Children in their final years of primary schooling tend to emphasize the use of detail and the production of naturalistic representations, when modelling the human figure with clay. Children of this age rarely construct clay figures which are noted for their dynamic quality in terms of finish, proportion, or pose. This study examined the effect of using a "formative" modelling technique on the clay models made by 11 year old children. Involved in the study were two groups of 11 year old children. Both groups of children undertook a pre-test, a post-test, and a series of clay modelling activities similar to other activities described in most primary school art curricula. The experimental group of children were instructed in the use of a "formative" modelling technique in which children develop their clay figures from a single mass of clay and refrain from constructing the figures by a combination of separate parts. The control group received no instruction. Brown's Modified "Secondary" Characteristics Rating Scale was used to identify differences between pre- and post-test clay figures. Results suggest that the "formative" modelling technique did not induce a different approach to the modelling of finish, proportion, and pose in the clay figures made by boys and girls 11 years of age. However, there was evidence of a gender difference.