Groundbreaking studies affirm what parents and educators have long suspected: Super Why! Super Why!, the beloved PBS KIDS series, is a powerful tool in boosting early literacy skills for preschoolers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. This isn’t just entertainment; it’s education cleverly disguised as engaging storybook adventures.
Two comprehensive studies funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) through the U.S. Department of Education’s Ready To Learn Grant, have provided robust evidence of Super Why Super Why’s effectiveness. These studies, conducted by leading educational research institutions, demonstrate how the show and its supplementary materials significantly enhance crucial pre-reading abilities in young children.
Groundbreaking Studies Validate Super Why’s Impact on Literacy
The first study, spearheaded by Dr. Deborah L. Linebarger at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, meticulously examined the TV series’ ability to cultivate essential early literacy skills. The research delved into areas ranging from alphabet knowledge to phonological awareness, letter-sound recognition, and reading comprehension. Dr. Linebarger emphasized the critical role of early and diverse language experiences, stating, “The format of Super Why Super Why provides them with an engaging platform that fosters literacy skills, resulting in learning the content featured in the program as well as applying that content to other contexts.”
This rigorous study involved 171 preschoolers in a major Pacific Northwest city, with half coming from low-income families. Children were divided into groups, with one group watching 20 episodes of Super Why Super Why twice, and a control group watching a science program for the same duration. The findings were compelling:
- Overall Performance Boost: Children who watched Super Why Super Why over eight weeks showed significantly better performance across nearly all program-specific and standardized early reading measures compared to the control group.
- High Engagement Levels: An overwhelming 97% of children gave Super Why Super Why top ratings, highlighting its ability to captivate young viewers while educating them. The series has consistently ranked among the top programs for preschoolers and enjoys immense popularity with mothers of young children.*
- Targeted Literacy Skill Growth: Super Why Super Why viewers demonstrated substantial progress in alphabet knowledge, phonological and phonemic awareness, symbolic and linguistic awareness, and comprehension. For instance, their phonological and phonemic awareness skills improved by an average of 29%, more than double the 13% gain seen in the control group.
- Pre-Reading Skill Enhancement: The show dramatically accelerated preschoolers’ letter and sound naming speeds, skills directly linked to future reading success. Super Why Super Why viewers were 24% faster at letter naming and an impressive 44% faster at sound naming compared to their control group counterparts.
- Significant Gains for Low-Income Children: Children from low-income and working-class families experienced remarkable improvements in phonological, phonemic, and symbolic awareness. Within the Super Why Super Why group, low-income children scored 46% higher on standardized tests than their peers in the control group, significantly outperforming the 11% gain seen in middle-class children. Furthermore, 81% of low-income Super Why Super Why viewers could identify at least 16 uppercase and 9 lowercase letters, compared to just 62% in the control group.
Angela C. Santomero, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of Super Why Super Why, emphasizes the show’s mission: “With Super Why Super Why, we want to give parents, caregivers and educators a reason to turn ON the television. The literacy-focused mission of the program is even more important and timely today than ever and we are proud to know that Super Why Super Why is doing its part to realize the crucial goal of ensuring that every child becomes a successful reader.”
A separate study by the Florida State University’s Center for Reading Research further reinforced these findings. In summer 2008, 454 preschoolers across 19 cities and 17 states participated in Super Why Super Why Reading Camps. These week-long camps, specifically designed for children from low-income families and led by local educators, immersed children in the Super Why Super Why world.
The reading camps utilized a curriculum where children engaged in activities embodying different Super Why Super Why characters and practiced character-specific reading skills. Pre- and post-tests revealed substantial learning gains:
- Comprehensive Literacy Skill Gains: Campers showed improvements in all literacy skills presented in the program, gaining proficiency in reading letters, sounds, and words.
- Phonics and Word Recognition Leap: Preschoolers demonstrated an impressive 84% gain in phonics skills and a remarkable 139% gain in word recognition skills – more than doubling their abilities in this crucial area.
Susan Zelman, SVP, CPB Education and Children’s Content, highlights the broader implications: “These findings and others underscore the educational power of television when a program has been developed using scientifically-based research and has been coupled with entertaining characters and formats. This work can help close the opportunity gap.”
Rob Lippincott, SVP, PBS Education, further emphasizes PBS’s commitment: “PBS and stations are the only enterprises dedicated to using the power of media to help all children, regardless of their circumstances have an equal possibility for success in school and in life. Super Why Super Why helps illustrate the powerful role that media and community-based engagement activities can play, by putting our research into action and in helping children learn to read.”
Key Literacy Skills Developed by Super Why
Super Why! Super Why! isn’t just entertaining; it’s meticulously crafted to teach the fundamental building blocks of reading. The show’s interactive storybook adventures directly target the five key literacy skills identified by the National Reading Panel Report as crucial for reading acquisition:
- Phonemic Awareness: Understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds.
- Phonics: Knowing the relationship between letters and sounds.
- Fluency: Reading accurately and smoothly.
- Vocabulary: Understanding the meaning of words.
- Text Comprehension: Understanding the meaning of what is read.
Each Super Why Super Why character embodies a specific literacy skill:
- Alpha Pig: With alphabet power, Alpha Pig focuses on letter identification.
- Wonder Red: With word power, Wonder Red’s games center on word decoding.
- Princess Presto: Bringing spelling power, Princess Presto’s segments emphasize letter sounds, spelling, and handwriting.
- Super Why: The title character, Super Why, integrates all these skills to teach reading within sentence structures, fostering comprehension and vocabulary.
Super Why Super Why: More Than Just a TV Show
Super Why! Super Why! extends its educational reach far beyond television screens. It’s a multiplatform educational property designed to immerse children in a literacy-rich environment. Alongside the award-winning PBS KIDS television program and website (pbskids.org/superwhy), Super Why Super Why offers:
- Super Why! Reading Camps: Extending the show’s lessons into community-based, hands-on learning experiences.
- Books: Engaging and educational books from Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
- Educational Toys: Interactive toys from Learning Curve Brands that reinforce key literacy concepts through play.
This comprehensive approach ensures that Super Why Super Why’s vital literacy messages are consistently reinforced across various platforms, maximizing its impact on young learners.
Super Why! Super Why! stands as a testament to the power of educational television when grounded in scientific research and presented in an engaging, child-friendly format. It’s a valuable resource for parents, educators, and communities striving to equip preschoolers with the essential literacy skills needed for future academic success, particularly for children who need the most support. For more information and to explore the world of Super Why! Super Why!, visit pbskids.org/superwhy.
*Source: For PBS, NTI Pocketpiece for October 2008, including standard 7-day tracking. For broadcast, cable, and syndication, Nielsen Galaxy Explorer, October 1-31, 2008, including only programs fed Monday thru Friday.
