Dear Parents
It has been a pleasure working with your son/daughter this past school year in Elementary Computer Skills. The students worked very hard at improving their keyboarding skills. Students also had the opportunity to work with multimedia software, voice recording equipment, desktop publishing software, email, and the internet. Next fall, when your child enters sixth grade in the middle school, he/she will receive six more weeks of keyboarding to reinforce and extend what they have already learned.
I would like to emphasize how important it is for your son/daughter to continue working on their keyboarding skills throughout the summer. All students learn and pick up the skill of keyboarding at different rates; therefore, your son/daughter might benefit from going back to the home row keys/beginning lessons and becoming more proficient on them. As they become comfortable with these keys, they can advance into the next lesson(s) where more keys are added. I would be willing to provide you with this early lesson material. Please email me your request at lhoffman@rvschools.org
For students who do not need this individual lesson review, there are many different options for practice. The following are some suggestions: emailing friends/family, chatrooms (with parent permission), do a summer book report on the computer, use the Typing Time software (if you need a copy of this software, please email me your request/mailing address at the above address), write stories, etc.
I recommend that students try to get their hands on a keyboard a minimum of two times a week for ten minutes (solid typing) at a time. This will keep them familiar with where the keys are and also continue to build upon their speed. I do emphasize that students must follow the same basic technique directions at home as they were taught in school--feet flat on the floor, palms slightly off the keyboard, and eyes on their books or papers (we used cover-up sheets in school).
If your son/daughter does not have access to any type of a keyboard, I suggest that they use a paper keyboard to keep their familiarity with where the keys are. I also have a supply of nonworking keyboards from area companies that I would be willing to loan to you over the summer for your child. Your child will not be able to see what they are typing, however, it would provide them the ability to do some practice throughout the summer months.
If I can provide your son/daughter with any additional materials for the summer, please let me know. Have a safe and relaxing summer.
Sincerely
Lori Hoffman
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08/27/07 (Lori Hoffman)