Familiarize kindergarteners with the alphabet. Most students will know the alphabet; practicing their knowledge of the alphabet will aid them in learning the keyboard. Say the alphabet out loud, challenging students to say a word that begins with the letter you say. For example, if you say "A," a student will reply "apple" and if you say "B," a student will reply "bear." Another option is to point at a letter on an alphabet diagram and challenge students to reply with a word. For example, if you point at "C," a student will reply with "cat."
Hang a diagram of a keyboard on the wall or draw one on the board. Repeat Step 1, but use the keyboard layout instead of the traditional alphabet order. Instead of beginning with "A, B and C," begin with "Q, W and E." Continue the exercise with each key, following the rows of letters on the keyboard. When students feel comfortable with the keyboard alphabet, challenge them by choosing random keys and asking them to say a word for the letter you choose.
Give each student a diagram of a keyboard and several crayons. Call out letters on the keyboard along with different colors and challenge students to locate the key on their diagram and color it the specified color. For example, call out "J, green" and have students color the "J" key green. Repeat the process with different letters.
Explain to kindergartenders the purpose of the "Space bar" and "Enter" keys. Point out the keys on a diagram so that students know where they are located, and then ask students to locate the keys on their own personal diagrams.
Write two simple sentences on the board, such as "Jimmy fed the dog" and "Jenny walked the dog." Ask students to determine where the "Space bar" and "Enter" keys would be used, based on their functions.
Demonstrate to students the difference between the left-hand and right-hand sides of the keyboard. Show a diagram of a keyboard with keys pressed by the left hand colored one color and keys pressed by the right hand colored a different color. Pass out personal diagrams and ask students to color their diagrams to match yours.
Say a letter and challenge students to determine whether the letter is on the right-hand or left-hand side of the keyboard. For example, if you say "H," a student will reply "right side."
Have kindergarteners practice their keyboarding skills by actually using a computer keyboard. Load a simple word processor onto the computer. Ask a student to type her name, a vocabulary word or a simple sentence. Don't worry about proper hand positioning; the important thing is for students to familiarize themselves with the layout of the keyboard. Allow each student a chance to practice typing on the computer keyboard.
Print out each child's practice words or sentences and hang them around the room. Seeing their sentences printed and displayed will demonstrate to students one of the most important benefits of learning to use a keyboard: the ease of transferring words from thought to paper.