GUIDE — LESSON PLAN
Typing Lesson Plan — One 45- or 50-Minute Period, and How to Assess It
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- Typing Musou Developer
A typing lesson (one period of 45 or 50 minutes) is easiest to build in three parts: introduction, main activity, wrap-up. Make the main activity “practice on your own screen, then look at your own record.” This article gives an example for a first lesson, with the time split and what the teacher does in a table.
I am the developer of Typing Musou, a free typing game, and the example uses its modes. The frame — an aim, a reflection, a way to assess — works with any other tool. There is no standard national lesson plan for typing in Japan. This is one example that the game’s operator designed.
What the game does, what it costs and how schools adopt it are covered on the For Teachers page. This article sticks to how to build the lesson. Getting the game to open on school devices is covered in Preparing Chromebooks and School PCs.
POINTS
What to decide before planning one period
Settle these three points before you write the plan.
1. Don’t pack the first period
Keep the first period to learning the home position and typing from it. MEXT’s guide “Ideas for Building Information Literacy” also lists repeated input with attention to the home position. Competing on speed can wait until the home position has set in.
2. Build a moment for records into the period
The same guide gives examples of repeated practice in the morning and recording daily results so that growth is visible. Leave time at the end of the period for students to look at their own record and write.
3. Think about assessment across a unit
A January 2019 report of the Central Council for Education asks that not every viewpoint be assessed in every lesson, but that assessment occasions be placed within a unit or theme. You do not have to assess all three viewpoints in one period.
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
What do national documents say about teaching typing?
Here are four points from MEXT documents that matter for planning. None of them gives a standard flow for one period.
Course of Study (elementary, 2017) — General Provisions, Section 3-1 (3) a
Schools are to plan learning activities, suited to each subject, for acquiring the basic operations of information tools “such as entering characters on a computer” as a base for learning. The commentary says it is important to firmly build “keyboard input at a speed needed to carry learning forward.” No numeric standard is given.
Information Literacy Survey (FY2021) and the national target
The average number of characters typed per minute on a keyboard was 15.8 in Grade 5, 23.0 in Grade 8 and 28.4 in Grade 11. The national target is 40 characters for elementary pupils and 60 for lower-secondary students by Reiwa 8 (2026; the document writes “R8”). The unit is characters per minute, which is counted differently from the WPM used in typing games. See Typing Speed of Middle & High School Students.
Ideas for Building Information Literacy
Because vowels are frequent in romaji input, the guide says it matters to be aware of where A-I-U-E-O sit relative to the home position and to repeat them until they stick. It also mentions practicing in a game-like, enjoyable way many times, creating occasions such as contests where students show results, and making sure that devices with an external keyboard let students attach it to practice, so practice volume does not differ.
GIGA StuDX team study session material (March 4, 2026)
It presents school examples: “set aside time for typing practice,” “start with short words,” “keep records and feel your own growth,” “hold contests and championships,” and “post those who reach their goals.” These are examples, not a study comparing effects.
The wider picture, including the direction of the next Course of Study, is in Typing Education in Schools Today.
BEFORE THE LESSON
What to check before the lesson
Nothing special is needed. These are the points that most often trip people up in the first five minutes.
A device with a physical keyboard
The game cannot be played with an on-screen keyboard. On a tablet, connect an external physical keyboard. On a smartphone, the game screens do not open and a notice points to the official site. For iPad, see Can You Practice Typing on an iPad or Phone?.
Open it yourself on the students’ devices first
A school web filter may block the site. Before the lesson, open it on a device students will actually use, and check that you can get as far as the dojo. See Preparing Chromebooks and School PCs, and for request letters, When your school blocks the site.
Only the first launch loads a lot
The first time a device and browser open the game, it loads about 12.8 MB. Later launches are about 0.15 MB. If 40 students open it for the first time at once, that is about 500 MB in total. Opening it once before the first lesson keeps the lesson from stalling (the operator’s measurement, October 7, 2026).
Posture and breaks
MEXT’s health guidebook recommends keeping the eyes at least 30 cm from the device and, once every 30 minutes, looking into the distance for at least 20 seconds. The game has a break reminder too: after 30 minutes of play it asks for a 20-second break. It is on by default. It does not appear during battles or dojo play, only on ordinary screens such as menus.
Japanese input can stay on
The game accepts only the romaji keys (a–z, 0–9, comma, period, hyphen). It is built to read the physical key you press even when the Japanese IME is on. If a device still does not respond, try turning the IME off.
LESSON PLAN
Example plan for a first 45- or 50-minute period
The example is a first period for a class that has barely typed before.
Aim (example): learn the home position, and type from it while looking at the screen. Leave a first record.
Preparation: devices with a physical keyboard, already checked to open. Students can play as guests. If you use the school features, post the assignment “Home Position Dojo — up to stage N” beforehand.
| Stage | Time (45 / 50 min) | Activity and what the teacher does | How to use the game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 8 / 8 min | State the aim. Students place both index fingers on F and J and line up the other fingers. Many keyboards have a bump on those two keys (it varies by device, so check beforehand). Check posture and the distance from eyes to screen (30 cm or more). | Don’t open the game for students yet. Project your screen and show how to start the Home Position Dojo. |
| Main 1 | 20 / 24 min | Students work through the Home Position Dojo at their own pace. The teacher walks around, checking that eyes are not dropping to the keys and that fingers stay near the home position. Fast students move ahead. Slower students may repeat a stage — tell them so. | Chapter 1 (stages 1–10) teaches the keys F, J, D, K, S, L, A, G and H in order, guided by the master. Clearing a stage opens the next. |
| Main 2 (optional) | 7 / 8 min | Choose to fit the class. A class already comfortable with romaji input runs one Speed Trial and notes a first record (WPM, accuracy, misses, weak keys). A class that can barely type moves this record to the next lesson and uses the time to continue Main 1. Don’t make it a competition. | Speed Trial starts with the SPACE key, a 3-second countdown, then 60 seconds. Pressing ESC aborts it and no record is kept. The result screen shows WPM, accuracy, max combo, misses and weak keys. |
| Wrap-up | 10 / 10 min | On a reflection card, students write (1) the stage they reached, (2) keys or fingers that felt hard, (3) a goal for next time. Neighbors check each other’s fingers for drifting away from the home position. Tell them the plan for next time (for example, ten minutes at a time). | Check the stage reached on the dojo screen. If you ran a Speed Trial, copy the numbers from its result screen. If you posted an assignment, a completion mark appears automatically. |
The operator has no measurement of how far through the Home Position Dojo a class gets in one period. Set the target stage low, then adjust after you see how the next lesson goes.
NEXT LESSONS
How to build the second lesson and later
After the first period, combine the following to suit the class. No official standard for frequency or length turned up. For thinking about frequency and timeline, see How Much Daily Typing Practice Do You Need?.
Short daily drill (10–15 min at the start of the day or lesson)
Combine Speed Trial (60 seconds) and Accuracy Drill (ten words with no mistakes; one wrong key ends it). The words come from a dictionary, so they are not the same every time. Look at personal bests and trends over several runs rather than a single number. The growth record in the school features compares the average of the “first 10” runs with the “latest 10.”
Mock Combat (a 180-second match against the CPU)
The CPU in stage 1 types at 5 WPM and gets 3 WPM stronger with each stage. A win opens the next stage. If time runs out, the player with more HP left wins. A draw counts as a loss.
Friend battles and class tournaments
Create a room and share the six-character room code, and people in that room can battle. 1v1 and 2v2 are available, and rating does not change. The host can set an HP multiplier (0.5–3.0×) per side to even out skill gaps. There is no chat or voice, only text stamps. Steps are in How to Play Typing Battles with Friends.
A setting that pauses battles during lessons
In the school features, each class has a “pause battles during lessons” setting (off by default). When it is on, Random Battle, 2v2, Friend Battle and challenge links cannot be started during lesson hours. The dojo is not paused. The teacher can unlock battles.
Random Battle matches students with players around the world. When no one is found, a CPU built from real players’ records steps in, and that also counts for rating. The opponent’s in-game username is shown. Whether to use it in class is a decision for your school’s policy.
ASSESSMENT
How to assess
The three viewpoints of learning-status assessment are 知識・技能 (knowledge and skills), 思考・判断・表現 (thinking, judgment and expression) and 主体的に学習に取り組む態度 (attitude toward engaging in learning independently), as set in the 2017 revision.
A January 21, 2019 report of the Central Council for Education makes three points. First, not every viewpoint is assessed in every lesson; assessment occasions are placed within a unit or theme. Second, cross-curricular qualities such as information literacy are reflected in each subject’s three viewpoints. Third, the attitude viewpoint is not about formal activity such as how often a hand is raised or how notes are taken; it looks at the willing side — whether students persist while regulating their own learning.
So there is no typing-only viewpoint. You use the game’s records as one piece of evidence under the viewpoints of the subject or activity in which you teach. The table is an example.
| Viewpoint | Example of what to look for | Records you can use as evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and skills (知識・技能) | Knows the home position and which finger covers which key, and types from it. | Stage reached in the dojo. Accuracy Drill results. Observation while walking around. |
| Thinking, judgment and expression (思考・判断・表現) | Picks what to fix next from misses and weak keys, and writes it in their own words. | Reflection card text. In the school features, the “weak-key analysis” assignment (the only assignment type that is submitted). |
| Attitude toward learning (主体的に学習に取り組む態度) | Sets a goal, reviews the way they practice, and keeps going persistently. | Writing about goals and adjustments. The growth record (first 10 vs latest 10 runs). Do not score this viewpoint on the number of runs or a high WPM alone. |
On numeric standards: no official WPM standard by grade turned up. The only public numbers are the characters-per-minute figures from MEXT’s survey (see Typing Speed of Middle & High School Students). If you set a standard, using growth from the class’s first record is one option; it is less affected by differences at the start. The WPM definition is in Average WPM and Benchmarks.
Learning assessment is under review for the next Course of Study (Central Council for Education, special committee, document of March 30, 2026). Check your school’s assessment plan for how it is handled each year.
NOTES
Points to watch when using it in class
Four points to check before using it in class.
Widen battles in steps
This is the operator’s suggestion. Going from the dojo to Mock Combat to class-only Friend Battles makes the lesson easier to foresee. Whether to use Random Battle in class is up to your school’s policy.
School data is hidden from opponents
Student numbers, in-class display names and school email addresses do not appear to opponents, on public rankings or on public profiles. There is no chat, and no ads are shown. Details are in Personal data in the school features.
A guest’s records stay in that browser
Records of a guest are tied to that browser. To continue on another device, sign in with a Google account. On shared devices, tell students this first.
Class progress tools belong to the school features
Assignments, the progress board, the gradebook, growth records and CSV export are part of the school features (currently a trial offer). For cost and terms, see For Teachers.
FAQ
FAQ
Q. How far through the dojo does a class get in one period?
The operator has no measurement. It likely varies a lot with the class. Set the first target stage low and adjust after the next lesson.
Q. Do I need a budget or signups to use it in class?
The game itself is free, shows no ads, and every feature works for guests. For the cost and terms of the school features (assignments, progress overview, and so on), see For Teachers.
Q. Can I use iPads in class?
Yes, if you connect an external physical keyboard. The game cannot be played with the on-screen keyboard. See Can You Practice Typing on an iPad or Phone?.
Q. Students start battles during lessons.
Turn on “pause battles during lessons” in the school features. During lesson hours, Random Battle, 2v2, Friend Battle and challenge links cannot be started. The dojo keeps working. The teacher can also unlock battles.
Q. What WPM standard should I use for grading?
No official WPM standard by grade turned up. The only public numbers are MEXT’s characters-per-minute figures. If you set a standard, using growth from the class’s first record is one option.
SOURCES
Sources
The quotations from national documents in this article were checked against the documents below (checked October 18, 2026). The documents are in Japanese. Page numbers are PDF page numbers. Game specifications and data usage come from the operator’s own research.
- MEXT, Ideas for Building Information Literacy (March 2023; revised March 2024 and March 2025) — p.7 (keyboard text entry: home position, morning practice and records, game-like practice, contests, external keyboards)
- Central Council for Education, Curriculum Subcommittee, Report on How Student Learning Should Be Assessed (January 21, 2019) — p.9 (attitude toward engaging in learning), pp.14–15 (assessing cross-curricular qualities; when and how often to assess)
- Central Council for Education, Curriculum Subcommittee, General Provisions and Assessment Special Committee (March 30, 2026), Document 1-1, Learning Assessment, Discussion Material 8 — Learning assessment is under review for the next Course of Study
- MEXT GIGA StuDX team study session, “Typing instruction we want to know about” (March 4, 2026) — School examples (pp.4, 7, 9, 14, 15)
- MEXT, Commentary on the Elementary School Course of Study (2017), General Provisions — Computers and teaching materials, basic computer operations and programming experience (pp.91, 93)
- MEXT, Information Literacy Survey Results (March 2023) — Overview (p.3); 2.4 Characteristics of text input (pp.56–57)
- MEXT, Interim KPIs for Education DX (Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Council, 5th meeting, Document 4, April 22, 2024) — KPI list (p.3). The document writes the year as “R8”
- MEXT, Guidebook for Using ICT with Attention to Children’s Health (revised March 2022) — pp.8–10, 14 (distance, breaks)
SUMMARY
Summary
Split a typing period into introduction, main activity and wrap-up, and make the main activity “practice on your own screen and look at your own record.” Limit the first period to learning the home position and typing from it. Think about assessment across a unit, under the viewpoints of the subject you teach. Don’t score the attitude viewpoint on run counts or a high WPM alone.
Start by trying one stage of Chapter 1 of the Home Position Dojo yourself. Confirming before the lesson that the game opens on the students’ devices will also help you plan the day.