Ted Talk Assignment

Ted Talks are a series of internet videos that capture ideas,

thoughts and speeches from a variety of people including kids,
scholars, celebrities, and athletes. Its like an educational
Youtube site. It is a simple but fascinating attempt to share
what is going on in the world. It addresses a variety of
disciplines such as Science, Leadership, History, Politics, etc.

For

this assignment you are going to try to find your favourite Ted
Talk video.
Here are the steps:
Step 1 You will be assigned groups of 4.
Step 2 Our class will have 2 periods to work on this assignment individually; you will need to
work on this outside of class as well. During our allocated class time, I want you to individually
search for videos using the criteria we discussed in class. Remember to limit the videos to 8
minutes each. Please remember to bring headphones. After each video you watch, evaluate the
talk using the attached chart. This is your chance to think critically and be the judge! You wont
love them all so just be specific and honest n your responses.
Step 3 After you have finished your top 5 selection and charts, your group will meet to discuss
each individuals videos. This will likely require you to watch some additional videos. Your job as a
group will be to decide what your top 5 video selections are collectively and which one is the very
best. Each group of four is only showing one video.
Step 4 Your group will give the class a presentation highlighting the best features of the talk,
after we watch your top video as a class. This is what I want you to do:
a) Before your video plays introduce the title and give background information on the
speaker. *Note* In almost all cases this will require an additional search.
b) Play the video for the class.
c) Afterwards discuss what you think the overall message was and why you thought it
was an effective video. Give specific attention to the rhetorical devices the speaker uses.
This is where your criteria sheet can be used. Every person in your group must
collaborate in the preparation and presentation of this component.

After all of the presentations are done, the class is going to rank all of them and come up with
our top two videos as a class. The other DLP classes will do this as well and we will watch their
top picks and have a conversation with them about it.

TED Talks Criteria Chart

Title of Ted Talk:
Speakers Name:
Task: Make notes for each criteria in the chart under the level you believe it belongs to
based on your viewing. Add explanations about why it achieves that level in the box as
well. Do not simply restate the examples provided.
Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

-done well,

-done pretty

-done, but lots of

-could be much

barely any room

well, but room

room for

better

for improvement

for improvement

improvement

Message
-strong and
inspirational
-clear
-positive

Emotional Response
-elicits at least one
of the following
emotions:
-funny
-inspirational
-sad
-touching

Relevance to life
-good topic
-you can relate to
it/apply it to your
life

Presentation
-clear voice
-confident speaker
-interesting voice and
intonation
-supporting visual
-hooks audience and
is captivating