About the Number Row: 1 to 5 lesson
This lesson introduces the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 keys. Type 1 with your left little finger, 2 with your left ring finger, 3 with your left middle finger, 4 with your left index finger, and 5 with your left index finger. Each of the 3 drills is around 60 characters, short enough to finish in one focused burst. Once you can finish all 3 drills above 95% accuracy, move on to Number Row: 6 to 0.
Keys in this lesson: 1 2 3 4 5
How to practise the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 keys
- Rest your fingers on the home row — left hand on A, S, D, F and right hand on J, K, L, semicolon — before you start.
- Reach for each key with the correct finger (1 with your left little finger, 2 with your left ring finger, 3 with your left middle finger, 4 with your left index finger, and 5 with your left index finger) and return straight to the home row afterwards.
- Keep your eyes on the character strip, not on the keyboard. The on-screen keyboard below highlights the next key if you get lost.
- Slow down until you can hit the key without hesitating. Speed is a by-product of not hesitating, so it arrives on its own.
Where this fits
This is lesson 24 of 41 in the free FastFingers touch typing course. The next lesson is Number Row: 6 to 0. When you want to measure your speed on real text instead of drills, take a free typing test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Type 1 with your left little finger, 2 with your left ring finger, 3 with your left middle finger, 4 with your left index finger, and 5 with your left index finger. Your other fingers stay resting on the home row so your hand never needs to move as a whole.
Repeat it until you can finish all 3 drills at 97% accuracy or better without looking down. For most people that is two or three passes across a couple of days, not one long sitting.
Fix them. This lesson blocks a second wrong keystroke in a row, so you have to press Backspace and correct the character before you can continue. That is deliberate — it stops you drilling the wrong movement.