Before the visit (6th–9th grade)

Before their visit to Deep Forest Art Land, the students will work on attitudes, vocabulary, and listening to one another.

What you explore in class, you’ll take with you out into the woods.

The preparation should not provide students with prior knowledge of the artworks they will encounter. Instead, it should raise some of the questions they will later explore through art and their interactions with one another at Deep Forest Art Land.

Students should therefore not be expected to arrive at specific answers. What’s important is that they gain experience in forming opinions, articulating their own thoughts, and listening to others who may have completely different perspectives.

You'll start with an exercise where everyone needs to get into position.

Here's how to do it

Find two sides of the classroom:

• One side means " AGREE."
• The other side means " DISAGREE."

All students stand up and line up either in the middle of the room or at their seats.

Read a series of statements aloud, one at a time. After each statement, all students must choose:

• Do you agree? Go to the AGREE page.
• Do you disagree? Go to the "DISAGREE" page.

In this exercise, there is no neutral position. If you're unsure, choose the side you're leaning toward the most right now.

Statement

Feel free to start with a couple of the first, simpler statements so the students can get familiar with the exercise. Then move on to statements where there might be a little more at stake.

• Fall is the best season.
• It's better to be with others than to be alone.
• It's important to be good at something.
• It's important what others think of you.
• You should always say what you mean.
• It's more important to be honest than to be nice.
• It's possible to be friends even if you strongly disagree.
• If many people think the same thing, there's a better chance that they're right.
• You can respect a viewpoint even if you completely disagree with it.
• It's okay to change your mind if you hear a good argument.
• Sometimes it's better not to say what you're thinking.

Stop along the way

Choose a few of the statements on which the students have differing opinions, and ask one or two students from each side:

• Why do you agree/disagree?
• Is there anyone on the other side who has a completely different explanation?
• Is there anything you've heard that makes you think differently?

It is important that the exercise is not about convincing one another or finding the “right” answer. Students should explore their own views while remaining curious about why others might think differently.

Talk it over at the end

• Were there any statements where it was hard to take a side?
• Were you surprised by where the others stood?
• Is it possible to disagree with someone while still understanding their point of view?
• Was there anything someone said that made you move—or almost made you move?

There are no right or wrong positions. The exercise is about taking a stance, listening to each other’s reasons, and realizing that we don’t necessarily think the same way.

Before you wrap up, have the students briefly review what they have researched.

Ask them to think about:

What do you plan to pay special attention to when we visit Deep Forest Art Land?

For example, these could be:

• To have the courage to say what I really think.
• Listening to someone I disagree with.
• To be curious about why others think differently.
• Being open to changing one's mind.

"The students can each choose one thing. They don't have to tell the rest of the class what they choose. Feel free to let the students make suggestions."

Take it with you as a small, personal memento of your visit.

Now the students have formed their own opinions, listened to different viewpoints, and looked up words.

Before you leave, you should briefly discuss how you’ll move through the forest and take care of the place you’re going to visit.

Take Care of Nature

• How do we get around in the forest?
• How do we take care of animals and plants?
• How can we make sure to leave the forest just as we found it?

Take care of each other and the arts

• How do we take care of the artworks?
• How do we show consideration for other guests?
• How can we make room for each other’s different viewpoints?
• How do we show that we're listening, even when we disagree?
• How can we help each other have a great experience?

At Deep Forest Art Land, the research continues.

Here, you'll encounter art, nature, words, and each other's perspectives in new ways.

You don't have to agree.

You don't need to know the answers in advance either.

Be curious about your own thoughts—and about what others notice.