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Aussie Year 2 Student Molly Wright’s Message For Parents Around

The World

Gold Coast girl Molly Wright, 7, has urged parents to switch off their digital devices and focus on

their children in a TED Talk that could reach millions of viewers around the world. Picture: Nigel

Hallett

A sassy* Aussie schoolgirl is set for global fame with her plea for parents to ditch digital

devices and play with their kids.

Seven-year-old Gold Coast girl Molly Wright has become the youngest person to deliver

a TED Talk*, in a passionate message backed by the United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF) that could reach millions of viewers worldwide.

In her seven-minute lecture, the Year 2 student warned that children could suffer when

adults were distracted by digital devices.

“I know it’s important for adults to use their devices sometimes but kids are hard wired to

seek out meaningful connections,’’ she said in her talk.

“Not receiving them creates confusion and stress.

“Our brains grow faster in the early years than at any other time in our lives – connect,

talk and play with us.’’

Molly Wright, 7, gives her TED Talk speech. Picture: TED Talk.

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Bright and bubbly Molly, who filmed her talk in Australia before it was beamed around

the world on July 22, could become Australia’s answer to Greta Thunberg, the teenage

climate change activist from Sweden.

Molly, who loves animals and dreams of becoming a wildlife vet, found the experience

“amazing’’.

She admires Greta Thunberg’s campaigning* and said it would be a “dream come true

to do that for early education’’.

“I feel like I would help so many people,’’ she said.

“Babies can’t speak for themselves so I was trying to speak for them and say, ‘please

connect with your children because it’s really important you do that’.

“It’s important for parents to use their devices sometimes, but if you have any free time,

put your device down for a moment and connect with your child.’’

Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg is someone Molly Wright admires. Picture: AFP

Molly was chosen to present the TED Talk on behalf of Thrive by Five, which campaigns

to give more children access to quality early childhood education.

Thrive by Five is backed by the Minderoo Foundation, run by Australian philanthropists*

Andrew and Nicola Forrest.

Mrs Forrest said Molly’s message was important for parents, carers, policymakers* and

world leaders.

Molly’s speech will reach TED’s 30 million followers, be promoted by UNICEF and be shown

to new parents in maternity hospitals worldwide.

The head of TED, Chris Anderson, said Molly had a “wow” factor and deserved a huge

audience.

“I absolutely love this talk,’’ he said.

“To hear a powerful idea like this spoken so eloquently* by a child – wow!’’

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Molly enjoys some fun family time with her brother, Freddie, 3, mum Ally, dad Neil and dalmatian

Matilda. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Thrive By Five chief executive Jay Weatherill, a former South Australian premier, said play

could have a “profound* impact on a child’s brain’’.

“A million neural* connections are being made every second so when you play with your

child, you are literally wiring up your child’s brain,’’ he said.

Professor Desiree Silva, head of paediatrics* at the Joondalup Health Campus in Perth,

said parents who ignored their children could impair* their speech and social

development.

“The first five years is absolutely critical for children’s brain development,’’ she said.

“You have to smile at your baby for it to smile back.

“When mothers breastfeed, a lot of the time they are looking at social media and not

connecting with the child.

“Kids are not meant to be alone – their brain is like a sponge.

“If you’re not connecting with them, it can affect their development.’’

GLOSSARY

• sassy: lively, bold, full of spirit, cheeky

• TED Talk: a short video presentation about a great idea that is posted online

• campaigning: working to achieve or promote a particular goal

• philanthropists: people who promote the welfare of others, especially by

donating money to good causes

• policymakers: people who set out actions and ideas for others to follow

• eloquently: persuasively and clearly

• profound: very great

• neural: to do with the nervous system which carries messages to and from the

brain and spinal cord to various parts of the body

• paediatrics: the science or study of medical care for children

• impair: weaken or damage

Kids News – Aussie Year 2 Student Molly Wright’s Message for Parents Around the World

Quick Quiz1. How old is Molly Wright?

2. What is her message to parents?

3. Which other child campaigner does Molly admire?

4. How many followers does TED Talk have?

5. Which United Nations group is promoting Molly’s video?

ExtensionWrite your own short talk on a topic that you feel passionate about. Your purpose is to convince everyone to understand and agree with your opinion.

Main IdeaWhat is the main idea of this article?

Write a ListWrite a list of at least 10 easy and fun activities that can helpparents spend time with their kids. Your activities should befree, easy to do and fun.

VocabularyThe glossary helps you to understand and learn thechallenging vocabulary being used in the article. Can you usethe words outlined in the glossary to create new sentences?

Have another look through the article – can you find any otherchallenging words that should be added to the glossary?

Thursday 5 August – Writing Activity

Learning Intention:

We are learning to write short texts and respond to images

Success Criteria:

• Rewrite given sentences to make them more interesting

• Respond to questions about an image

• Write a short text from a given story starter

• Create a visual based on a prompt

Task: Choose 3 of the Pobble writing activities below to complete

Mathematics Number Talk

What do you notice?

Learning Intention:We are learning to be flexible with our thinking about numbers in maths

What do you notice about the numbers in the Olympic rings? Add at least 3 ideas below:

1

2

3

Mathematics

Maps

We are learning to calculate the distance between two points on a map using a simple given scale

What is a scale on a map?Maps use a scale to show sizes and distances on a map in a way people can understand. A scale compares actual distance on the ground to the distance on the map. For example a 2cm line on the map may represent 2km actual distance

On the next slide is a map of the Sydney Olympic Village where the athletes stayed.Can you locate the scale? It looks like this:

How can you use it to calculate the distance between places?

Using the map scale can you calculate the distance between two locations on the map.

What are the 2 locations?

Using the scale what do you think the distance between these two locations are?

Maths Activity INSERT OR UPLOAD YOUR WORK HERE

Draw your own Olympic Village Map and use the scale 1cm = 100m to measure the distance between two places on the map.

Can you include:❏ A scale of 1cm =100m❏ At least 4 landmarks❏ A train station❏ A name for your map

Tips: You can draw a map of the park, your area or your own Olympic Village from the last activity.

Make sure you draw it from above. This is called an aerial or birds eye view.

Thursday 5 August – History Activity

Community and Remembrance

Values are linked to our celebrations and commemorations. We can get our values from

culture, history, families, school and friends.

Some values are freedom of speech, equality, respect, responsibility, empathy, fairness,

honesty, courtesy, caring and tolerance.

Use these values to write 4 sentences of your own.

Examples:

We must respect history and the

past.

We must have empathy for other

cultures and understand how they

feel.

Together we can learn to be caring

and responsible.

We can celebrate and have

respect for a culture and its beliefs.