Sit Spot

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Purpose: To strengthen our observational skills by quietly observing the sights, sounds, and
smells in one area over the course of a period of time. To develop questions that could be
pursued by a naturalist in a line of inquiry.

Background:
As an introduction to our unit on Ecology, what better way to understand how living things
interact with one another and their environments than to observe it first hand! For this activity,
you are going to be asked to do something that might be slightly foreign to you: sit silently and
just observe. This means you aren’t talking with your friends, you aren’t playing with your
phone, and you aren’t trying to catch a glimpse of that guy/gal you have a crush on. You are
simply sitting and observing your environment.

Instructions:
1. When your teacher instructs you, find a spot outside that is all your own. Be sure
you have at least a one yard radius between you and any other human so you can have
your own space to observe. You will need a blank piece of paper (the back of this one is
fine) and a pen or pencil.
2. On your paper, spend ten minutes simply making observations, writing
questions, and reflecting on what you see. You may find that 10 minutes feels like
a long time. In this case, you’ll find that the more you observe around you, the more
questions you will have--keep observing, even when it seems like you’ve observed
everything.
3. You have the choice of creating one of the following four products during your sit
spot time:
a. Write a detailed description of everything in your space, your line of sight.
b. Draw a picture of your space. Label anything that you can identify in your image.
c. Write a “day in the life” story of a plant or animal you see living in or near your
spot (humans don’t count).
4. Everyone MUST do the following:
a. Write at least 3 “I wonder...” questions directly inspired by your sit spot.
b. Record any bird or plant species you are able to identify. Include the number of
species and how they are distributed around your sit spot.