For more than 36 years, Sesame Street has delighted preschool children and their families. Using songs, music, animation, live action "street scenes" and short films-along with a cast of lovable human and Muppet characters-Sesame Street nurtures young children's natural curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. With its multicultural cast, Sesame Street offers a window through which children can explore the world, helping them to feel good about who they are and take pride in what they do. By encouraging children to develop the confidence and skills to succeed in school and in the community around them, Sesame Street fosters a lifelong love of learning.

Educational Goals

Sesame Street is based on educational goals designed to help children:

• Understand themselves and the world around them;
• Appreciate human diversity;
• Interpret the sights, sounds and experiences of their environment;
• Take beginning steps toward reading, writing, and math.

Sesame Street encourages children to learn and think about the world by:
Engaging children in language, mathematics, and science through stories, songs, rhyme and repetition; and by demonstrating how people use various strategies, such as observing and predicting, to explore the world around them.

Sesame Street encourages children to learn about feelings and how to deal with them by:
Identifying, labeling, and expressing such feelings as love, anger, happiness, and sadness; and by showing people who cope constructively with their feelings and empathize with others.

Sesame Street encourages children to learn about feelings and how to deal with them by:
Identifying, labeling, and expressing such feelings as love, anger, happiness, and sadness; and by showing people who cope constructively with their feelings and empathize with others.

Sesame Street encourages children to learn about people near and far by:
Featuring people who differ in appearance, action, or point of view playing and working together; and by modeling relationships in which people respect each other, cooperate, and resolve conflicts.

Ideas for Viewing

To get the greatest educational value from Sesame Street, watch with children and make viewing an active experience.

Ask open-ended questions that encourage children to:

• Consider what they see on Sesame Street; "What do you think about the way Zoe and Elmo are learning to share?"
• Think about what they hear on Sesame Street; "How do the Honkers communicate?"
• Predict what may happen next; "What do you think Cookie Monster will do when he discovers there are no more cookies?"

In addition to engaging children in meaningful conversations, invite them to:

• Repeat new words they hear on the show;
• Imitate and role-play the positive actions and behaviors of the cast and characters;
• Recall things that have happened to them that are similar to what they see on the show;
• Dance and sing along with the cast and characters;
• Participate in related activities in the classroom.

Ideas for Using Sesame Street in the Classroom

Bring the learning fun of Sesame Street into your classroom by connecting what children have seen on the show with your curriculum and related hands-on activities; below are a few examples. The Sesame Street pages on the PBS KIDS Web site offer even more fun and innovative ways to engage children and enrich the learning in your classroom. Use your own creativity to develop and incorporate related activities into your curriculum, always keeping in mind the unique needs and interests of your children.

Early Literacy

• Cookie Monster announces the Letter of the Day which is also repeated throughout the show in a variety of segments that highlight letter sounds, word pronunciation, rhyming and storytelling.
• Together, retell a story from Sesame Street. Encourage children to help you remember specific details. Have children identify new words they've learned on Sesame Street and practice using them appropriately.
• Visit Letter of the Day and invite children to play a letter game with Cookie Monster.

Health and Fitness

• Nutrition, physical movement and hygiene are prominent in the Sesame Street curriculum where the cast and Muppets learn how to play sports, keep clean, and prepare delicious healthy foods.
• Invite children to help you wash and prepare vegetables for a salad. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and enjoy together. (Be aware of potential food allergies and adjust recipe accordingly.) Engage children in physical games that challenge their abilities, including balancing and catching. Celebrate their attempts as well as their successes.
• Visit Color Me Hungry to help children learn how to sort vegetables by color.

Mathematics

• In each episode, The Count introduces the Number of the Day while additional show segments address such math concepts as counting, number recognition, geometric shapes, measurement and patterns.
• Offer children objects, such as stones or blocks, to count, sort by color, size or shape, and use to create interesting patterns. Ask children questions about how and why they sorted and arranged the objects the ways they did. Compare and contrast the differing strategies.
• Visit Rosita's Fiesta and have children help Rosita count out items for her guests.

Music, Dance and Art

• Throughout the show music, dance and art are highlighted in a range of toe-tapping songs, folk dances and boogies, and the creative spirit of all the characters.
• Play a variety of music from different cultures and traditions, and invite children to move their bodies in response. Provide children with paints, crayons, markers, paper, and time to explore the materials and create unique artwork.
• Visit Zoe's Dance Moves to help Zoe choreograph a dance.

Science

• Baby Bear, Elmo and the other Muppets have fun learning new science words, such as experiment and hypothesis, and exploring their concepts together.
• Invite children to explore the science concepts of floating and sinking. Provide a tub of water and a selection of objects. Have children hypothesize-or guess-which will sink and/or float. Let them experiment-or try out-their hypotheses by placing objects in the water. Discuss what they discovered. Go outside with children and encourage them to carefully observe-or look at-the environment around them. What do they see that they hadn't noticed before?
• Visit Clue Hunt with children and help them hone their observational skills with this fun online game.

Social/Emotional

• Every character on Sesame Street demonstrates unique social and emotional skills and responses as they play, manage challenging situations, learn to understand feelings and discover more about themselves and others.
• Engage children in working together toward a common goal, such as painting a classroom mural, putting on a simple performance, or planning a special meal. Let children know how well they're working as a team; encourage them to problem-solve when they run into difficulties; and celebrate their accomplishments!
• Read Elmo's First Day of School and Elmo's Special Cupcakes to help a child learn to cope with separation anxiety from parents.

Understanding and Appreciating Differences and Similarities

• Sesame Street is filled with opportunities for children to learn about and celebrate the rich diversity of the world around them. The show's multicultural cast and live action segments present people of different backgrounds playing and working together; while Global Grover travels the world visiting children and learning about their lives.
• Explore the differences and similarities among the children in your classroom. Together, notice the physical aspects, such as hair and skin color, size, etc., as well as personality traits and such unique qualities as family traditions and languages spoken. Point out how all the differences and similarities make your classroom extraordinary and special.
• Visit Global Grover and encourage children to groove with Grover's dancing game.

The fun and educational world of Sesame Street is right at your fingertips! With just a click of your mouse you can explore the rich resources available on the Sesame Street Web site and enhance your curriculum through interactive on-line games and musical fun, exciting hands-on activities, printable coloring pages and more-all designed inspire learning and stimulate the imaginations of young children!

Published: February 2005

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