Warm-ups

Journal Directions:

Open and make a copy of the Journal Warm-up Doc
Write at least five complete sentences for each prompt each day. (We will only do one each day.)
Submit when we finish the fifth day.

TED Talk Directions:

Open and make a copy of the TED Talk Warm-up Doc.
Answer each question for each speaker.
Submit when we finish the fifth day.

If you are not able to access the TED Talk videos, you can always Google the speaker's name with the words TED Talk behind it: David Byrne TED Talk

TED Talk Questions:

What is the topic or main idea?
What is a claim the speaker uses?
What evidence does the speaker use to back up the claim?
What can you infer about the speaker or the talk? (Inferences are based on facts, they are not random guesses.)
What is the conclusion? (What point are they trying to make at the end?)

Set 13: Journal Warm-ups

Day 31: If you had to live inside a TV show for a day, which show would you choose and why? What would you do for the day?

Day 32: Imagine you inherited an estate in another coutry. What would you do? Would you live there? Sell it? Rent it? Refurbish it? Why? How big is it?

Day 33: Describe how your life would be different if you lived in a different state. Choose the state, and explain.

Day 34: You wake up in a video game. What is the game, and what do you do to try to escape?

Day 35: When you get home from school, you find out our dog can talk to only you. What is your conversation about and why?

My obsession with objects and the stories they tellAdam Savage talks about his fascination with the dodo bird, and how it led him on a strange and surprising double quest. It's an entertaining adventure through the mind of a creative obsessive.

What it's like to have Tourette's -- and how music gives me back controlEsha Alwani began writing songs when she was six years old, shortly after being diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. And she noticed something amazing: whenever she played music, her involuntary tics suddenly went away. Listen along as Alwani explores the power of music and delights the audience with an ethereal performance of her piano ballad "I'm Not Loving You (My Mask)."

What I learned when I conquered the world's toughest triathlonA 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and then a full-length marathon on hot, dry ground -- with no breaks in between: the legendary Ironman triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, is a bucket list goal for champion athletes. But when Minda Dentler decided to take it on, she had bigger aspirations than just another medal around her neck. She tells the story of how she conquered this epic race, and what it inspired her to do next.

The nerd's guide to learning everything onlineSome of us learn best in the classroom, and some of us ... well, we don't. But we still love to learn -- we just need to find the way that works for us. In this charming, personal talk, author John Green shares the community of learning that he found in online video.

Set 15: Journal Warm-ups

Day 36: What is your favorite music (style, or artists, or songs) and why?

Day 37: What do you hope to do this summer?

Day 38: Comtemplate then write about this statement: "I wish I were better at . . ."

Day 39: What is your favorite thing about where you live (either the home you live in or the city or state you live in)?

Day 40: What were your goals this last school year? Did you meet them? Why or why not? What will you do because of these goals?

Set 16: TED Talks

Day 36: Ashton Cofer

Day 37: Topher White

Day 38: James Veitch (The Agony of Trying to Unsubscribe)

Day 39: Robert Waldinger

Day 40: Sam Berns

A plan to recycle the unrecyclableFrom packing peanuts to disposable coffee cups, each year the US alone produces some two billion pounds of Styrofoam -- none of which can be recycled. Frustrated by this waste of resources and landfill space, Ashton Cofer and his science fair teammates developed a heating treatment to break down used Styrofoam into something useful. Learn more out their original design.

What can save the rainforest? Your used cell phoneThe sounds of the rainforest include: the chirps of birds, the buzz of cicadas, the banter of gibbons. But in the background is the almost-always present sound of a chainsaw, from illegal loggers. Engineer Topher White shares a simple, scalable way to stop this brutal deforestation — that starts with your old cell phone.

The agony of trying to unsubscribeIt happens to all of us: you unsubscribe from an unwanted marketing email, and a few days later another message from the same company pops up in your inbox. Comedian James Veitch turned this frustration into whimsy when a local supermarket refused to take no for an answer. Hijinks ensued.

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happinessWhat keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it's fame and money, you're not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you're mistaken. As the director of a 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, he shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life.

My philosophy for a happy lifeBorn with a rare genetic disorder called progeria, Sam Berns knew he'd be facing more obstacles in life than most. This didn't stop him from taking charge of his own happiness. In this moving and inspirational talk, Berns lays out the three principles of the personal philosophy that allowed him to do so.

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