NCERT Solutions for Class 3 EVS Chapter 11 Making Things

Chapter 11: Making Things

Question 1. Have you ever wondered?
• What are these things made of?
• Who has made them and how?
Answer:
* Yes! Clay pots, cups, and piggy banks are made from wet mud called clay.
* Potters make these items. They mix the dry clay with water, knead it like bread dough, and spin it on a heavy stone wheel to shape it with their hands.
* Finally, they bake the soft clay pots inside a very hot oven called a kiln so they become hard, strong, and do not break when wet.
In simple words: Clay items are handmade by potters on a spinning wheel and then baked in a hot kiln to make them strong.

Exam Tip: Name the "potter's wheel" and the "kiln" as the key tool and oven used in pot-making.

Question 2. Discuss.
• What are pots used for?
• What other kinds of things do potters make?
• Why is the pot baked in a kiln?
Answer:
* Pots are used to store cool drinking water, cook food, and grow pretty plants.
* Potters also make clay cups, piggy banks, deep birdbaths, and beautiful statues.
* Pots are baked in a hot kiln to make the clay hard and strong. Unbaked clay would melt and break as soon as we put water inside.
In simple words: Clay pots keep water cool. They must be baked in a hot oven so they become strong and do not dissolve in water.

Exam Tip: Explain that baking clay changes it from soft mud to a solid, waterproof material.

Question 3. Activity 1.
• Visit a potter in your neighbourhood with your parents or elders in the family.
• Observe how the potter works on the stone wheel or the potter's wheel.
• Have you wondered how clay takes a beautiful shape on a spinning wheel?
• Which of the products made by a potter do you use at home?
• Draw some of the products that you have seen at the potter's place in the box given below.
Answer:
* I visited a local potter with my mother. It was amazing watching him work!
* He placed a lump of soft clay on his spinning wheel. Using just his wet hands, he molded the clay into a neat pot in a few seconds. It looked like magic!
* At home, we use a clay matka to keep our drinking water cool and sweet. I also have a little clay piggy bank for my coins.
In simple words: Seeing a potter shape a soft lump of clay on a fast-spinning wheel is a magical experience. We use clay pots at home to keep water cool.

Exam Tip: Note that clay pots are used because they have tiny pores that keep water cool naturally during summer.

Question 4. In what ways do you help your parents and grandparents?
Answer:
* I help my mother by washing vegetables in the kitchen and setting the plates on the table.
* I help my grandparents by finding their reading glasses and bringing them water. I also enjoy watering the garden plants with my grandfather.
In simple words: We can help our family by doing small chores like watering plants, cleaning plates, and carrying things for elders.

Exam Tip: Mention small, safe, everyday tasks that a child can easily do to help at home.

Question 5. Activity 2. Make your own clay. (Do this activity with the help of elders)
• Collect soil from wet or muddy places.
• Remove any big pebbles or stones, sand, leaves or parts of plants from it using a net or sieve.
• Put this soil in a flat vessel filled with water.
• After a few days, throw away the water that stays on top.
• Now make dough that you can shape into a ball.
Make any two things you like with the clay that you have made. Put it out in the sun to dry.
Answer: This is a wonderful hands-on activity! We can collect mud from a garden, sieve it to remove stones, and mix it with water. Once the water is drained, the soft clay is ready to be rolled into balls. We can shape it into little toys, like a tiny clay cup or a small plate, and let them dry in the hot sun.
In simple words: We can make clean clay at home by filtering garden mud and letting our handmade clay shapes dry under the sun.

Exam Tip: Let your clay shapes dry fully in the sun before painting them so they do not crack or break.

Question 6. Activity 3. Arrange the images in the correct order by numbering them from 1 to 5.
Answer: The correct steps of pot-making are:
1. Sifting dry soil through a net to remove stones.
2. Mixing the clean clay with water and kneading it.
3. Shaping the wet clay on the spinning wheel.
4. Letting the shaped pots dry under the sun.
5. Baking the dry pots in a hot kiln oven.
In simple words: Potters clean the dirt first, mix it with water, spin it into shapes, dry it, and finally bake it in a hot oven.

Exam Tip: Sifting the soil is always step one, and baking in the kiln is always the final step.

Question 7. Activity 4. The following are some patterns with repeating shapes and lines.
• Look around for patterns on plants. Draw any pattern of a leaf in the given box. Give an example of your own.
• Look around for patterns on animals. Draw an animal which has patterns in the given box.
• Look around for patterns on things. Draw a pattern in the box.
Answer: Natural and artificial things often have beautiful repeating designs:
* Patterns on plants: Fern leaves have small, matching leaflets growing along both sides of a central stem.
* Patterns on animals: Zebras have repeating black and white stripes, and giraffes have beautiful brown patches.
* Patterns on things: Hand-painted clay cups often have repeating diamond, triangle, or zig-zag patterns on them.
In simple words: Patterns are lines or shapes that repeat. We see them on zebra stripes, fern leaves, and painted clay pots.

Exam Tip: Look closely at a leaf to notice the repeating pattern of veins spreading out from the center line.

Question 8. Decorate the given objects with patterns. Patterns in Indian pottery. These are some beautiful forms of pottery from different parts of India. Tick the ones that have patterns on them.
Answer: This is a creative art activity! We can draw repeating lines, dots, and flowers to decorate outline drawings of cups and pots, just like the beautiful patterned pottery found across India.
In simple words: We can make clay pots look beautiful by drawing repeating lines and flowery patterns on them.

Exam Tip: Traditional Indian pots often have simple geometric patterns like lines, circles, and leaves drawn around their neck.

Question 9. Brick by Brick.
• Where have you seen bricks?
• Have you ever seen how bricks are made?
Answer:
* I have seen red bricks used to build house walls, school buildings, and boundary walls at construction sites.
* Yes, I watched a video showing how bricks are made. Workers mix clay soil with water, press the wet mud into rectangular wooden boxes (molds), let them dry, and then bake them in a huge brick kiln to make them rock-hard.
In simple words: Bricks are used to build strong walls. They are made by pressing wet mud into block molds and baking them.

Exam Tip: Just like pots, bricks must be baked in a hot kiln to make them hard and strong enough for building houses.

Question 10. Discuss.
• Are all houses made of bricks?
• What do you think are other materials used to build houses?
Answer:
* No, not all houses are built of bricks. Houses are made of different materials depending on the weather and what is found nearby.
* In hot villages, people build houses with mud and straw because they stay very cool.
* In forest areas, houses are made of wood or bamboo. In rocky mountain areas, people use heavy stones to build warm, strong homes.
In simple words: Houses can be built of bricks, stones, wood, mud, or bamboo depending on the weather and materials nearby.

Exam Tip: Explain that mud houses are best for hot climates because mud naturally keeps the inside of the house cool.

Question 11. Write.
1. Why do you think mud houses are better for the environment?
2. Look around at the houses in your neighbourhood. What are the houses made of?
Answer:
1. Mud houses are eco-friendly because they use natural things like clay and straw. They do not need factories or a lot of heat to make. They also keep the inside cool in summer and warm in winter, so we do not need fans or heaters.
2. In my city neighborhood, almost all the houses are made of red bricks, concrete, and grey cement. They have glass windows and strong iron doors to keep them safe from storms.
In simple words: Mud houses are great for nature because they use only natural mud and keep the rooms cool without electrical fans.

Exam Tip: Mention that mud houses are called "eco-friendly" because they are made of natural, biodegradable materials.

Question 12. Activity 5. Look at the pictures below. Guess the name of each type of house. Fill it in the given table below.
Answer: Here is the completed table showing different types of houses and their materials:

In simple words: Huts are made of mud, tents are made of cloth, boat houses are made of wood, and tall skyscrapers are built from steel and glass.

Exam Tip: Be sure to write the exact name of the house (like "Skyscraper" or "Houseboat") next to its correct picture.

Question 13. Activity 6. Make a Wall. Make some bricks using a matchbox mould, small paper boxes, clay or atta (dough). Stack them in these two arrangements shown in the drawing.
• Which one is sturdier?
• Which one falls more easily when pushed?
Answer:
* The staggered pattern (where bricks are placed like steps, overlapping each other) is much stronger. The overlapping locks the bricks together so they do not fall.
* The straight pattern (where bricks are stacked directly on top of each other in columns) is weak and falls down easily with a small push because there is no lock between the columns.
In simple words: Placing bricks in an overlapping pattern makes a strong wall. Stacking them straight in columns makes a weak wall that topples easily.

Exam Tip: Real brick walls are always built in an overlapping (staggered) pattern to make them safe and sturdy.

Question 14. Discuss.
• Are there any safety rules at home?
• Do you have any safety rules at school?
Answer:
* At home, our safety rules are: never play with fire or touch the hot stove, stay away from sharp knives, never touch electrical plugs with wet hands, and lock the front door at night.
* At school, our safety rules are: walk quietly in a line without running in corridors, listen to the teacher during fire drills, and play gently on the playground swings without pushing.
In simple words: Safety rules keep us safe from getting hurt. We must not play with fire at home, and we must not run in school corridors.

Exam Tip: List at least two safety rules for home and two for school to write a complete answer.

Question 15. Let us reflect. A. Write. 1. What is the process of pot making?
Answer: The step-by-step process of making clay pots:
1. Cleaning the Clay: We collect muddy clay and filter it with a sieve to remove stones and leaves.
2. Kneading: We mix the clay with water and knead it until it is smooth like dough.
3. Shaping: The potter puts a ball of clay on a spinning wheel and shapes it with wet fingers.
4. Drying: The wet pot is placed under the sun for a few days to dry and harden slightly.
5. Decorating: Some potters carve beautiful patterns or paint flowers on the dry pot.
6. Baking: The pot is placed inside a super-hot oven called a kiln. This makes it strong and waterproof.
In simple words: Clay is sieved, mixed with water, shaped on a spinning wheel, dried in the sun, decorated, and baked in a hot kiln.

Exam Tip: Write the steps in order using numbers so that the potting process is very easy to follow.

Question 16. Let us reflect. A. Write. 2. How do artists get ideas for their arts?
Answer: Artists get ideas by looking at nature around them. They copy the repeating patterns on green leaves, colorful flowers, and animal skins like zebras. They also use their own wild imagination to draw new things.
In simple words: Artists get creative ideas by observing beautiful things in nature, like flowers, animal patterns, and trees.

Exam Tip: Mention "nature" as the main source of inspiration for artists' patterns and drawings.

Question 17. Let us reflect. A. Write. 3. What is a kiln?
Answer: A kiln is a huge, extremely hot oven. It is used to bake soft clay pots and bricks. The high heat dries out all the moisture inside the clay, making the pots rock-hard and durable.
In simple words: A kiln is a very hot oven used to bake clay pots and bricks to make them strong and waterproof.

Exam Tip: State clearly that baking in a kiln is necessary so the clay pot does not break when filled with water.

Question 18. Let us reflect. A. Write. 4. What are houses made of?
Answer: Houses are built from different materials like red bricks, concrete, grey cement, wood, and stones. In warm villages, houses are built using mud, bamboo, and dry straw to keep them cool.
In simple words: Depending on the weather, houses can be built from hard concrete and bricks, or natural mud and bamboo.

Exam Tip: Give examples of both city materials (cement, bricks) and village materials (mud, straw) when answering.

Question 19. Let us reflect. A. Write. 5. You may also try to find videos on YouTube that show the process of things being made. Write down the steps in as much detail as possible.
Answer: Watching videos about pot-making shows that potters are highly skilled:
1. They dig up clay soil and filter it to remove rocks.
2. They knead the wet clay with their feet or hands to remove air bubbles.
3. They use a heavy stone wheel to spin and shape the clay into beautiful jars.
4. They cut the pot from the wheel using a thin wire and let it dry.
5. They bake the dry pots in a brick kiln at very high temperatures.
In simple words: Potters filter clay, knead it like dough, shape it on a spinning wheel, dry it in the sun, and bake it in a hot kiln.

Exam Tip: Use words like "sifting," "kneading," and "firing" to describe the detailed steps of manufacturing clay items.

Question 20. Let us reflect. B. Draw and colour any three different kinds of houses.
Answer: Here is a neat drawing showing three different house styles: a mud hut, a modern family house, and a tall apartment skyscraper: In simple words: This drawing shows three styles of houses: a small mud hut with a straw roof, a modern family home, and a tall city skyscraper.

Exam Tip: Use distinct shapes for each house, like a tall rectangle for a skyscraper and a simple box with a triangle roof for a hut.

Question 42. Let us reflect. C. Discuss. 1. Why do we have different kinds of houses?
Answer: We have different houses because the weather is different in every place. Hot places need mud houses to stay cool, wet places need sloped roofs to slide off rain, and cities need tall buildings to save space.
In simple words: We build different types of houses to stay comfortable in different kinds of weather and to fit in city spaces.

Exam Tip: Mention how weather (like heavy snow or hot sun) changes the way people build roofs and walls.

Question 43. Let us reflect. C. Discuss. 2. Why do people wear helmets at construction sites?
Answer: Workers wear hard helmets to protect their heads from danger. Heavy tools, loose bricks, or pieces of wood could fall from high scaffolds and cause serious injuries.
In simple words: Construction workers wear helmets so that falling bricks or tools do not hurt their heads.

Exam Tip: Use the word "safety" and explain that helmets act as a shield against falling objects on building sites.

Question 44. Let us reflect. C. Discuss. 3. What would happen if there were no patterns in nature?
Answer: Without patterns, the world would look plain and boring. Zebra stripes and tiger patterns help them hide in the tall grass. Bright flower patterns guide bees to collect sweet nectar.
In simple words: If nature had no patterns, animals could not hide from danger, and bees would struggle to find flowers.

Exam Tip: Give examples like "zebra stripes" (for hiding) and "flowers" (for bees) to show why patterns are important for survival.

Question 45. Let us reflect. D. Interview. 1. Interview someone who makes crafts or toys in your locality. Share the information in the class.
Answer: I spoke with a local toy maker who carves wooden toys. He chooses soft wood and shapes it using small hand chisels. Next, he rubs the wood with sandpaper to make it smooth. Finally, he paints them with safe, bright colors and adds tiny wheels.
In simple words: Wooden toy makers carve soft wood, sand it smooth, and paint it with bright colors to make safe toys for kids.

Exam Tip: List the tools used by the craftsperson, like "sandpaper" and "carving chisels," to show you did a detailed interview.

Question 46. Let us reflect. D. Interview. 2. Find out how some commonly used objects like pencils, erasers, pens and notebooks are made. Ask your elders.
Answer: My parents explained how our school supplies are manufactured:
* Pencils: A mix of black clay and graphite is pressed into a thin rod, then sandwiched tightly between two carved wooden sticks.
* Erasers: They are made from soft rubber mixed with chalk to wipe away pencil marks easily.
* Pens: A plastic tube is filled with liquid ink and fitted with a tiny rolling ball at the tip to write smoothly.
* Notebooks: Large sheets of paper are cut to size, stacked together, stitched or glued down the middle, and covered with thick paper.
In simple words: Pencils use graphite wrapped in wood, erasers are made of soft rubber, pens use ink tubes with rollerballs, and notebooks are stitched paper.

Exam Tip: Mention that pencil "lead" is actually made of "graphite" and clay, not real lead metal.