Modelling: Flat and Round Things from Clay
Primary 1 · Creative Arts
Modelling: Flat and Round Things from Clay
Lesson 5 of 5
12 min
Let's begin
Gatete models a clay cup and stands it on the mat.
He rests a curl of clay against the side for a handle.
He lifts the cup to show his mother, and the handle drops off.
Today you will join two forms so that they stay joined.
Go and look at the cup in your kitchen.
The body is a tube. The handle is a curl.
Roll a thick sausage of clay for the body.
Push your thumb down inside it to open the tube.
Then roll a thin snake and bend it into a curl for the handle.
Two pieces leaning on each other are not joined.
They look joined while the cup sits still.
Then you lift it, and the handle falls on the floor.
Step 1 Press the handle onto the cup and hold it there.
Step 2 Put your thumb on the place where they meet.
Step 3 Smear the clay from the handle across onto the cup.
Step 4 Do the same on the other side of the handle.
Look for the line between the two pieces. When you cannot see the line any more, it is joined.
Gatete's handle did not fall because his clay was dry. It fell because he never smeared the join.
Leftover soil goes back outside, onto the ground it came from.
Wipe the stone or the plate you worked on.
Wash your hands with soap and water.
Never rub your eyes while dry clay is on your fingers.
Share your bottle and your stick. Take turns with them.
Show your cup to somebody at home.
Then look at what they made, and tell them one thing you like about it.
Tip
Smear until the line is gone
Press the two pieces together first.
Then rub your thumb across the join, on both sides.
Can you still see the line? Then it is not joined yet.
Do each one, then tap Show answer to check.
Which two forms make a cup?
Answer: a tube for the body and a round curl for the handle.
Umutoni's handle keeps falling off. What has she missed?
Answer: the smearing. Rub the clay across the join with your thumb.
How do you know a join is finished?
Answer: you cannot see the line where the two pieces meet.
Make your own cup now, body first and handle after.
Answer: press the handle on, then smear both sides before you lift it.
You have finished. What are the three tidying jobs?
Answer: soil back outside, wipe your work stone, wash your hands with soap.
What you learned today
Here are two short books about making things with your own hands.
Hari ibyo nshoboye gukora! is written in Kinyarwanda. It is about all the good things a child can make. It comes from Pratham Books, on the Global Digital Library.
Igipupe cyitwa Azizi is in Kinyarwanda too. A child makes a doll at home, and the doll becomes her best friend. It comes from African Storybook.
Quick check
Match each part of a cup to its form.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
