Middle School
Worksheets
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood Day
Reading Comprehension for February 19
The famous Mr. Rogers of children's television died in 2003. You may still be able to watch his program on some TV stations. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was the longest-running program on public television. More than 900 episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were filmed from the time the show began in 1968 until it ended in 2001. In 1999, Mr. Rogers was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. So who was this soft-spoken man who wore plain sweaters and slip-on sneakers and told small children that they were special? Was it all an act, or was Mr. Rogers the real deal?
Fred McFeely Rogers was born in 1928 in Pennsylvania. (The postman on his TV show was called Mr. McFeely, remember?) Rogers studied music composition at a Florida college and graduated in 1951. The following year, he married a concert pianist whom he met at college. They eventually had two sons together.
Rogers went into behind-the-scenes show business right out of college, first working in New York, and then in Pittsburgh. He began to do his graduate work in the area of child development. At the same time, he was pursuing another degree in theology. He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963. Rather than minister within the confines of a church, he chose to continue his work in television, focusing his skills on helping children and families. He was soon called to Canada to create a children's program. That was his first experience as an on-screen host. After three years he and his family returned to the U.S. to work up a children's program similar to the Canadian program. The result was Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which went national in 1968.
