A Sand County Almanac

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is a “conservation” writer, and how do “conservationists” differ from “preservationists”? What forms might conservation and preservation writing take? Can you name any famous conservationist or preservationist writers?

Teaching Suggestion: Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is one of the foundational texts of the American conservation movement. Students are doubtless aware of environmentalism itself, but not all will be aware of the long tradition of conservation writing within this movement, and many will be unaware of the difference between conservation and preservation. You might use this prompt to encourage students to share what they do know, then ask them to review the sources below and revise their answers to reflect greater understanding.

• This article from the National Park Service explains the differences between conservation and preservation.
• This article from Natural Habitat Adventures profiles several writers using different approaches to conservation and preservation writing.
• This list of environmentalist works and authors from NCTE might interest students in the variety of environmental literature and provide ideas for future reading.

2. You are about to read Aldo Leopold’s famous conservation text A Sand County Almanac, published in 1949. What concerns might an environmentalist have had in the mid-20th century? What kind of background would give Leopold the credibility to write about these topics?

Teaching Suggestion: Leopold wrote A Sand County Almanac to express his concerns about the impact of human activities on the natural world and people’s increasing alienation from nature. Although many writers expressed similar concerns in the decades—and centuries—before Leopold, the combination of Leopold’s writing skills and credentials as a naturalist captured the public imagination at a critical moment in the history of environmentalism. After students have offered some preliminary ideas in response to this prompt, you might offer them the resources below to fill in any gaps in their understanding.

• This article from Greenpeace offers a succinct overview of the history of environmentalism.
• This biographical sketch from the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Wisconsin offers an overview of Leopold’s credentials as a naturalist.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

Would you call yourself an environmentalist? If so, are you more of a conservationist or a preservationist? What reasoning leads you to this stance? If you would not call yourself an environmentalist, what reasoning leads you to this stance?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt attempts to increase students’ engagement with Leopold’s text by connecting their personal beliefs with the book’s subject matter. Students are most likely to give thoughtful answers to this prompt if they answer in writing, at least initially. If you are asking students for more than a few sentences in response to this prompt, you may wish to be alert for signs of distress in students who are struggling with anxiety or depression related to global climate change.