Media Review:Sesame Street

Review #51

Book Image:

Bibliographic Citation: 
Sesame Street.(Producer) 2009. Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days.(DVD) United States: Sesame Street.

Age Group:
Toddler to Gr1 

Genre:
Fiction

Awards:
 There were so many awards for this show that I included a link for the entire list. Because this DVD was the "best of" the last 40 years of this series, this awards and nominations list also apply.
 Sesame Street Awards and Nominations List

Topics/Issues:
 Early literacy, school readiness skills

ELS promoted: 
 Letter knowledge, narrative skills, vocabulary, phonological awareness, print motivation

Format: 
DVD and TV show
 

Author/Illustrator sites:
http://www.sesamestreet.org/ and http://pbskids.org/sesame/

Categorization Tags:
E Sesame Street
 

Annotation:
Sesame Street has been educating and entertaining kids for the past 40 years.  Here are the best Sesame Street memories and behind the scenes footage.
 

Reactions/Observations:

The new Sesame Street is as good as or better than I remembered as a child. Since 1969, parents and children have watched their favorite characters weave lessons about life and community between early literacy skills. Segments and skits are educational yet entertaining. The lessons taught are positive and widely vary. The humor appeals to both parents and children which promotes inter generational viewing and interaction.

Sesame Street is bright and inviting, showing children and characters from varied cultural backgrounds. Characters engage in everyday activities which serve as great inspiration to parents and children. In the episode I reviewed, Count Von Count is counting the food on his plate at breakfast when Baby Bear decides he would like to learn how to count too. Count Von Count shows Baby Bear that counting everything can teach you to be a better counter. This sets the common theme throughout the show that everyday activities can be lessons for math and literacy.

Sesame Street is well known as an educational tool. The show improves cognitive skills and school readiness skills (Walsh, 1995). Their young viewers gain an advantage in math, vocabulary, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, print motivation, and other school readiness skills. The street name and its residents have become iconic. Although new characters have been added, Sesame Street is still the same great education tool that continues to reinvent itself. This series is easy to like and fun to watch. The target age for this series is 3-5 years old.