This brainstorm helps students explore what a garden means to them and how they want to show it in art. If they get stuck, they can ask an AI to help with ideas or images. Then they compare their own ideas with what the AI gave them. This shows what AI thinks a garden is — and who or what might get left out.
🔔 Bell Ringer: Into the Garden As soon as you walk in, grab a pencil and paper.
Answer these questions quietly:
- What do you see when you hear the word garden?
- Who or what belongs in a garden?
- What colors, shapes, or feelings come to mind?
You can write or sketch — just fill the page with your thoughts.
Instructions
- Think about the theme Into the Garden. What comes to your mind? It can be a place, a feeling, a memory, or a message.
- Write or sketch your first ideas. Try not to worry if they feel small or weird — just get them down.
- If you get stuck, open a chatbot like ChatGPT.
- Type: “Give me 5 ideas for an art piece based on the theme Into the Garden.”
- You can also ask: “What kind of people or places do you think belong in a garden?”
- If you want help visualizing your idea, ask: “Please create an image of this idea in the style of oil pastels, colored pencils, or markers.”
- Compare your ideas with the AI’s. What’s different? What’s the same?
- Choose your favorite idea — yours, the AI’s, or a mix.
- Create your final piece using oil pastels, markers, or colored pencils. Be bold — show your full idea, not just what AI might expect.
Conscientization
Reading the world through this activity
- What did the AI include in its garden ideas that you didn’t?
- What did it leave out that matters to you?
- Does the AI seem to have a “normal” kind of garden? What does that look like?
- Who gets to be in the AI’s garden? Who’s missing?
- If someone only saw the AI’s garden ideas, what might they assume about gardens and who belongs there?
Praxis
Reflection leading to transformation
- Why does it matter what kinds of gardens AI shows?
- How could this shape how people think about nature, beauty, or who belongs in those spaces?
- If some types of gardens or people are always left out, what message does that send?
- How could your art piece push back or show something different?
- What do you want people to feel or think when they see your garden art?
Dialogue
Ongoing discussion
- Share your garden art with a partner or small group. What inspired your idea?
- Did anyone use the AI? What did it suggest? How was it different from your idea?
- What patterns do you notice across people’s art or what AI suggested?
- Who or what showed up a lot? Who or what was missing?
- How could we keep imagining gardens that include more kinds of people, places, and stories?