VIDEO | Grade 4 Students Confidently Present TED Talks

Grade 4 students are always eager to complete the student-led TED Talk presentations assigned to them. The TED Talks are a project that started a few years ago. Grade 4 teacher Miss Anna says the experience was so positive for both students and parents, that she decided to do it again this year. However, presenting was a bit different during COVID-19 times as parents needed to join virtually, but it was still a huge success. Family members joined from all over the world: Greece, Brazil and the United States to name a few.

The TED Talks are a way of taking action, which is a fundamental part of the Primary Years Programme (PYP). The students all became advocates for a cause they cared about. In order to prepare for their TED Talks, the students were asked to brainstorm ideas worth spreading; social issues, local or global, something they cared about that they felt needed to be changed.

Once they chose a topic, students began their research to gather evidence. Once they had the information, they started writing their persuasive piece. Throughout the process, the class watched several examples of TED Talks to see which strategies the speakers used to influence their audience, so the students could apply them as well. The writing process took the most amount of time. Students held conferences with teachers to revise and edit their work to improve it. Once they were ready, they created their visual support, the slides for their TED Talk. Then it was time for rehearsals. 

The students realised that in the examples they watched, presenters didn’t read their scripts, so they tried to memorise their talk as much as possible. The entire class participated in general rehearsals so students could give feedback to one another before the big day. 

Miss Anna said, “One of the reasons why I decided on the TED Talks for an assignment is the fact that they are a great opportunity to give the students agency and for them to take action, which are two fundamental parts of the PYP. I believe it is essential to give the students choice so they can have a voice over their learning. In this case, the students chose an issue or an idea worth spreading that interested them to inquire, but especially, to persuade others to change for the better.”

She also says that this is a meaningful way of teaching persuasive strategies because the students have had a voice in the process and their audience is very clear. The students explored a variety of hooks to entice their audience. They also investigated how to support their claims with evidence, which is essential when you are presenting research findings.

“In Grade 5, there is the Exhibition, which is the culmination of the PYP years. The TED Talks, in a way, have prepared the students for that big project helping them develop their research and communication skills. This project was part of one of Grade 4’s Unit of Inquiry, under the transdisciplinary theme ‘How we express ourselves’. With this project, the students had to demonstrate their understanding of the Line of Inquiry: ‘People use language to express and to influence others’. I was hoping the students would gain an understanding of this line of inquiry, and I’m very pleased with the results,” Miss Anna said. 

After this experience, the Grade 4 students now have a solid understanding of relevance and how to use persuasive strategies to encourage people to change and inspire them to think or act differently. 

Miss Anna says even though the students were nervous before presenting, it was wonderful to see how excited and proud of themselves they were after their TED Talks. Not only did they grow from the feedback they got from their peers, but it was also visible how satisfied they were after having stepped out of their comfort zone and being successful. 

“What I saw in the talks were responsible, independent and enthusiastic students who seemed so confident when talking in front of an audience, although that can be intimidating,” Miss Anna proudly said.