The best way I have found is to let them type! I am not sure what your situation is with computers in your building but if you have any computer lab time, I suggest you let them type something. I used to let my students type their published writing pieces in a Microsoft word document. There are also several websites that let students practice their typing. Create a symbaloo account and look for TYPING GAMES. Also, the website www.kidblog.org is good to use. You can put writing prompts and assignments on there and have students respond to them. I also have students respond to a classmate's writing. The only way I have found to improve this skill is for the students to practice it.

I am having the same problem:( I think the more practice, the better. I do lots of small groups. One of the small groups is computers. There are free programs online for learning to type. This could be a possibility during small groups at your computers!

There are many websites that teach students the proper way to type through typing games. Also, letting them type their assignments as much as possible. Once they feel comfortable with the keyboard, they will be fine when it comes to the standardized test.

If your students attend rotation classes throughout the day see if your school would be open to adding the program Typing Pal to computers. My students attend this once a week during their rotation class. It helps increase their typing ability. In my classroom, we have a question of the day for all subjects that require students to record their answer in their journals. No, they are not getting typing practice but they are receiving much needed practice on writing constructed responses.