TOS Crew Review - Read, Write and Type

Read, Write, and Type is a typing instruction program from Talking Fingers. It is uniquely designed to not only teach typing skills, but also teach or reinforce reading and spelling skills as well! It is best suited for children ages 6-9.



It is very straightforward - the keys to be used are clearly taught, the hand positioning is discussed and demonstrated in the graphics, and the letter sound is repeated throughout each lesson. For example, instead of teaching the letter "f" by its name, it was taught by using the "ffff" sound - reinforcing phonics! One of the games also has the student typing a letter when a picture beginning what that sound is shown, but if a different beginning sound word is shown, the student presses the space bar - more phonics reinforcement. These types of games are what make up the lesson, so there is definitely strong phonics instruction, achieving the goal of teaching typing, reading, and spelling. Brilliant!

There are plenty of options for a child to practice each skill that is taught in the lessons, and it is easy for the parent to check the child's progress as they move through the program. Another helpful feature is that parents can set the difficulty level for each individual child - requiring a certain percentage of correct skills before the child can move on to the next lesson. For my older boys, I set this at 80% (meaning, they had to get at least 80% correct to continue) and for Joel I left it at the pre-set 70%. None of them had any difficult meeting their required scores, and I attribute their success to the efficiency of the program!

My three oldest children (ages 9.5, 8, and 5.5) used this program. The two oldest improved rapidly in their typing skills, while Joel, my 5.5 year old, progressed a little more slowly as he is still learning reading as well. They all enjoyed using the program very much - in fact, every day they would make sure to remind me it was time for typing! Each lesson took less than 10 minutes, which is really convenient when there several children clamoring for their turn at typing!

The one difficulty Joel encountered was with the accents of the "hands" that teach the program. Sometimes he didn't understand what they were saying. However, when instructions to a game were given or corrections were made, there is a different, clearer voice used, so he was able to understand that one more easily.

The online version (which is the one we reviewed) is $35 for one user, and $55 for two. At registration, each child gets their own login information, which is super convenient so that the program can be accessed from any computer at any time. The CD version is $79 and includes an activity book, laminated keyboard for practice away from the computer, and stickers. An additional bonus to the CD version is that it can be used by any number of children repeatedly, which can make it cheaper than the online version if you have a larger family.

If you'd like to get a more in-depth look at the program, be sure to check out the Sample Lessons available on the Talking Fingers website! Your child can try out the first 8 lessons for free, which gives you a great idea of whether or not the program will meet your needs. You can also find FAQs, other testimonials, a product tour and research information about the program on the main Read, Write, and Type web page. Be sure to check out what other Crew Members thought at the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog!

Disclaimer: I was given this product specifically for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation in regards to this review.