The Little Things #2 - Scissors

How many times have you been walking around, monitoring students at work, when suddenly you catch sight of a child wound around him or herself in some unbelievable contortion, trying to cut something out for a collage? I am not surprised to see this with young children, but when it is a 4th or 5th grader, I wonder how s/he got this far in his or her education without mastering this basic skill of cutting efficiently with a pair of scissors.

These are 3 things I have seen kids (older kids!!) doing:
     #1) Holding the scissors upside down, with the thumb in the finger hole and the fingers trying to squeeze into the thumb hole.

      #2) I see this most often. Instead of turning the paper to cut curves, children try to turn their cutting arm and end up cutting toward themselves instead of away from themselves.

      #3) I see this a LOT, too. It is hard to see in this photo. But this right handed child's pair of scissors is on the left side of the cutting line, blocking her view of the line. If she moves the blade just to the right of the line, she can see it clearly as she cuts. I have found that kids don't always "get" this concept right away when I show them the difference. It usually takes a bit of monitoring.

So, what is the cure when you are the art teacher who may not see the child consistently, or, as in my case, more than a few times a year? When there is time, I will stop, sit down and model for the student, making sure they are on the right track before I move on. Since I know I won't be able to follow up in the regular classroom, I jot it down on a post-it to mention my observations to the classroom teacher, who can then pass it on to the parent (who can be watchful and monitor at home).

I probably have overlooked some other behaviors that you have seen in your own classrooms. Anyone have any other tips for mastering "Scissors 101"?