Scissors and copies of the blackline master are optional for the paper-cutting activity. Provide them if students will physically carry out the paper cutting instead of observing how the paper-cutting would look. If using, prepare one pair of scissors and one 8 inch by 10 inch piece of blank paper for every two students. Blank paper may be used as an alternative to the grid on the blackline master, which is meant to make the meaning of area more clear.