Jump to Spell: Learning the Keyboard

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Date: 1994

Grade Level(s): 2, 3, 4, 5

Subject(s):

• Physical Education/Skill-Related Fitness

Materials:

• Teacher-made computer keyboard drawn on the gym floor or concrete area outside
  
• Laminated activity cards

Time Required: In a learning center in a physical education class, approximately 10 minutes.

Activities and Procedures:

Have the students choose a partner and take turns completing the activity. Have each student take a card, read it and follow the directions on it. To complete the exercises on the activity cards, the students jump on the appropriate keys on the computer keyboard drawn on the floor or ground. For example:

1. Jump to spell these computer words: Disk, cursor, return
2. Spell your name
3. Jump to spell your favorite PE activity
4. Press Return/Enter to start this program over for the next person.

Have the student partners check each other's work.

The first student completes the selected activity, the student's partner completes the activity, then they choose another team and the process continues until the class is finished.

Follow-Up/Extension:

The same activities could be completed in the classroom with computer keyboards.