AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
Candy Chang: Before I die I want to...
Watch Candy’s TED Talk and then
answer the following questions!
http://www.ted.com/talks/candy_ch
ang_before_i_die_i_want_to.html
An author or speaker is trying to do one of 3 things:
INFORM
ENTERTAIN
PERSUADE
What do you think Candy Chang’s MAIN PURPOSE is for this TED Talk? ___________________
Why did you choose that purpose?
____________________________________________________________
Now, visit Candy Chang’s website: www.candychang.com
There are MANY PROJECTS Candy has completed. Take a few minutes to browse all her art installations and
projects. Find a project that INFORMS, a project that ENTERTAINS, and a project that PERSUADES:
INFORM
ENTERTAIN
PERSUADE
Project:
Project:
Project:
Why you chose inform:
Why you chose entertain:
Why you chose persuade:
Now, fill out your own statement:
Before I die I want to ____________________________.
Ask a friend, named ______________ to fill one out:
Before I die I want to ____________________________.
Now, have a parent, grandparent, or older adult in your family fill one out:
Before I die I want to ____________________________.
Which project of Candy Chang’s was your favorite? ________________________________
Why was it your favorite? ______________________________________________
What do you think Candy’s purpose is as an artist? (Other than inform, entertain, persuade)
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Would you ever do something like this? Why or why not?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
Hannah Brencher: Love letters to strangers
Watch Hannah’s TED Talk and then
answer the following questions!
http://www.ted.com/talks/hannah_bren
cher_love_letters_to_strangers.html
An author or speaker is trying to do one of 3 things:
INFORM
ENTERTAIN
PERSUADE
What do you think Hannah’s MAIN PURPOSE is for this TED Talk?
___________________
Why did you choose that purpose?
____________________________________________________________
Read how Hannah began writing her love letters (taken from her website: www.moreloveletters.com):
I never intended to write over 400 love letters.
To be honest, I never even planned to write one…
This unexpected journey began on 10/10/10 (serendipitous looking back) on a 4 Train in New York City. Far
less glamorous or romantic than you might imagine– I was struggling to get out of bed every morning. I
was fresh out of college and grappling with my place & purpose in this world. I was trying hard to fit into a
world that had boiled me & all I was feeling into 140-characters.
Moving to New York City unraveled me and I needed a way to cope and step outside my own loneliness.
I began writing letters on the train to individuals who seemed like they, too, could use a boost. I would leave
them all over the city–crooked into cafes & libraries & coat pockets. I began blogging about the love letter
writing & watched as my inbox became a vault for letter requests from all over the world. In the span of 9
months, I wrote & mailed over 400 love letters to people in need around the globe. & the process healed me. It
absolutely healed me.
This journey has taught me so much in such a short amount of time. I’ve discovered that no matter how tough
we act, we all still need a love letter from time to time. That even in a world crammed tight into 140 characters
and constant status updates, there is a still a great craving for the handwritten note. But most of all, I learned
with certainty that the world needs far more than just my own love letters.
So come on in. Get involved. But don’t come in without a pen…
I am happy to have you here.
Best,
Hannah Brencher
Using CONTEXT CLUES, what do you think the best definition of the underlined word CROOKED is in
Hannah’s letter? ___________________________________________________
What words in that sentence helped you identify the definition? _________________________
Why do you think Hannah chose the word CROOKED? ______________________________
What is the purpose of the letter written on Hannah’s website? (inform, entertain, persuade) __________
This graphic is found on Hannah’s website to encourage you to start writing letters.
What age group does this graphic appeal to? _____________________
WHY?
_____________________________________________________________
Here is a response from someone who FOUND one of the LOVE LETTERS:
November 20 Today I got my new apartment – except that I didn’t. It was a beautiful apartment, but the previous tenants secretly had
pets WITH FLEAS and the owners didn’t know. It was awful. Searching for a new apartment and skipping class because of
frustration and forgetting my book (sssshhhhhhh!) I stopped at Starbucks and got my usual white hot chocolate with pumpkin. On the
way back to the bathroom I glanced down at the seat by the last table in the corner. On the edge of that chair I found a letter saying
“Open me, read me, whoever you are.” Dated for the previous day, I read it and freaked out in happiness. I got back to school, took a
photo with it and went to the website at the bottom (at this very moment). I then got a call from my apartment people i’d been looking
at, got it, and move in tonight. I AM SO EXCITED. I knew I had hope for humanity for a reason
Thank you!
I appreciate this person so much!
Why was this person originally upset?
_____________________________________________________________
CHALLENGE: Visit Hannah’s website, get involved, and write some love letters to leave in unexpected places!
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: RI.9-10.4,6,7 SL.9-10.2,3,5
L.9-10.4a,4d
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
Ric Elias: 3 things I learned while my plane crashed
Watch Ric’s TED Talk and then answer
the following questions!
http://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias.html
An author or speaker is trying to do one of 3 things:
INFORM
ENTERTAIN
PERSUADE
What do you think Ric Elias’s MAIN PURPOSE is for this TED Talk?
___________________
Why did you choose that purpose?
____________________________________________________________
Here is the transcript of his talk:
Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack,
clack, clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D. I was the only one who could talk to
the flight attendants. So I looked at them right away, and they said, "No problem. We probably hit some birds." The pilot had already
turned the plane around, and we weren't that far. You could see Manhattan. Two minutes later, three things happened at the same
time. The pilot lines up the plane with the Hudson River. That's usually not the route. (Laughter) He turns off the engines. Now
imagine being in a plane with no sound. And then he says three words -- the most unemotional three words I've ever heard. He says,
"Brace for impact." I didn't have to talk to the flight attendant anymore. (Laughter) I could see in her eyes, it was terror. Life was
over.
Now I want to share with you three things I learned about myself that day. I learned that it all changes in an instant. We have this
bucket list, we have these things we want to do in life, and I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to that I didn't, all the
fences I wanted to mend, all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did. As I thought about that later on, I came up with a
saying, which is, "I collect bad wines." Because if the wine is ready and the person is there, I'm opening it. I no longer want to
postpone anything in life. And that urgency, that purpose, has really changed my life.
The second thing I learned that day -- and this is as we clear the George Washington Bridge, which was by not a lot -- I thought about,
wow, I really feel one real regret. I've lived a good life. In my own humanity and mistakes, I've tried to get better at everything I tried.
But in my humanity, I also allow my ego to get in. And I regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter with people that
matter. And I thought about my relationship with my wife, with my friends, with people. And after, as I reflected on that, I decided to
eliminate negative energy from my life. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better. I've not had a fight with my wife in two years. It feels
great. I no longer try to be right; I choose to be happy.
The third thing I learned -- and this is as your mental clock starts going, "15, 14, 13." You can see the water coming. I'm saying,
"Please blow up." I don't want this thing to break in 20 pieces like you've seen in those documentaries. And as we're coming down, I
had a sense of, wow, dying is not scary. It's almost like we've been preparing for it our whole lives. But it was very sad. I didn't want to
go; I love my life. And that sadness really framed in one thought, which is, I only wish for one thing. I only wish I could see my kids
grow up. About a month later, I was at a performance by my daughter -- first-grader, not much artistic talent ... ... yet. (Laughter) And
I'm balling, I'm crying, like a little kid. And it made all the sense in the world to me. I realized at that point, by connecting those two
dots, that the only thing that matters in my life is being a great dad. Above all, above all, the only goal I have in life is to be a good
dad.
I was given the gift of a miracle, of not dying that day. I was given another gift, which was to be able to see into the future and come
back and live differently. I challenge you guys that are flying today, imagine the same thing happens on your plane -- and please don't
-- but imagine, and how would you change? What would you get done that you're waiting to get done because you think you'll be here
forever? How would you change your relationships and the negative energy in them? And more than anything, are you being the best
parent you can?
Thank you.
Let’s ANNOTATE the transcript.
1. Highlight the 3 things Elias learned from this experience.
2. Underline the gifts he was given.
3. Choose one of the final questions he asked. Highlight it. Answer the question
here:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Other than inform, entertain or persuade, why do you think Ric Elias chose to speak at this TED conference?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
What is the MAIN IDEA of his talk? ________________________________________
According to an article at www.inc.com,
Now, Elias lives life by these three simple credos:
Things can change very fast. Live in the present.
Choose happiness over righteousness.
Above all, find what matters the most.
Elias realized this:
"… why do I waste so much energy on the things that do not matter, with the people that mattered the most?"
Take the next few minutes to think about that last statement. Why do we waste so much energy on the things
that do not matter, what the people that mattered the most? Talk about that.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
COMMON CORE STANDARDS: RI.9-10.3, RI.9-10.7, W.9-10.3,W.9-10.4, SL.9-10.2
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days
Watch Matt’s TED Talk and then answer
the following questions!
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_so
mething_new_for_30_days.html
About Matt (taken from his website www.mattcutts.com) :
Hi, my name is Matt Cutts and I joined Google as a software engineer in January 2000. I’m
currently the head of Google’s Webspam team.
Before Google, I worked on my Ph.D. in computer graphics at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. I have an M.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill, and B.S. degrees in both mathematics and
computer science from the University of Kentucky.
I wrote the first version of SafeSearch, which is Google’s family filter, and I’ve worked on
search quality and webspam at Google for the last several years.
An author or speaker is trying to do one of 3 things:
INFORM
ENTERTAIN
PERSUADE
What do you think Matt Cutt’s MAIN PURPOSE is for this TED Talk? ___________________
Why did you choose that purpose?
____________________________________________________________
Make a list of some of the projects Matt tried for 30 days:
Make a list of some projects you’d be interested in trying for 30 days. The sky is the limit:
Things I would like to try:
Now, check out the YouTube Documentary trailer for the movie, “Supersize Me.” Morgan Spurlock, who
inspired Matt’s 30 day commitments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRgY9YZaVnU
What is the MAIN IDEA of Morgan’s documentary?
____________________________________________________________
What do you think Morgan wanted his audience to “take away” from his documentary?
____________________________________________________________
If you could make any documentary about a 30 day experience, what would you choose to try for 30 days? Use
your brainstorming on the other page for ideas: __________________________________
PLAN some of the scenes you would film for this
documentary (at least 3) and write them in the film. Be
sure you include SETTING, CHARACTERS, and basic
PLOT of each scene.
Now, think of the TITLE Morgan Spurlock used for his
documentary, “Supersize Me.” Why did he choose that title?
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Think about your 30-day documentary. Make a list of at
least 5 different title ideas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pick your favorite: ______________________