UNIT 1: STARTING UP

Main idea: How successful leaders inspire their supporters to follow their beliefs; supported by:

1, Focus on beliefs: talking about what you believe will attract those who share the same beliefs.

Ex: Thousands of people turning up for what Martin Luther King Jr. and they believe in.

2, Organizations can also inspire followers.

Ex: Apple communicates its belief in thinking differently and challenging the way things are
normally done.

3, Not all leaders inspire: establishing a real connection between those who lead and followers will
mark the difference between leaders and those who lead.

UNIT 2: FRAGILE FORESTS

Main idea: The survival of the air plants called epiphytes; supported by:

1. What are epiphytes?

 A group of plants that mostly do not have roots in the ground high up in the canopy
layer.
 They absorb water and nutrients from the atmosphere.
2. Epiphytes are fragile and take a long time to grow: they need a specific balance of light,
nutrients and water to survive.
3. Human activities are harming epiphytes:
 Rain forests being destroyed due to agriculture and other activities.
 Mosses being stripped from the trees and sold to florists and garden centers.
4. Raising awareness: spreading the world about the importance of epiphytes and the world’s
forest canopies through projects.

UNIT 3: BRIGHT IDEAS

Main idea: Sometimes, common problems can be solved inexpensively; supported by:

1. Liquid lenses:
 Developing countries don’t have enough eye doctors.
 Solution: lenses filled with a liquid that can be adjusted, enabling people to see
better.
2. Fuel briquettes:
 Smoke from indoor cooking kills more than 2 million children each year.
 Solution: a low-cost device that compresses farm waste into fuel briquettes.
3. Disaster shelters:
 Over 31 million people worldwide lose their homes every year due to natural
disasters.
  Solution: Reaction Exo – small, portable, one room houses made from a strong
plastic.

UNIT 4: GAME CHANGERS

Main idea: Gaming and its practical effects; supported by:

1. Improving social skills: the more frequently most teen played, the more socially successful
and less lonely they felt.
2. Improving thinking skills: players have more neurons in the parts of the brain responsible
for memory and planning.
3. Better problem solvers:
 Urgent optimism
 Community builders
 Blissful productivity
 Epic meaning

UNIT 5: LESSONS IN LEARNING

Main idea: Why some students do not perform well at school and how to fix it; supported by:

1. Why students do not feel engaged with their studies:

 Some students who are not interested in teacher-centered, test-focused and academic
learning struggle to see the connection between that kind of learning and their lives.
 They don’t think schooling is relevant to their work in the future.
2. Helping students to become more engaged:
 A new model of schooling: Studio School – combining academic learning with practical
training for future jobs.
 Many traditional-school students improved significantly after they moved to a Studio
school.
 Putting teamwork and practical projects at the heart of learning, spreading the idea.

UNIT 6: FOOD FOR LIFE

Main idea: How eating habits can be improved; supported by:

1. Jamie Oliver and his mission:

 He opened a new community food center.
 He coached people about fresh food.
 He taught cooking lessons and served healthy meals, dropping obesity levels in
Huntington by 10%.
2. Why most children do not have a healthy eating habit:
 Children are out of touch with what’s on their plates.
  People no longer learn about good food, cooking and healthy eating.
 Processed foods using unhealthy ingedients are mass-produced.
 Stores and restaurants offer cheap meals high in sugar and fat, but low in nutrition.
3. Solutions:
 Share simple recipes to get people into the habit of home cooking.
 Hire “food ambassadors” in supermarkets to help consumers make better choices.
 Better labeling on big food brands’ product.
 Help children learn about good nutrition.
4. Food revolution day: events that raise awareness of how food affects our well-being and remind
people that cooking with fresh ingredient is fun.