In-Class Activities

Children’s Television: Age-Appropriate Content

Author: Sara Lindey, Ph.D.

Related Videos:
Ellen Galinsky: Engaged Learning (PDF Transcript)
Mister Rogers:  The Death of a Pet
Daniel Anderson: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a Single-Premise Show (PDF Transcript)

Discuss the kinds of topics present and the kinds of topics that would best help children learn and grow in children’s entertainment. To start discussion show the video clip, “Ellen Galinsky: Engaged Learning,” from the Fred Rogers Oral History Project interviews wherein Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of the Families and Work Institute and author of more than thirty-five books about education, work, and parenting, explains the difficult messages and themes that were typical programming for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as well as Fred Rogers’ communicative approach.

Show the following clip, “Mister Rogers: The Death of a Pet,” and discuss how well it resonates with Ellen Galinsky’s comments.

To add context, show the video, “Daniel Anderson: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a Single-Premise Show,” from the Fred Rogers Oral History Project interviews in which Daniel R. Anderson, psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts, discusses the differences between Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street in connecting with multiple audiences.

No Comments

Add Your Comments

Use the form below to comment on the materials on this page. Comments that contain offensive or hateful language, or that do not contribute to the ongoing discussion, will be deleted.

View our privacy policy


Please enter the word you see in the image below:

Return to the In-Class Activities page.