Build my lineup

TED-Ed

@TEDEd

· YouTube

TED-Ed is animated explainers about history, machines and medicine, one subject at a time.

A narrator carries the whole of TED-Ed over animation, with no host on screen and no characters to follow. Some subjects are told as a story and some as a straight explanation. The tone stays level rather than bright.

Analyzed by KidSight

WHAT IT MEANS AT EACH AGE

0–2

Too young

TED-Ed is a voice explaining over moving pictures, with no song, no repetition and no character to hold on to. Nothing in TED-Ed is at a two-year-old's level.

3–5

Too young

The pictures in TED-Ed land with a four-year-old and the words do not. The explanation sits well above a four-year-old, and nothing in TED-Ed slows down to bring a four-year-old along.

6–8

A little young

Age seven is where TED-Ed starts to work. A seven-year-old follows the pictures and gets part of the answer. The middle of the explanation moves quickly and assumes a lot.

9–10

Good fit

Age nine is where TED-Ed fits. The vocabulary matches a nine-year-old, and the questions are the ones a ten-year-old has already started asking out loud.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

History

How machines work

Doctors and health

WHAT IT TEACHES

How things work

Cause and effect

How bodies work

WHAT TO KNOW

Steady and easygoing

SUMMARY

TED-Ed answers a real question in full, in the words an adult would use, with the animation making the difficult parts visible. That is why TED-Ed fits at age 9 to 10 and not before. For an older child who keeps asking how things work, TED-Ed is an easy yes.