A new animated series builds on the legacy and success of the beloved Emmy-nominated Super Why! series and Super Why's Comic Book Adventures shorts.
The new series will empower preschoolers and kindergartners by supporting early literacy skills through exciting 7-minute stories that launch them into a colorful comic book universe where every interactive story adventure brings reading to life.
WHERE TO WATCH
Super Why's Comic Book Adventures airs on WHRO Kids (15.3 | Cox 108 | Charter Digital 120 | FiOS 462) October 5 at 7 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., or stream it on WHRO+.
Recent research has found a significant drop in U.S. children’s reading scores (1) and has shown that a large percentage of children are reading below grade level (2). Since 2007, SUPER WHY! content and resources have helped children learn core early literacy skills, including alphabet knowledge, phonological and phonemic awareness, symbolic and linguistic awareness, and comprehension (3). Super Why's Comic Book Adventures will build on this through stories that take place in a vibrant world where letters, words, and sounds have enormous power.
The newest series was designed with The Science of Reading – the comprehensive body of research that explains how our brains learn to read and write and informs instructional practices and approaches that support that learning – in mind. The stories and games incorporate foundational reading skills, including letter and letter sound knowledge, phonological awareness, phonics and decoding skills, spelling, vocabulary and oral language comprehension, and more. The series will feature new original songs that reinforce the curriculum and celebrate the Super Readers and “Super You” for saving the day.
Super Why's Comic Book Adventures follows the Super Readers – Super Why, Wonder Red, Princess Presto, Alpha Pig, and newest reading hero, Power Paige – on out-of-this-world adventures as they use their own unique literacy powers and gadgets to protect Reader Valley from a group of silly Super Villains – with help from the viewer, “Super You.” When faced with The Eraser, who loves to make letters and sounds disappear; Mr. More, who likes to add “more” of everything; The Shuffler, who mixes up the order of letters and sounds in words; and Outta Space, an extraterrestrial visitor who adds spaces between letters and sounds in words, the Super Readers must work together to make things right in Reader Valley.
AT-HOME ACTIVITY
Conversation Cards
Download and cut out these learning cards for quick, adult-led conversation and activity starters.
Download the cards.
Sources:
1 & 2. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2020 and 2022 Long-Term Trend Reading and Mathematics Assessments.
3. L. Linebarger, D. (2015). Super why! to the rescue: Can preschoolers learn early literacy skills from educational television? International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education, 6 (1), 2060–2068.
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