Crown Shyness



Creative Writing: “Crowd Shyness – The Trees”


Opening Scene – Wide Shot

Imagine you are holding a camera: slow pan across a quiet forest clearing.

Welcome, writers. Today we’re stepping into a living photograph — a forest where the trees seem close… but not too close. Look carefully. Notice how the treetops stretch upward, their branches almost touching, yet leaving thin, shy gaps between them.



Zoom-In on Details

Imagine a Camera: slow zoom into the canopy, then glide down the trunk, then tilt to the forest floor:

As we zoom in, patterns emerge. The leaves tremble softly, as though whispering secrets. The bark is cracked like old maps. And above, the tree crowns curve away from each other — forming tiny sky-blue rivers of empty space.



Nature Fact: ‘Crown Shyness’


This real phenomenon is called crown shyness. Some tree species avoid letting their branches touch, creating those delicate lines in the sky. Scientists think it may reduce the spread of insects or prevent branches from damaging each other. Even in nature, we see boundaries, respect, and gentle distance.




Shift in Weather – Mood Change: clouds gather; lighting cools.


Watch what happens now. The sky darkens… a breeze stirs… shadows thicken. As the weather shifts, the mood of our forest shifts too. What once felt calm and thoughtful may now feel tense, expectant, or even mysterious.

Prompt to students:

  • How does the weather change the personality of the forest?
  • What emotions rise up in you as the first drop of rain falls?


Thoughts and Feelings Prompts:

Imagine you’re standing here. What thoughts drift into your mind? What does the forest want you to feel — safe, small, curious… or something else entirely?


Ambitious Vocabulary (3 words)

  1. Luminescent – softly glowing
  2. Whimsical – playfully strange or mysterious
  3. Foreboding – giving a feeling that something bad might happen




Three Example Sentence Starters

  • As the forest shifted around me, I suddenly realised…
  • Peering through the narrow gaps in the canopy, I noticed…
  • The trees stood like silent observers, as though they…


Three Ambitious Punctuation Features

  • Ellipsis (…) to create suspense
  • Dash (—) to add dramatic emphasis
  • Colon (:) to introduce vivid description




Cross-Curricular Link


Crown shyness connects beautifully with biology — showing how living things adapt and interact. It also links to art, where negative space creates shape and meaning. Writers, scientists, and artists all study what is there… and what is not.


Closing Activity: Think – Pair – Share (Oracy Extension)


Think about the forest’s mood and the details you’d describe.
Pair with someone nearby and share how the weather changed 


How would you turn this scene into the opening of a story?
Your imagination is your path through the trees — follow it.





 

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