I don’t know if I’ve said this before but I love TED Talks. My kids watch one every Tuesday that relates to our main text. Last six weeks we read A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so here are the TED Talks I paired with it and why.
1. Mandy Len Catron: Falling in Love is the Easy Part
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is filled with the idea of love: what is it, is it serious, or is it a flight of fancy? After falling in love using a questionnaire, Mandy Len Catron discusses the idea that it doesn’t take much to fall in love, but staying in love takes work. I use this talk at the beginning of the unit to hit the theme of love and to also get the kids thinking about what it means to truly love someone.
2. Amy Adkins: Why Do We Dream?
I love mixing facts with fiction. The loss of reality and dreams are major themes in the play. This video gives real-world theories as to why human beings dream. I ask the students to choose one reason and use it as a defense for the Athenians. It’s interesting to hear some of the arguments they come up with.
3. Shilo Shiv Suleman: Using Tech to Enable Dreaming
I wanted at least one TED Talk to address magic, and this one certainly is magical. Suleman has created an app that moonlights as a book for children, that addresses the nostalgia of a magical childhood. And while we’re talking about magic in a different sense, the kids found it easily relatable to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I also enjoyed the discussion we had about the forgotten fairies, and how that relates to Shakespeare’s inspiration through Greek mythology.