ask students to complete one lesson at home, or send them to do it in the school if they don't have a computer. (10 minutes)
3. Have their parents or a sibling check technique to set the tone.
4. Spend some time working with the report to see if you can easily get a record of home practice, then let them know you've checked the practice record. (see directions in sidebar)
5. Remind students that they need to practice regularly at home, about 3 x's per week. Hold a discussion about this. Is it reasonable? Will they remember? What will motivate them?

If you and your students come up with some good ideas. Please share the in the comments section. Next week... good ideas to motivate students to practice at home.