How can parents help children choose accurately between contains, includes, consists of, is part of and is made of? The difference often lies in the relationship between a whole and its contents, components, materials or members. A schoolbag may contain two books, but it is not made of those books. A zip may be part of the bag, while a student may belong to a reading group. The words point to distinct relationships even when the same object or group is under discussion.
Children meet these expressions in reading passages about machines, animals, recipes, homes, teams, countries and Science investigations. They may recognise the individual words but misunderstand an explanation that says ‘The model consists of three parts’ rather than ‘The model includes three parts’. A parent can teach the meaning by drawing a labelled object, listing its permanent components, showing what can be placed inside and asking whether the list is intended to be complete.
This fifty-eighth volume offers a worked backpack investigation, twenty useful part-and-whole terms, examples of how made of, made from and made with differ, a simple food-and-material comparison, accurate academic sentence patterns, age-sensitive family exercises, writing repairs and a parent progress check. The focus is understanding relationships, not decorating sentences with complicated verbs.
Quick answer: which kind of relationship is being described?
Ask whether something is inside a container, a structural component, a material, an ingredient, a group member or a category member. Then choose the expression that matches the relationship. A backpack contains a book, the zip forms part of the backpack, and the fabric is a material the bag may be made of. These are three different statements.
- Contents: what is inside it now?
- Components: which parts help make the object or system?
- Materials: what substances is it constructed from?
- Ingredients: what is used to prepare food or another mixture?
- Membership: which people or items belong to a defined group?
- Scope: does the sentence name all parts or only some examples?
- Verification: which details come from the passage and which are guesses?
In this parent guide: Worked backpack activity · Twenty part-and-whole expressions · Contains versus consists of · Includes and completeness · Made of, from and with · Members and parts · Nonfiction comprehension · Writing repairs · Home routine · FAQs.
1. A container and what it contains are not one object
Imagine an empty pencil case. The case still exists without pencils inside it. When a child places three pencils into it, the case now contains three pencils. Removing the pencils changes the contents but not necessarily the structure of the case. This helps explain why the sentence ‘The case consists of three pencils’ is not an accurate description of its physical construction.
Now consider the zip that closes the case. The zip is part of its assembly. If a zip is removed, the case may still exist, but its construction has changed. A child can distinguish an object’s structural part from an item temporarily carried inside it.
The same pattern occurs in stories and informational text. A cupboard contains cups; cups are not the material the cupboard is made from. A classroom contains desks; desks are not necessarily structural components of the room. Precise verbs help the reader recognise the intended relationship.
2. Complete worked lesson: investigate a fictional backpack
Draw a backpack with a main pocket, a zip, a shoulder strap and a side pocket. Add separate picture cards for a book, pencil, water bottle and note. Use paper drawings rather than asking a child to dismantle real equipment. The question is how English describes different relationships, not how to build a safe backpack.
Step 1: Identify its components
Ask which features belong to the backpack’s structure. The shoulder straps and zip are components in the imagined design. Say ‘The backpack has two straps’ and ‘A zip forms part of the backpack.’ Ask why those parts are different from an item placed inside a pocket.
Step 2: Add contents
Place the paper book and pencil cards inside the drawn main compartment. Now say ‘The bag contains a book and a pencil.’ Does this mean the bag is manufactured from books and pencils? No. The sentence describes what is inside it in the imaginary scene.
Step 3: Discuss materials
Tell the child the fictional backpack is sewn from canvas-like fabric and has a plastic buckle. ‘The bag is made of fabric and includes a plastic buckle’ names construction materials or features. The actual materials of any real commercial bag would need to be checked; this is a drawing with invented properties.
Step 4: Remove an item
Take the paper pencil out of the bag. The contents have changed, but the shoulder straps remain components. Ask the child to update the sentence: ‘The bag now contains a book, but the pencil has been removed.’ This checks whether contains is describing the current contents.
Step 5: Make a complete list and an incomplete list
The drawing now contains a book and a note inside the main pocket. ‘The main pocket contains a book and a note’ may list its complete depicted contents. ‘The backpack includes a side pocket’ mentions one feature without implying that a side pocket is its entire structure. Ask whether the sentence is meant as a complete account or only one example.
Step 6: Compare membership
Introduce a fictional reading club of four students. ‘Maya is a member of the reading club’ describes group membership. Maya is not a material the club is physically made of. ‘The club consists of four students’ can describe the complete group membership under the stated model.
Step 7: Explain the relationships back to the adult
Ask your child to explain what the bag contains, what its main components are, which materials are used in the fictional design and which people belong to the club. If they can answer these four questions with different phrases, they have understood the relationships rather than one fixed definition.
| Question | Relationship | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| What is inside the bag? | Contents | It contains a book. |
| What helps make the bag usable? | Components | Its straps and zip are parts. |
| What is the bag made of in the story? | Materials | It is made of fabric with a plastic buckle. |
| Who belongs to the club? | Membership | Maya is a member. |
| Which pieces make up the club? | Whole group composition | It consists of four students. |
| Does naming a side pocket identify every part? | Completeness | No, it gives one feature. |
3. Twenty part–whole words and expressions children can learn
The following examples are useful across everyday conversations and nonfiction. Choose the terms that describe your child’s current book or activity. Some words name physical relations; others describe membership or organisation.
| Word or expression | Usual job | Short meaningful example |
|---|---|---|
| whole | entire object or group | The whole model was displayed. |
| part | piece of an object or system | The wheel is part of the toy. |
| component | part with a role in a system | The model has three components. |
| piece | separate portion or part | A piece of card was added. |
| section | distinct part of a larger thing | The last section explains the result. |
| portion | part of a larger amount | The child ate a small portion. |
| member | person or item within a group | Tricia is a club member. |
| subset | a group included within a larger set | Squares are a subset of rectangles. |
| include | have something among parts or members | The toolkit includes a ruler. |
| contain | hold something inside or within | The box contains pencils. |
| consist of | be made up of the stated elements | The small team consists of four pupils. |
| comprise | contain or consist of specified parts, often formally | The kit comprises three labelled pieces. |
| be composed of | be formed from stated components | The model is composed of separate sections. |
| be made up of | have the stated composition | The committee is made up of five people. |
| be made of | name a material or composition | The bracelet is made of wood. |
| be made from | refer to source material in production | Paper can be made from wood pulp. |
| be made with | name ingredients or materials used | The fictional recipe is made with oats. |
| ingredient | substance used to prepare a mixture or food | Oats are an ingredient. |
| material | substance used to construct something | Card is a material for the model. |
| exclude | leave out of a stated group | The set excludes broken pieces. |
More formal terms such as comprise and be composed of are generally better introduced once the child is confident with part of, has, contains and consists of. The longer words are not automatically superior in a simple children’s story.
4. Contains and consists of do different jobs
A storage box can contain toys while it is physically constructed from cardboard. A group can consist of particular members. Compare ‘The box contains four toys’ with ‘The toy kit consists of four pieces’. The first concerns contents of a container; the second commonly describes composition of the kit as a whole.
A child may say ‘The classroom consists of twenty children’ when they mean that the class has twenty students. If they are describing the membership of a class group, ‘The class consists of twenty students’ can be sensible. But the physical classroom also has walls, furniture and other features; the intended noun matters.
| Statement | Relationship | Common error to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| The jar contains water. | Contents | Calling water the material of the jar |
| The jar is made of glass. | Material | Calling the glass the current contents |
| The kit consists of three pieces. | Composition | Treating the pieces as unrelated items merely stored nearby |
| The classroom contains desks. | Contents or furnishings | Treating desks as the building’s materials |
| The class consists of twenty pupils. | Group membership | Confusing pupils with the room’s physical walls |
5. Includes does not always promise a complete list
‘The school kit includes a pencil, ruler and notebook’ tells the reader that those items are among its contents or provided components. Depending on context, there might be other items. ‘The kit consists of exactly these three items’ makes a stronger claim about completeness. Parents can ask the child whether the list is presented as examples or an exhaustive inventory.
A useful trick is to add the word only where the source supports it: ‘The fictional kit consists only of these three parts.’ Without a complete inventory, children should not automatically turn includes into includes only.
A list introduced by such as often gives examples rather than every member: ‘The library has books about topics such as nature and history.’ That does not prove these are the only topics. A careful reader preserves the original scope.
6. Made of, made from and made with
Made of often describes the material or basic composition of an object, as in ‘The bracelet is made of wooden beads’. Made from is often natural when discussing raw materials transformed in manufacturing, as in ‘Paper is made from wood pulp’. Made with is commonly used for ingredients or materials employed in a recipe or product, as in ‘The dish is made with beans and rice’. These are usage tendencies, not absolute tests for every possible object.
A child might say ‘The soup is made of tomatoes’ and be understood; ‘The soup is made with tomatoes’ is often more natural when tomatoes are among the ingredients. The exact phrase can depend on what the writer wants to emphasise and the variety of English.
| Expression | Natural example | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| made of | The wooden frame is made of oak. | Basic material or composition |
| made from | Paper may be made from wood pulp. | Manufacturing source or transformed material |
| made with | The bread was made with wholemeal flour. | Ingredient or material used |
| made out of | The model was made out of reused cartons. | Transformation or use of objects as materials |
| contains | The bread contains seeds. | Content or ingredient presence |
| consists of | The fictional snack consists of fruit and yoghurt. | Described composition in context |
For real food allergies or safety information, do not rely on a classroom phrase such as made with to determine whether a product is safe. Adults should consult accurate ingredient labels and appropriate professional guidance. The examples here teach English wording, not food-safety decisions.
7. Material, component and ingredient are different categories
The material of a chair might be wood or metal. A component of a chair might be one of its legs, backrest or seat. An ingredient of bread might be flour. These nouns describe different relationships and should not be exchanged merely because each is part of a broader explanation.
A young child can point to the leg of a toy chair and say ‘part’. Later they can learn component when explaining how several parts make a functional whole. An older child can recognise that a diagram may represent a part without stating its material.
8. Part of and belongs to do not always mean the same thing
‘The handle is part of the bag’ is a structural statement. ‘Alicia belongs to the reading club’ describes membership. Both connect something smaller with something larger, but the underlying relation differs. An object can also belong to a person in the ownership sense, which is different again.
Ask your child to complete: ‘The wheel is part of the toy’, ‘The toy belongs to Maya’, and ‘Maya is a member of the club’. If they can explain how the three relationships differ, they have moved beyond the broad idea of ‘goes with’.
Children should not be told that group membership means a person is a physical component in the same way a wheel is attached to a toy. The vocabulary choice respects the kind of relationship being described.
9. A part can belong to more than one description
A library reading corner may be part of a library room, and the library itself part of a larger school building. A student reading there is a participant in an activity but not a permanent structural part of the room. A paper-book collection may be part of the library’s resources and simultaneously included within a specific catalogue section.
Teaching these nested and overlapping relationships helps children interpret diagrams and nonfiction without treating every grouping as a physical assembly. One drawing can show the building, its room, the corner and a person reading, but the arrows should be labelled according to the actual relation.
10. Academic terms like comprises need natural grammar
Comprise can be used in formal English to describe a whole having certain parts or members: ‘The fictional course comprises four units.’ It can also occur in constructions describing parts making up a whole. The phrase be comprised of is widely used. English grammar sources note related but distinct patterns for consist of, comprise and be composed of.
Avoid mechanically creating ‘is consisted of’, which is not the normal grammatical pattern. A straightforward child-friendly alternative is ‘consists of’ or ‘is made up of’. A family does not need to choose the most formal possible verb unless it helps the reader.
| Word pattern | Natural model | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| consists of | The team consists of four children. | Do not use ‘is consisted of’ |
| comprises | The kit comprises four pieces. | A relatively formal style |
| is comprised of | The kit is comprised of four pieces. | Accepted in many usages |
| is composed of | The model is composed of four sections. | Passive composition pattern |
| is made up of | The class is made up of several groups. | Clear, versatile expression |
11. A nonfiction paragraph can mix several relations
Read this original informational paragraph: ‘The model garden includes two raised beds and a small water container. Each raised bed is made of reusable plastic panels. The container holds water for watering the plants. The gardening club consists of eight student volunteers. Their weekly tasks include checking soil moisture and recording plant growth.’
Ask what the garden includes, what the raised beds are made of, what the water container contains, and who belongs to the club. The answers require four different relationship types. A child who says the club is ‘made of water and soil’ has confused composition of people with the materials used in the garden.
| Question | Supported answer | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| What does the garden include? | Two raised beds and a water container | Included features |
| What are the beds made of? | Reusable plastic panels | Construction material |
| What does the container hold? | Water | Contents |
| Who makes up the club? | Eight student volunteers | Membership |
| Which tasks are included? | Checking soil moisture and recording growth | Activities listed |
| Are these the only club tasks? | Not established | Includes is not automatically exhaustive |
12. Whole, part and subset in classification
Suppose a set contains pictures of rectangles, including squares. Squares form a subset of rectangles under standard inclusive geometric definitions. The subset relation concerns category membership, not physical construction. A square is not a piece cut from every other rectangle.
For category boundaries, see Vol 27: classes and subsets. The present volume extends that idea to materials, ingredients, contents and components, which should not be forced into one undifferentiated type of ‘part’.
13. Words such as some, all and only control the scope
‘The box contains some of the cards’ does not claim every card is inside. ‘The box contains all four cards’ gives a fuller claim about the defined set. ‘The kit contains only the three items listed’ states an exclusion of other items. The small words around contain matter as much as the verb.
A child can check these claims by using four paper cards, placing two inside a drawn box and asking which sentences are true. An accurate statement may be shorter than an elaborate one; the important quality is whether it matches what was shown.
14. How a part-and-whole drawing can mislead
A cutaway picture of a human heart may show several internal structures, with labels simplified for learning. That drawing is not a complete list of every tissue or cell type in the organ. A child should know that a diagram can highlight selected components without representing every physical detail.
The same caution applies to a map or a model vehicle. A drawing labelled ‘The parts of the vehicle’ may omit invisible components for clarity. Ask whether the illustration claims completeness or simply presents important features.
15. Writing repair: preserve the correct relationship
Original child draft: ‘The pencil case is made of four pencils. It consists of a ruler inside. The owner is part of the zip.’ The sentences use familiar words but mix materials, contents, composition and ownership.
Revised: ‘The pencil case is made of fabric and has a zip. It contains four pencils and a ruler. The case belongs to Alicia.’ These sentences communicate materials, components, contents and ownership separately.
Ask the child whether the revised facts are given by the story or were invented for illustration. If the actual pencil case material is not specified, do not write fabric in a factual report. The correction process must preserve evidence as well as grammar.
16. Build a four-column parent word map
| Material | Component | Content | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| fabric for a bag | strap on a bag | book inside a bag | child in a group |
| wood for a frame | frame’s leg | photo inside a frame | artist in a club |
| paper for a box | lid attached to box | pencil stored in box | student in a class |
The four columns are teaching examples, not an exhaustive classification of English relationships. Some objects can be both a component and a content item in different contexts, but the sentence should make the intended relation clear. Let the child explain one arrow connecting a noun to its whole.
17. A short parent–child activity
- Draw a harmless, familiar object such as a schoolbag, pencil case or paper model.
- Identify one actual component and one material in the invented drawing.
- Place a separate paper card inside it and describe the contents.
- Add an imagined person who owns it or belongs to a group.
- Ask which sentence uses contains, consists of, made of or belongs to naturally.
- Remove one content item and ask which relationships have changed.
- Finish by using the same four types of relation in a new object or story.
Children who cannot yet write can point and say complete phrases while an adult records them. Older learners can experiment with more formal comprises, is composed of or consists of in a nonfiction paragraph.
18. Different learning stages need different entry points
| Stage | First activity | Next challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Young listener | Put a toy inside a box and remove it | Use contains and empty |
| Beginning reader | Identify what is inside and what is attached | Use part of and contains |
| Growing primary reader | Compare material and component | Use made of and consists of |
| Confident primary reader | Read a paragraph listing features or members | Check whether includes is complete |
| Older learner | Compare includes, comprises and composed of | Preserve scope, grammar and evidence |
These stages describe task complexity rather than fixed ages. A multilingual child may understand the object relations clearly in a home language and still need practice with the natural English verb-plus-preposition pattern.
19. A flexible ten-minute parent routine
- Two minutes: choose one familiar object and name its overall purpose.
- Three minutes: identify a material, component and item it might contain.
- Two minutes: describe a group or a full set of parts.
- Two minutes: compare two near-miss sentences, such as contains versus made of.
- One minute: ask for an original new example with a different object.
This is an illustrative routine, not a fixed research-tested dose. A short, accurate conversation can provide a useful starting point before a child meets the same relations in reading.
20. What parents should notice as vocabulary develops
- The child distinguishes contents from permanent components.
- They choose a material expression rather than claiming a container is made of its contents.
- They recognise that a member belongs to a group in a different way from a zip belonging to a bag.
- They know that includes may name only part of a longer list.
- They use consists of and is made up of naturally.
- They avoid the nonstandard form is consisted of.
- They understand the common differences among made of, made from and made with.
- They identify what a source has not established about a whole.
21. Common mistakes to avoid
- Teaching part, material and content as interchangeable: use separate labelled relations.
- Assuming includes is always an exhaustive list: check scope.
- Using made of for every manufacturing relationship: compare made from and made with.
- Turning group membership into physical construction: distinguish the type of whole.
- Teaching complex verbs too early: begin with has and part of.
- Inventing materials or ingredients absent from a text: preserve the source.
- Applying a diagram’s simplified labels as a complete technical inventory: check what it shows.
- Using a real product’s food ingredients for guesswork: use accurate labels and adult safety guidance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between contains and consists of?
Contains often describes what is held inside something. Consists of commonly describes the parts or members making up a whole. The two can overlap in some contexts but should not be treated as universally interchangeable.
Does includes mean the list is complete?
Not necessarily. It may introduce some members or features among others. If completeness matters, look for wording such as only, all, exactly or an explicit full inventory.
Should children use made of or made from?
Made of often names an object’s material or qualities; made from often refers to raw materials involved in manufacturing or transformation. The correct phrase depends on the object and what the writer wants to emphasise.
When is made with natural?
It is particularly common when naming ingredients used to prepare food or drink. It can also describe materials used in making something in other contexts.
Is a club made of children?
It is usually more natural to say the club consists of children, is made up of members, or has those members. Made of is more typical for physical materials.
Is ‘is consisted of’ correct?
Not in normal standard usage. Say ‘consists of’, ‘is made up of’ or ‘is composed of’ when these suit the meaning.
Can an item be both a part and content?
Some relationships depend on how the object is defined. A removable battery can be a component of a device, but batteries stored inside a drawer are its contents. Ask what role the item serves in that situation.
Why is this useful for nonfiction?
It helps readers distinguish complete structures, partial lists, materials, ingredients, components and group membership, so they do not turn one relationship into another.
Evidence and further reading
The Cambridge Dictionary guide to consist, comprise and compose explains the grammatical patterns used to describe composition. Its made of, made from, made out of and made with guide illustrates material and ingredient uses. The Reading Rockets word-map guide gives an approach for representing meaningful relationships among words. The backpack activity is an original illustration rather than a measured intervention.
One part-and-whole question for tonight
Choose one object from your child’s story and ask what it contains, what parts belong to its structure, what materials it is made of and whether it belongs to a larger group. If the child can explain which expression suits each relation, those words have become useful tools for understanding the world.
Continue the series: Vol 7: Subject Vocabulary · Vol 16: Reading Nonfiction and Diagrams · Vol 27: Categories and Subsets · Vol 41: Compound Nouns · Vol 50: Countable and Uncountable Nouns · Vol 56: Measurement Properties · Vocabulary in Real English Hub.
This batch of parent vocabulary guides: Vol 55: A, An, The and Referencing Nouns · Vol 56: Measurement Properties and Units · Vol 57: Academic Question and Command Words. Review Vol 54 · Vocabulary in Real English Hub.