Play-Doh Hatchet

I am reading a novel this year with my class called Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  I wanted to do a hands-on activity that would go along with thinking about the geography within the novel. I found this website that will help you in drying play-doh the correct way instead of letting it dry and crumble. 

I am going to have the students make what they thought Brian's hatchet looked like while he was stuck out in the wild. After they create their hatchet, we will dry the play-doh following the directions above. 

This will bring in a great opportunity for a lesson on ceramics and how there are different types of clay that can be used.  Not to belittle play-doh but it can be substituted for clay inside the classroom.