BIG BAD BOO
Big Bad Boo is a children’s media company founded in 2007 to create commercial cartoons that, while entertaining, teach social-emotional skills. Our cartoons have won over 50 international awards (from 100+ nominations) and are broadcast in over 100 countries and 40 languages on premier networks, including Disney, PBS, Discovery Kids, and public broadcasters, as well as major streaming platforms such as Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Oznoz, and iQIYI.
In addition to producing cartoons for television, we also develop curricula (lesson plans) that enable teachers to use our cartoons in the classroom to teach social-emotional and 21st-century skills, as well as literacy and numeracy. These curricula include assessment tools that measure and track progress in these areas. Our suite of curricula has been used by educational institutions, schools, and ministries of education in over 15 countries, reaching more than 2 million children with compelling results. We also have a division that works with UNICEF to use cartoon-based curricula to provide mental health and psychosocial support to children affected by conflict. In 2018, we were inducted into the Million Lives Collective for positively impacting the lives of over 1 million children living on less than $5 per day. That same year, our 1001 Nights Life Skills and Civic Education Curriculum, which teaches UNICEF Life and 21st-Century Skills, won the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Award. This award, presented at the United Nations, recognized it as one of the most innovative education programs in the world.
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
For educators, 21st-century skills are often the most challenging to teach and assess, yet they are increasingly regarded as critical for long-term development. These skills—often termed “soft skills”—include self-awareness, empathy, integrity, perseverance, active listening, critical thinking, responsible decision-making, global-mindedness, and media literacy. Unlike STEAM, literacy, and other cognitive disciplines, 21st-century skills cannot be easily taught through direct instruction. Research in childhood development suggests that the most effective way to instill these skills is through engaging storytelling with positive role models that children can relate to and emulate.
At Big Bad Boo, we develop cartoons and curriculum materials using a unique approach that blends creative expertise from Disney and Warner Bros. (to ensure content is engaging) with child development psychologists, curriculum experts, and subject matter specialists from organizations such as Sesame Workshop, PBS, and ministries of education worldwide. When implementing curricula, we take the time to customize content to ensure it is locally relevant and culturally appropriate, aligning with the educational objectives of different ministries and the developmental needs of children at various age levels. All curriculum materials can be localized into any language for use in any country.
All Big Bad Boo cartoons and curricula are developed in alignment with internationally recognized 21st-century skill frameworks, including CASEL’s SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) Standards, UNICEF’s Life Skills Framework, and Big Bad Boo’s own Civic Education Framework.
Big Bad Boo’s literacy and numeracy curricula also enhance learning through entertainment and have been created by leading experts in these areas.
This packet contains sample lesson plans from different BBB curricula teaching 21st century and literacy and numeracy.
BIG BAD BOO’S CONTENT DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Mapped to CASEL’s SEL, UNICEF Life Skills, and BBB’s Civic Education Framework
