A Sand County Almanac

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Local Observation”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the detailed observation of nature Leopold advocates by completing their own piece of nature writing.

Leopold argues for a more intimate relationship between humans and nature. Among his many examples of how this can be beneficial are the citizen-scientists whose detailed observations of their local ecosystems have produced valuable environmental knowledge. In this activity, you will observe and write about natural phenomena associated with your local area.

• Choose a setting where you can observe plants, animals, weather, soil, and other parts of your local ecosystem for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Make a running list of what you observe, including as many descriptive details as you can.
• Use information from your list to write an essay of one to two pages. Your essay should use your observations to communicate a central idea related to the natural world or your own response to nature.
• When you finish, answer the following questions in a few sentences each:

○ Which of Leopold’s essays is your essay most similar to, and why?

○ Now that you have completed a detailed observation of your local environment, how does this impact your thinking about Leopold’s ideas?

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can be completed individually or with a partner, during class or as a homework assignment. If you are teaching in an urban setting, you may wish to have a preliminary discussion about the kinds of natural phenomena that are available for students to write about—bugs, birds, houseplants, and so on can all be observed and described. Students may also benefit from a brief discussion of the kinds of central ideas that an essay such as this might be used to communicate. If your students are ready for an additional challenge, you might require that they incorporate the kinds of lyrical descriptions, metaphors, and analogies that Leopold uses.

Differentiation Suggestion: If you have students who are not able to physically go outside to complete an observation, you might suggest they observe from a window instead. Students with limited vision can take note of sounds, smells, textures, and so on, but they may find this activity easier to complete with a partner who can supplement their observations with visual information. Students who struggle with written expression may also benefit from having a partner to work with, at least in the prewriting stage, where a partner can offer suggestions about how to shape the rough material gathered during an observation into a cohesive essay structured around a central idea.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is often considered to be a conservationist text.

• Despite the book’s status as a seminal conservationist text, which of Leopold’s ideas would you actually call preservationist? (topic sentence)
• Support your argument with at least three examples from different places in Leopold’s text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how Leopold’s balance of conservation and preservation relates to his primary thematic concerns: Nature as a Teacher, The Disconnect Between Economic Value and Nature, and The Interruption of Natural Processes.

2. The title of Leopold’s book asserts that it will be an “almanac” of Sand County.

• What effects did Leopold’s editors intend to create with this title? (topic sentence)
• Support your argument with at least three examples from different places in Leopold’s text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how the book’s title supports one or more of Leopold’s primary thematic concerns: Nature as a Teacher, The Disconnect Between Economic Value and Nature, and The Interruption of Natural Processes.

3. In “Wisconsin,” Leopold discusses a paradox that is central to conservation: getting people to care about nature means exposing them to nature, but this often leads to more environmental degradation.

• Does this idea apply to the specific example of someone writing, as Leopold is, to generate more interest in and concern for the natural world?
• Support your argument with at least two examples from Leopold’s book and at least two examples from reputable outside resources.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this paradox relates to one or more of Leopold’s primary thematic concerns: Nature as a Teacher, The Disconnect Between Economic Value and Nature, and The Interruption of Natural Processes.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. A Sand County Almanac is one of the foundational texts of environmental writing. What problems does this text identify? Does it propose solutions? Have any of the problems Leopold identifies been solved since his time? Which problems have become more severe since then? What solutions are currently being proposed? Are any of them likely to work? Write an essay outlining the problems as Leopold sees them and analyzing potential solutions to these problems found in both his text and our own contemporary world. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from Leopold’s text and other reputable sources, making sure to cite all quoted material and any information drawn from outside sources.

2. Aldo Leopold was hardly the first person in history to write about the desirability of forming a respectful relationship with the natural world. What are the qualities that set A Sand County Almanac apart and helped it create such a lasting impact on the public imagination? Why do Leopold’s credentials as a naturalist matter? What personal characteristics of Leopold’s make the book more engaging and moving? How do the book’s lyrical language and other stylistic elements contribute to its impact? Write an essay analyzing how Leopold’s background and writing style allow him to effectively employ ethos, pathos, and logos as he attempts to persuade his audience. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from Leopold’s text and other reputable sources, making sure to cite all quoted material and any information drawn from outside sources.

3. A Sand County Almanac was published posthumously, as a collection of essays Leopold had written throughout his career. The author himself did not choose or revise the essays that make up the book, and there are some ideas that seem contradictory. In some essays, for instance, Leopold seems to be arguing for more contact between people and nature, while in other essays, he seems to be arguing for less. Do you think Leopold’s ideas were simply evolving over time, or do you think he felt torn between contradictory impulses? Does Leopold’s position of privilege prevent him from fully understanding the complexities of balancing environmental stewardship with human needs, or does he take into account the interests of the poor, the nonwhite, women, and other less-privileged groups? Write an essay analyzing the consistency of Leopold’s ideas and offering insight into possible causes for any contradictions. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from Leopold’s text and other reputable sources, making sure to cite all quoted material and any information drawn from outside sources.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is Part 1’s dominant organizational pattern?

A) Division and classification

B) Problem-solution

C) Chronological

D) Thematic

2. What is Part 2’s dominant organizational pattern?

A) Syllogistic

B) Spatial

C) Problem-solution

D) Chronological

3. What is Part 3’s dominant organizational pattern?

A) Cause and effect

B) Thematic

C) Syllogistic

D) Spatial

4. What is Part 4’s primary purpose?

A) To advance an argument for conservation

B) To create an entertaining portrait of the natural world

C) To establish Leopold’s authority as a naturalist

D) To reflect on Leopold’s personal connection to nature

5. What is the primary tool that Leopold uses to understand nature?

A) Intuition

B) Reading

C) Observation

D) Experimentation

6. Which is the most accurate statement of Leopold’s beliefs about why people fail to learn from nature?

A) People get overwhelmed by the volume of information in nature.

B) Nature’s wisdom comes in forms that people can’t understand.

C) Nature’s lessons are not applicable to human concerns.

D) People do not observe nature carefully enough to notice its wisdom.

7. What natural feature is described at both the beginning and end of Part 2?

A) Marsh

B) Ocean

C) Rainforest

D) Canyon

8. Which statement would Leopold be most likely to agree with?

A) Nature must be carefully managed to ensure humans’ long-term survival.

B) Nature has inherent value regardless of its utility to humans.

C) Humans were created to have dominion over nature and bend it to their needs.

D) Humans will eventually cause their own extinction and nature will rebound.

9. Which does Leopold primarily point to as the reasons humans destroy natural systems?

A) Ignorance and fear

B) Fear and laziness

C) Laziness and greed

D) Greed and ignorance

10. Which would Leopold argue, contrary to popular belief, can actually be beneficial?

A) Carelessness and recklessness

B) Dishonesty and deception

C) A lack of productivity

D) An appetite for luxury

11. Which is a recurring motif throughout Leopold’s essays?

A) Poetry

B) Sculpture

C) Dance

D) Music

12. Which pursuit would Leopold likely point to as most responsible for ecological harms?

A) Economic gain

B) Recreational hobbies

C) Scientific understanding

D) Personal freedom

13. Which most accurately summarizes Leopold’s ideas about education?

A) Imagination and intuition are more important than observation.

B) Academic understanding is a necessary precursor to learning from nature.

C) The land is generally a better teacher than the classroom.

D) Demonstration and modeling are the most natural way for people to learn.

14. Which paradigm shift would Leopold see as most valuable?

A) People fleeing cities in favor of a more rural existence

B) People rejecting capitalism in favor of a collectivist economy

C) People developing more love for wilderness and wild things

D) People learning to see the land as part of their community

15. Which most accurately reflects Leopold’s attitude toward natural resources?

A) Natural resources should be left in place, not exploited by humans.

B) Natural resources can and should be sustainably harvested.

C) Concern for the economic value of natural resources is a valuable motivator.

D) Concern for the aesthetic value of natural resources is frivolous.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is ironic about Leopold’s use of guns in hunting, given his remarks about technology being used in the wilderness?

2. What do the pace and structure of Part 1 establish about nature, and how is this juxtaposition with the human world thematically useful later in the collection?