Clay
/kleɪ/
nounA2
Definition
Clay is a natural material found in the ground. It is made of tiny pieces of earth that are very close together. When you add water, clay becomes soft and easy to shape. After drying or heating, it becomes hard and strong. People use clay to make things like pots, bricks, and art.
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See It in Action
Natural earth material used for shaping and making objects
- •The children played with wet clay to make small animals.
- •The artist shaped the clay into a beautiful vase.
- •Clay is often used to make bricks for building houses.
Soil type with fine particles that holds water well
- •The garden soil has a lot of clay, so it stays wet longer after rain.
- •Clay soil can be hard to dig but is good for growing certain plants.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "clay" like "mud," but clay has much smaller pieces and is smoother and stickier when wet
- ✓Picture a soft, brown or reddish earth that you can squeeze and shape with your hands
- ✓It's the feeling of playing with modeling dough or Play-Doh, but made from earth
- ✓Sounds like "clay" → imagine someone saying "clay" while shaping a pot on a spinning wheel
- ✓In stories, potters use clay to create beautiful bowls and vases by hand
- ✓NOT like "sand" (which is dry and grainy), clay is sticky and holds shapes well when wet
- ✓NOT like "rock" (hard and solid), clay is soft and moldable before drying or firing
- ✓NOT like "mud" (wet earth with water and dirt), clay is a special kind of earth good for shaping and hardening
Try Other Words
- •Dirt: general earth or soil (Use when not focusing on the special qualities of clay)
- •Soil: earth where plants grow (Use when talking about land or gardening)
- •Mud: wet, soft earth mixed with water (Use when talking about wet, messy ground)
- •Earthenware: objects made from baked clay (Use when talking about finished pottery or dishes)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "clay" is a simple root word with no prefix or suffix
- •Etymology: From Old English "clæg," meaning sticky earth or soil
- •Historical development: Used for thousands of years by humans to make tools, pots, and buildings
- •Modern usage: Still used in art, construction, and gardening to describe this natural material
- •Key insight: Clay is both a natural material and an important tool for human creativity and building
Reflect & Connect
•How does working with clay help people express their creativity or make useful objects?
•What differences do you notice between clay and other soils or earth materials where you live?
Fill in the blanks
1.When clay gets wet, it becomes ___ and easy to shape with your hands.
2.Potters use clay to ___ bowls, pots, and other objects.
3.Clay is different from mud because it can ___ hard after drying or heating.
4.Gardeners sometimes find clay soil hard to ___ because it is very dense.
5.Clay holds water well, so it can stay ___ after rain for a long time.
6.When you fire clay in a kiln, it becomes ___ and no longer soft.
7.The artist added water to the clay to make it ___ before starting to shape it.