Greetings from The Paley Center for Media’s Education Department!
Welcome to the latest installment of “What We’re Watching.” Twice a month the education department reaches out to the community with tips and ideas for consuming media with kids by highlighting different themes that connect to two selected programs, one for younger viewers and one for older viewers, each with related activities and resources.
Watching media alongside your kids is a perfect jumping-off point to making media literacy a part of your everyday lives. Familiarizing yourself with the basics is a great first step. You can view our first newsletter about media literacy best practices archived here. We also recommend the National Association for Media Literacy Education’s Parents Guide—it’s a terrific introduction!
What We're Watching: Curiosity and Learning
Sesame Street, 3-2-1 Contact, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Schoolhouse Rock, and Bluey are some of the greatest educational television shows ever made. The combination of quirky humor, great music, compelling characters, and genuine teaching even kept/keeps parents sitting on the couch with their kids. At the heart of many of these shows is their ability to spark curiosity by investigating some of life's greatest mysteries through research, entertainment, and questioning. Developing curiosity is incredibly important in childhood as it encourages children to expand their sense of creativity, learn new things, and question everything around them. Our two recommendations this week are full of curious kids and entertaining information!
This Week's Recommendations for Younger Viewers
Ask the StoryBots: "Where Does Chocolate Come From?" S3E7 (2019)
Recommended for Grades PK+
Available on Netflix
Number one on our list of great new educational television is Ask the StoryBots. This show is about five curious creatures that help kids answer big questions like: Why is the sky blue? Why can’t I eat dessert all the time? How do ears hear and why do people look different? The StoryBots are Beep, Bing, Bang, Boop, and Bo, also known as "Answer Team 341B." In each episode, the StoryBots explore the human world and ask other creatures for help, then share their answer in a musical video. In this episode, the StoryBots jump into a vending machine to find out where chocolate bars come from. Who doesn't want to know the answer to that?
Viewing Questions
- Where do the StoryBots go first to find out where chocolate bars come from?
- What country do they travel to next? What plant does chocolate come from?
- What microscopic fungi eats the sugar off the beans? What is that process called?
- Once the cacao beans are dried by the sun where do they go next?
- What happens in the factory that turns them into chocolate bars?
- What else do we learn about in this episode through the songs?
Additional Resources
Read
Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory by Margaret & H.A. Rey
DK Readers: The Story of Chocolate by C.J. Polin
From Cocoa Beans to Chocolate (Who Made my Lunch?) by Bridget Heos
This Book is Not Good for You by Pseudonymous Bosh
Watch
Ada Twist, Scientist (2021)
Ask the StoryBots: "Why Can’t I Eat Dessert All the Time?" (2018)
The Great British Baking Show: Juniors: "Finals Week: Chocolate" S7E11(2023)
Nadi Bakes: "Baking with Chocolate" (2021)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
