My Favorite Social Studies TED Talk Lessons

Do you share TED Talks with your students? I started incorporating TED talks into my lessons almost 10 years ago! Most of my students enjoy them, especially talks focusing on mental health and wellness. It didn't take long before I started developing lessons based on the TED talks I most frequently used in the classroom.

TED Talk lessons can be used as stand-alone lessons, supplements to prepared units, or "sub-day" lessons. For me, they also work well with my independent study students. (As an Alt-Ed teacher, I often have quite a few independent study students assigned to me every semester. I offer Psychology, Civics, Current Events, and Life Skills as independent study courses. Over the past five years, I developed multiple TED Talk units utilizing TED Talks focusing on mental health, communication skills, healthy relationships, and civic engagement.)

Tips for teaching with TED Talks

When I teach a TED lesson, before viewing the video, I always go over the worksheet first, reading questions aloud. This helps prepare students for what they need to be listening for as we watch a TED talk. In addition, reading the questions beforehand alleviates any confusion about the questions (confusion over wording)/vocabulary, etc.

After each TED Talk, (if time permits) I like to go over TED lessons with my students either the same day or the following day. I always enjoy the class discussions following a TED lesson!

Note: If assigning as homework, don’t forget to remind your students about the interactive transcript feature of most TED Talks. The interactive transcript feature is very helpful for most students. It allows students to follow a written transcript while the video plays in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

If you're looking for suggestions regarding TED Talks to incorporate into your Social Studies curriculum, the following are a few of my favorites!

The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Lesson)

Why I Love a Country that Once Betrayed Me, George Takei (Lesson)

10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation, Celeste Headlee (Lesson)

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator, Tim Urban (Lesson)

Getting Stuck in the Negatives and How to Get Unstuck, Allison Ledgerwood, (Lesson)

To This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful, Shane Koyczan (Lesson)

How Gratitude Rewires Your Brain, Christina Costa (Lesson)

I'd love to hear your favorites! Please share in the comments below.

If you're interested in my TED Talk lessons, click HERE.

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