Dance Mat Typing Level 4: Capitals and Punctuation
Capital letters with the shift key, apostrophes, slashes and full stops, plus the number row. Play it here: the level 4 game is below, free, no login, no ads, nothing to install. Ages 9-11.
Playing our Dance Mat Typing Game, level 4 (stages 10-12). Prefer a bigger screen? Open it full page. Drill the same keys in Number Ninja, then: Code Breaker.
What Dance Mat Typing Level 4 Teaches
Level 4 is the level most modern typing programs skip, which is why so many fast typists still look down for a capital letter or a number. It teaches shift with the opposite hand, the punctuation a sentence actually needs, and here we add the number row, which the original left out.
This is the same level 4 the BBC program teaches, and the original is still live on BBC Bitesize. For where it lives, what every level covers and how the alternatives compare, see our BBC dance mat typing guide. This page is only about playing level 4: the keys are capital letters with the shift key, apostrophes, slashes and full stops, plus the number row, and the dance mat typing game above drills exactly those keys.
Level 4 Stages: Stage 10 · Stage 11 · Stage 12
Like every level of the program, level 4 is split into three stages that add keys in order. The program numbers them straight through, so level 4 is stage 10, stage 11 and stage 12. Here is what each one introduces, and the same order is how the game above unlocks its keys.
The three stages below are how our games order this level's keys. The BBC original also splits every level into three stages, but its exact key order is its own; the keys covered by the end of the level are the same.
- Dance mat typing stage 10. Stage 10 introduces the shift key for capital letters, using the opposite hand's pinky to hold shift.
- Dance mat typing stage 11. Stage 11 adds the apostrophe and the slash.
- Dance mat typing stage 12. Stage 12 brings in the full stop and mixes everything into short sentences.
Common Mistakes on Level 4
- Holding shift with the same hand that types the letter.
- Looking down for the apostrophe every single time.
- Finishing level 4 and stopping, when speed practice on words and sentences is what comes next.
Session length: five to ten minutes at a time, most days. A short session with the right fingers beats a long one with the wrong ones, and the game saves progress on the device so there is nothing to redo next time.
After Level 4
Once all four levels feel easy, measure once with the free typing test, then build speed on words and sentences with the typing games for 3rd graders. Knowing where the keys are and typing fast are two different skills, and the original only ever taught the first one.
All four levels, in order, with the game for each one, are on the dance mat typing games page.
Dance Mat Typing Level 4 — Questions
What does dance mat typing level 4 teach?
Capital letters with the shift key, apostrophes, slashes and full stops. It does not cover the number row, so this page adds Number Ninja for digits and Code Breaker for mixed letters, numbers and symbols.
Does dance mat typing teach numbers?
Not in the original. Level 4 stops at capitals and punctuation. Number Ninja on this page drills the number row the same way the earlier levels drilled the letter rows.
What comes after dance mat typing level 4?
Speed. A child who finishes level 4 knows where every key lives but still types slowly. Take the one-minute typing test for a WPM score, then use word and sentence games on the 3rd grade page to build speed.
Is BBC dance mat typing level 4 still online?
Yes. All four levels are live on BBC Bitesize. This page is the free follow-on that covers the same capitals and punctuation and adds the number row.
What age is level 4 for?
Nine to eleven. Younger children can do the shift key, but the punctuation and mixed strings need reading fluency that usually arrives around 3rd or 4th grade.