Back to School Fine Motor Task Cards
$5.00
Roll the dice, move the objects! Use this fun set of fine motor cards to improve hand strength, motor coordination, and math concepts.
After taking the summer off, some students are reluctant to get back into their school work. Finding ways to motivate these hesitant students can be an ongoing challenge. Writing and math instruction needs to be more than worksheets and a laptop in order to address important skills. Using a multimodal approach to learning improves skill acquisition.
This great set of fine motor task cards can be modified in dozens of ways to address areas of learning including: fine motor precision, dexterity/strength, visual perception, counting/number recognition, and writing skills. Just add a few classroom supplies and this activity is all set to go!
Description
Cut, color, and laminate these pages for durability and reusability, or make copies for each student. Gather materials to enhance this task:
- Dice
- Grabbers – tongs, tweezers, strawberry pickers, clothespins, chopsticks
- Small items – pompoms, cotton balls, mini marshmallows, beads, mini erasers, crumpled paper, play dough, putty, buttons, or anything else handy
- Dry erase Marker
Students can work on multiple skills when using these fine motor task cards:
Fine Motor Strength and Dexterity – Using different types of grabbers strengthens the intrinsic or internal hand muscles needed for grasping skills. Dexterity is needed to open and close the grabbers, time the opening/closing correctly, and squeeze with the right amount of pressure.
Sensory Processing – Proprioception, or muscle feedback, is needed to recognize how much pressure to use on the grabbers, as well as how/when to let go. Some students will grab too hard, which causes muscle fatigue, while others do not grab hard enough, making it hard to pick up and transfer the objects.
Visual Perception – Students need to scan the cards to determine the correct card they are looking for, find the correct objects to place, and translate information from the dice to the card.
Social Function – Following directions, task initiation/completion, compliance, work tolerance, organization, turn taking, and focus are essential for most tasks. These fine motor cards are no exception.
Handwriting – Students can practice writing the numbers on the cards after, or instead of placing objects. They can write the numeral, or the full written word. A large space without lines can pose a challenge for learners who struggle with sizing/spacing/placement of letters.
Ways to modify and grade this activity:
Not all students work at the same level. It is important to be able to modify activities to make them easier, or more difficult for your level of learner.
- Make dots on the cards for students to place the corresponding amount of items on
- Use dot markers instead of grabbers to change the level of dexterity
- Add or subtract handwriting element from the task
- Use one die with numbers 1-6 instead of all twelve, for lower level learners
- Add more fine motor skills by having students color and cut their pages
- Contact paper can be used instead of lamination for a lower cost option
- Have students use clothespins to attach the right number of clips to the cards
- Turn the cards over, adding a memory element to finding the correct card
- Scatter the cards around the room to add a gross motor element
- Make multiple sets of cards, having students match the number cards
- Students can sort the cards by picture or numbers
- Turn this into a task box or fine motor center for continued practice
The possibilities are limitless for the activities presented on the OT Toolbox like these Back to School Fine Motor Task Cards!
