You can do your paper on any show (a 30 min regular series is best although a 60 min series is okay too). These can be based on watching the show itself or by renting a video of the show (many children's tv programs are availalbe on video). It does not have to be an educational show but you do want to be able to discuss the impact the show has on development (positive and/or negative). If the show does not have an educational goal, instead discuss the kinds of learning (positiive or negative) that might be occuring because of the design and /or content of the show.

Below are some suggestions and websites you can go to for viewing times and more information.

Local PBS Shows and showtimes

Preschool and Middle Childhood Shows include: Mr Roger's Neighborhood, Barney, Teletubbies, Clifford, Arthur, Dragon Tales

Nick Jr. Shows and showtimes

Preschool and Middle Childhood Shows include: Blues Clues (you can't use it), Little Bill, Franklin, Bob the Builder, Kipper, Dora the Explorer

Southpark on Comedy Central (Wednesdays at 10pm)

Beavis & Butthead or Daira on MTV

The Simpsons on Fox

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of the positive & negative influences of a specific television program on children’s development. You can think of this paper as a magazine or newspaper critic's review of the show, with particular emphasis on how the show might impact on child development, either social-emotional or cognitive. The paper should be 3-4 pages long (no longer - additional pages will not be read). Citations and references must follow the APA format which can be found here.

Your review must contain the following parts, in this order, with appropriate headings.

• Describe the general format of the show
• Animation, real-life, mixed media
• Setting & characters (where, who)
• Plot line (goal, focus - what is it about)
• Audience (who is the show designed for)
• Describe the specific features of the episode
• Topic
• Activities/ concepts

• What are they trying to teach or what things might they be teaching
• In general and then specific examples. For example, in general a cop show might inadvertently be teaching violence as a way to solve problems. Specific example might be the cops beat a suspect until they get a confession out of him. Or in a children's show they might be trying to teach moral reasoning and a specific example is a child breaks a lamp and has to decide if she should confess or let her little brother take the blame.
• What strategies do they use
• In general and then specific examples. In general they might use repetition, slow motion, pauses or multiple examples; specific examples for multiple example might be showing the cop getting what he wants with violence, the murderer getting what he wants with violence, etc or showing the girl with the moral dilemma in one scene and another character or a story they are reading in the show with a similar dilemma.

• Are the goals or messages appropriate for the audience
• Content & Strategy: Are the topics appropriate for the age group? If the show is aimed at toddlers, would spelling be an appropriate topic? Is glorifying violence appropriate for teenagers?
• Success in attaining their goals (getting their message across)
• How well did they implement the goal: If the goal of the cop show was really to show the consequences of breaking the law (lack of moral reasoniing) did it meet it's goal or did it teach something else? If the child confesses to breaking the lamp and has a very negative consequence, does it teach moral reasoning or to lie to avoid punishment? What do we know about how children or teenagers reason that might lead us to think that they are or are not getting the appropriate message? For example, what role does modelling have in modifying and influencing behavior?

• How would you make the show better? How would you change the content, format or strategies to make the cshow a more positive experience.