TED Talks for Homeschool Reading Inspiration

TED talks have become the gold-standard for inspiration, presenting new ideas, education ,and empowerment These are excellent learning videos, ways to encourage moms at home and introduce our children to new activities. It seems not a day goes by that a TED talk doesn’t appear in our Facebook news feeds. We connect to emotional stories and learn new skills through TED talks. There are even TED talks available for children now.  

Homeschoolers can find a wealth of information in TED talks as well. Many middle and high school students use TED talks for research. You’ll even find homeschoolers as featured speakers in TED talks!  

Today we bring you a list of TED talks focused on reading. We hope they’ll inspire parent and student alike.  Teens will enjoy many of these videos and parents can gain new information from them about reading skill and ways to present reading to their children.

“Why We Should Be Reading Aloud to Children” by Rebecca Bellingham explores reading aloud. In today’s busy and digital era, many families don’t take the time to read aloud anymore. Study after study has shown how reading aloud to children improves their reading skills, reading comprehension and even social skills. Bellingham also touches our hearts and reminds us of some of our favorite childhood memories by recounting several classic children’s books.

“How Your "Working Memory" Makes Sense of the World” by Educational psychologist Peter Doolittle. This is a humorous and highly educational video which will benefit all areas of homeschooling, not just reading. Our working memory relates to our ability to process our current experiences, recall information, store memories and directions, and more. Doolittle gives techniques for building working memory which has been proven to give lifelong benefits for children.

“For These Women Reading is a Daring Act” by Laura Boushnak will especially appealling to teen girls. Boushnak shares her experiences with women in cultures where education is not readily available to, or not a priority for women. She shares how women’s lives have been changed by the fundamental ability to read and write.

“What We Learned from 5 Million Books” by Jean-Baptiste Michel and Erez Lieberman Aiden. Using books digitized by Google, over 500 billion words from 5 million books are analyzed. The researchers share interesting insights into human culture, history and perception by analyzing these books. Older children and teens will find this video especailly interesting.

“Why a Good Book is a Secret Door” by Mac Barnet. This humorous talk by Barnet, a children’s author, recounts his life experiences and reminds us how a good book can transport our children, and ourselves, to another time and place. An inspiring talk that will make you want to snuggle up and read one of your favorites to your child.

“How Books Can Open Your Mind” by Lisa Bu. Bu describes how losing out on her childhood dreams led her to books. She says “Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people of the past and the present. I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again. “ This is an inspiring video reminding educators, and students alike, about the power and benefits of books.  

Do you have favorite TED talks you use to inspire your homeschooling or that your children love? Share them with us in the comments below.