Making Things — Class 3 EVS (CBSE)
From the current NCERT Our Wondrous World Grade 3 book, Unit 4: Things Around Us, Chapter 11. Many hands and many steps turn simple materials into the things we use.
1. Why this chapter matters
The things around us do not appear by magic — they are made from raw materials by skilled people. Learning how things are made helps children value work, skill, and the effort behind everyday objects.
2. Key ideas
- Useful things are made from raw materials such as clay, wood, paper, and metal.
- Making something usually needs several steps, skill, and patience.
- A potter makes pots from clay: he selects clay, mixes it with water, kneads it, shapes it on a spinning wheel, dries it, and bakes it in a hot oven called a kiln to make it strong.
- Houses are built using materials like grass, wood, bricks, and cement.
- Workers use safety equipment — like helmets and safety vests — to stay safe.
3. Let's understand
In the story, Mini watches her grandfather Appooppan, a skilled potter. He carefully chooses clay, mixes it with water, and kneads it until it is just right. Then he places it on a spinning wheel, where it slowly takes the shape of a pot. After shaping, the pots are dried and then baked in a kiln — a very hot oven — which makes them strong and ready to use.
Other things are made in their own ways. Houses are built with grass, wood, bricks, and cement, and the people who build them wear helmets and safety vests to stay safe. Every made thing — a pot, a chair, a book, a house — needs the right materials, steps, skill, and care.
4. New words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| material | what a thing is made from |
| potter | a person who makes pots from clay |
| knead | to press and fold a soft material like clay or dough |
| kiln | a very hot oven used to bake clay pots |
| skill | the ability to do something well |
5. Activity corner
Pick one thing you use (a pot, a paper bag, a wooden toy). Find out and write:
- What material it is made from
- One or two steps used to make it
- Who makes it (the worker's skill)
6. Common mistakes
- Mistake: Thinking things are made in one quick step. Fix: Making things usually needs several steps, skill, and patience.
- Mistake: Forgetting why pots are baked. Fix: Pots are baked in a kiln to make them hard and strong.
- Mistake: Ignoring the workers who make things. Fix: Skilled workers make our things; they also use safety gear.
7. Let Us Think
-
Name three materials used to make things. Clay, wood, and metal (also paper).
-
How does a potter make a pot? He selects clay, mixes it with water, kneads it, shapes it on a wheel, dries it, and bakes it in a kiln.
-
Why are clay pots baked in a kiln? To make them strong and ready to use.
-
Name two materials used to build houses. Bricks and cement (also grass and wood).
-
Why do builders wear helmets and safety vests? To stay safe while they work.
8. Answer key
- Clay, wood, metal.
- Select clay, mix with water, knead, shape on a wheel, dry, and bake in a kiln.
- To make the pots hard and strong.
- Bricks and cement.
- To protect themselves and stay safe at work.
9. Quick revision
- Things are made from materials like clay, wood, paper, and metal.
- Making things needs steps, skill, and patience.
- A potter shapes clay on a wheel and bakes pots in a kiln.
- Houses use grass, wood, bricks, and cement.
- Workers use safety gear like helmets and vests.
Unit 4: Things Around Us
This chapter is part of Unit 4: Things Around Us. The three chapters in this unit are:
- Chapter 10: This World of Things
- Chapter 11: Making Things
- Chapter 12: Taking Charge of Waste
