For both elementary school students, Big Bird may still shine brightly in young imaginations. Big Bird has been entertaining kids since 1969 on the Sesame Street program. A 1996 survey showed that 95% of all preschoolers in the United States had watched the show by the age of 3.
The famous Big Bird was “born” in March. While he’s been on TV for 40 years, Big Bird has stayed at about 6 1/2 years old, according to his puppeteer Caroll Spinney. In that time he’s helped many children learn to read, feel comfortable asking questions, and provided a lot of amusement from his nest behind 123 Sesame Street or around.
Sesame Street is a great teaching touchstone for Studentreasures in elementary school lesson plans. Studentreasures helps pick up the Sesame Street approach to teaching by encouraging high level student interaction with material, imagination, and curiosity. In motivating students to work on their Studentreasures book, referencing this famous television series might not be a bad idea.
For middle school writing projects, there are many opportunities to use Sesame Street. Students can use Studentreasures to reflect on their favorite books, TV shows, and activities as a child, and write about how they have grown in the subsequent years. Students can write about the Muppets universe in general, and about the amazing care and craft that has gone into the puppets over the years, and how Jim Henson and his team developed so many great characters. Students can write about their favorite characters, in TV or in books, why they are their favorites, and how they think the authors make their personalities stand out and make them so appealing.
There are many directions to go in with a Studentreasures book that has Big Bird at heart. His enduring appeal and success speaks to students’ desire to be treated with equanimity and urged to explore their curiosity.
Let us know in the comments what your favorite thing about Big Bird is and how you reference him in your teaching!