Effective Teaching of Scissor Skills
The Scissor Grasp
Standard children’s scissors:
· The thumb and middle finger are placed into the upper and lower loops up to the first joint (the 4th finger joins the middle finger for the larger loops).
· The index finger supports the lower loop (outside and in front of it) which assists with the closing action, supports the scissors in the vertical position and adds stability.
· The wrist is held straight or bent back slightly to maximize finger mobility, and the scissors are held so the thumb is on top.
· The 4th and 5th fingers (when outside the loop) must be stationary, to maintain the arch in the hand, and isolate the skill in the other fingers.
· The open/close action must be smoothly coordinated for cutting accuracy.
· The direction of cutting is away from the body, not across it.
· The paper should be held along the side or bottom.
Sequenced Materials
Initially, practice modeling correct grasp and use of scissors. Cut nothing, but open and close the blades in a pattern: slow/fast – wide/narrow. While demonstrating these movements, verbalize what you are doing to help the child remember what you have practiced (e.g. “slow-fast-slow”).
· Playdough (roll into “snakes” then cut pieces)
· Drinking straws
· Old playing cards, magazine ad inserts, construction paper
· Standard paper
· Other material such as cloth, tissue etc.
Cutting Skills – Progression
· Snipping paper, making a fringe or “hair”.
· Consecutive snips where the child must use two or three snips to get across the paper (start with narrow strips of paper and gradually increase the width of the strip).
· Cutting on thick lines, moving towards thin lines (initially the line should be within the length of the blades before being lengthened for several cuts.) You can also punch holes along the line to assist with cutting across the paper.
· Wavy lines; curved lines; then circles.
· Squares, rectangles, triangles – emphasize lines and corners.
· More complex designs.