Torn Paper Fish

One simple yet fun fine motor / eye-hand coordination exercise is tearing paper. 


During a unit about our school we explore classroom materials and discussed what we could do with paper. We decided to try tearing paper for 'fun'. I asked the students what the piece of papers looked like and one of them said fish 'skin' meaning scales. I proposed a project where we would cut by hand fish scales and glue on a fish template. They asked me to pre-cut round eyes.

Using fingers to cut is an excellent fine motor activity and all works better when the idea comes from the students.
It is important to show the students 'how' to tear paper. You need to emphasize that the fingers hold the paper and one hand goes forward and the other goes backward.