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One day a squirrel, who has an exceptional memory, has an argument with an oak tree because the tree will not give the squirrel any more acorns.  Forestry writing prompt for nature study or nature journaling. Last month, I gave a few tips about using writing prompts to blend creativity and scientific knowledge together. Today’s writing prompt focuses on the relationship between squirrels and oak trees in deciduous forests. Scientific BackgroundSquirrels eat acorns. They gather acorns from oak trees and cache them underground to eat later. However, the squirrel does not dig up every acorn that it has buried. If the acorn that is left behind has been left in the correct conditions (appropriate soil type, water and sunlight levels) it will germinate. Thus, the squirrel and oak tree are in a mutualistic relationship. The squirrel benefits from the oak tree because it gets to eat acorns. The oak tree benefits from the squirrel because its seeds are dispersed. It is important for seeds to be dispersed so that seedlings do not compete with the parent tree for resources. Key Vocabulary
Creative Writing Element
Sometimes people say that squirrels ‘forget’ where they hid their acorns. Let us imagine that once upon a time, there was a squirrel who did not forget where he hid his acorns. This squirrel cached his acorns but later dug each one up and ate it. He would no longer be in a mutualistic relationship with the oak tree because the oak tree is not receiving a benefit; the acorns are not being dispersed and germinating in a new location. We can imagine that the oak tree would be frustrated and decide to no longer produce acorns for the squirrel. When I provide a writing prompt for my students, I do not provide the above explanation. We start by learning the scientific concepts and then I give them the writing prompt. I am testing to see if my students understand the key concepts (mutualism and seed dispersal), can make reasonable predictions if something is changed within these key concepts (what would happen if the squirrel dug up each acorn?) and can express this understanding in a creative way. Tried one of these writing prompts? |
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Maybe the squirrel knows it has to plant some acorns to make more trees and eat another day...…..
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