How Things are Made — Class 4 EVS (CBSE)
From the current NCERT Our Wondrous World Grade 4 book, Unit 4: Things Around Us, Chapter 8. Everything we use began as a raw material and was made through clever steps.
1. Why this chapter matters
The things we use do not appear ready-made. They are made from raw materials through steps, with skill and the work of many people. Learning this helps children value materials, work, and the journey from material to product.
2. Key ideas
- A raw material is what a thing is made from; a product is the finished thing.
- Making something needs steps, skill, and workers.
- Examples of journeys from material to product:
- Cotton → thread (spinning) → cloth (weaving).
- Clay → shaped on a wheel → baked in a kiln → pot.
- Wheat → flour → dough → baked → bread/roti.
- Wood/bamboo → pulp → paper.
- Some things are handmade (by craftspeople) and some are machine-made (in factories).
3. Let's understand
Look at a piece of cloth. It began as soft cotton picked from plants. The cotton was spun into thread, and the thread was woven into cloth. A pot began as clay, which a potter shaped on a wheel and then baked hard in a kiln. The bread or roti we eat began as wheat, ground into flour, made into dough, and then baked or cooked.
Every made thing follows a journey: a raw material, then several steps, and finally a product. Some things are handmade by skilled craftspeople; others are machine-made in factories. Behind each thing are workers whose effort and skill we should respect.
4. New words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| raw material | what a thing is made from |
| product | the finished, made thing |
| spinning | making thread from cotton or wool |
| weaving | making cloth from thread |
| kiln | a very hot oven used to bake clay |
5. Activity corner
Pick three things you use (a cloth, a pot, a paper item). For each, find out and write:
- The raw material it is made from
- One or two steps used to make it
- Whether it is handmade or machine-made
6. Common mistakes
- Mistake: Thinking things are made in one quick step. Fix: Making things needs several steps, skill, and patience.
- Mistake: Confusing the raw material with the product. Fix: Cotton is the raw material; cloth is the product.
- Mistake: Forgetting the workers. Fix: Many skilled workers make the things we use.
7. Let Us Think
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What is the difference between a raw material and a product? A raw material is what a thing is made from; a product is the finished thing.
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How is cloth made from cotton? Cotton is spun into thread, and the thread is woven into cloth.
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How does clay become a pot? A potter shapes the clay on a wheel, then bakes it hard in a kiln.
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Trace the journey of bread. Wheat → flour → dough → baked → bread.
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What is the difference between handmade and machine-made things? Handmade things are made by people's hands and skill; machine-made things are made by machines in factories.
8. Answer key
- Raw material is the starting material; product is the finished thing.
- Cotton → thread (spinning) → cloth (weaving).
- Shaped on a wheel, then baked in a kiln.
- Wheat → flour → dough → baked → bread.
- Handmade is by hand; machine-made is by machines in factories.
9. Quick revision
- A raw material is the starting material; a product is the finished thing.
- Making things needs steps, skill, and workers.
- Cotton → cloth, clay → pot, wheat → bread are journeys from material to product.
- Things can be handmade or machine-made.
- Respect the workers who make our things.
Unit 4: Things Around Us
This chapter is part of Unit 4: Things Around Us. The two chapters in this unit are:
- Chapter 7: How Things Work
- Chapter 8: How Things are Made
