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7/25/2019 1 Comment

How Rocketoons Align With the 5 Core Competencies of Social Emotional Learning

What exactly is SEL (social emotional learning)?
Who is teaching it?
How are they teaching it?

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL.org) is a group focused on collaborating with “leading experts and support districts, schools, and states nationwide to drive research, guide practice, and inform policy.” As the experts, here is what they say about SEL:

“SEL competencies are the essential knowledge, skills, attitudes, and mindsets that individuals need to succeed. They are the product of SEL, through which schools and districts implement practices and policies that allow children and adults to acquire and apply those competencies. Commitment to SEL has the potential to shape a school’s partnerships with afterschool programs, families, and community members as they collaborate to educate the whole child.
 
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) introduced one of the field’s earliest set of SEL competencies in 1997, identifying a set of five core competencies that schools could promote in their students that are keys to academic and life success.”
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​The Five Core Competencies:

1. Self-awareness - the ability to accurately recognize your own emotions, thoughts and values and how they influence your behavior. 
         •        emotion identification
         •        accurate self-perception
         •        strengths recognition
         •        self-confidence
         •        self-efficacy

​2. Self-Management - the ability to control your own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors - effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating yourself. The ability to set and work towards achieving goals (personal and academic)
         •        impulse control
         •        stress management
         •        self-discipline
         •        self-motivation
         •        goal-setting
         •        organizational skills
​3. Social awareness - the ability to empathize with others different from you. The ability to understand acceptable social and ethical behaviors.
         •        understanding different perspectives
         •        empathizing
         •        understanding and appreciating diversity
         •        respecting others
4. Relationship skills - the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with different individuals and groups. Conversing, listening, cooperating, resisting peer pressure, negotiating conflict, asking for help.
         •        communicating
         •        engaging socially
         •        building relationships
         •        working in teams
5. Decision-making - the ability to make constructive choices about your own behavior. The ability to understand consequences of choices and understanding how our decisions affect others.
         •        identifying problems
         •        analyzing situations
         •        problem solving
         •        reflecting
         •        taking responsibility

​We Have A Cartoon For That!

There are 15 episodes of Rocketoons, each with a ONE PAGE curriculum guide - also called a Cartoonversation Card. Each of the fifteen episodes fit into one or more of these categories, helping educators and counselors introduce SEL topics and initiate conversations, discussions, or interviews on these topics. Let’s take a look at the 15 episodes and how they fit into the categories.
1. Self-Awareness
E1 Too Many Activities
E2 Moving to a New School
E3 Bullying
E5 Last One Picked
E6 Think Tank - Cyberbullying
E8 Resilience
E10 Build-A-Bear - Assertiveness
E12 It’s Written in the Stars - Dealing with the Death of a Loved One
E13 Divorce
E14 On the Fly - Mindfulness
2. Self- Management
E1 Too Many Activities
E2 Moving to a New School
E3 Bullying
E4 Snail’s Pace - Inappropriate Use of Social Media
E5 Last One Picked
E6 Think Tank - Cyberbullying
E7 Hop, Skip, and a Jump - Truancy
E8 Resilience
E10 Build-A-Bear - Assertiveness
E11 Riding the Pine - Spending too much time on personal devices
E14 On the Fly - Mindfulness
E15 Garbage In, Garbage Out - Managing what we eat, watch, and think
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3. Social Awareness
E2 Moving to a New School
E3 Bullying
E4 Snail’s Pace - Inappropriate Use of Social Media
E5 Last One Picked
E6 Think Tank - Cyberbullying
E10 Build-A-Bear - Assertiveness
E12 It’s Written in the Stars - Dealing with the Death of a Loved One
E13 Divorce
E14 On the Fly - Mindfulness
4. Relationship skills
E2 Moving to a New School
E3 Bullying
E5 Last One Picked
E6 Think Tank - Cyberbullying
E7 Hop, Skip, and a Jump - Truancy
E8 Resilience
E10 Build-A-Bear - Assertiveness
E11 Riding the Pine - Spending too much time on personal devices
E13 Divorce
5. Decision-making
E1 Too Many Activities
E2 Moving to a New School
E4 Snail’s Pace - Inappropriate Use of Social Media
E6 Think Tank - Cyberbullying
E7 Hop, Skip, and a Jump - Truancy
E8 Resilience
E10 Build-A-Bear - Assertiveness
E14 On the Fly - Mindfulness
E15 Garbage In, Garbage Out - Managing what we eat, watch, and think
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of using Rocketoons in your school or classroom is their simplicity. There is no in-service training required. There is no four-inch binder of curriculum administration. There is no rigid guideline for administering the cartoon. The simple one-page Cartoonversation Card sets the scene for the cartoon, provides background information about the characters, and provides five conversation starter questions, five facts about the topic, and five additional online resources. Rocketoons will supplement your SEL curriculum or you can build an entire SEL curriculum around Rocketoons. ​
Remember, Rocketoons are FREE for everyone (teachers, counselor, parents, kids, clowns, and superheroes) in North America. Our generous sponsors make it possible for us to create and maintain this program.
Watch Rocketoons Now
Related Articles
Getting Started with Rocketoons
Rescuing Childhood and Making Sure Every Child Is Safe, Secure, and Silly
Why Kids Need to Talk About Their Stress

Categories

All Assertiveness Bullying Childhood Classroom Management Confidence Cyberbullying Discipline Grieving Happy Healthy Kids How To Use Rocketoons Mindfulness Moving To A New School Parents Rocketoons School Social Emotional Learning Social Media Stress Too Many Activities Truancy

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6/12/2019 1 Comment

Four Tips For Parents To Help Kids Start a New School


​Moving is challenging for sure! There are so many things to do: packing and unpacking, hooking up utilities, changing your address on all your IDs, insurances, and bills, plus registering the kids for school, picking a new church, finding new clubs, figuring out where the grocery store is. Remember it's stressful for your kids too. While there may be much to be excited about, kids may be more worried than excited about starting over at a new school. Actively listen to your kids' concerns when and if they talk. Rocketoons can help you start a conversation when you and your child laugh and share your ideas about how Andy, Gina, and Parry handle moving to a new school.


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6/10/2019 0 Comments

Why kids need to talk about their stress

What stress?

Adults do not have a monopoly on stress. Kids may not have bills to pay, a job to get to, or a broken down car to fix, but they still feel worry and overwhelm from events, challenges, and even from within. 

Stress can come from outside sources like a demanding parent or teacher, or being too busy to relax and enjoy some playtime. Any changes that happen to a child’s life can be very stressful as well, such as an illness in the family, divorce, or moving to a new school. Stress can also come from expectations kids place on themselves like getting straight A’s or being popular. Kids may also take on their parents’ stress or troubling stories they hear and see on TV and radio. 


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5/17/2019 0 Comments

Rocketoons Change Classroom Atmosphere

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​We know that the great teachers are the ones who connect with their students.

Many teachers are using Rocketoons to make those connections and to improve the learning atmosphere in their classrooms. Rocketoons start conversations that help:
  • Teachers connect with students
  • Students connect with each other
  • Teachers identify and deal with issues that could be causing disruptions to learning

We hear from teachers every week who love how Rocketoons have helped them connect with their students. One teacher recognized one of her fourth grade students as a potential problem. A loud and aggressive child, he alienated many of his classmates. She used Episode 3: Bullyvision, to start a Cartoonversation on bullying.

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5/9/2019 1 Comment

Rocketoons as a Detention Tool

As common as detention is, we know very little about its effectiveness to change behaviors.

Opinions are mixed on the best way to utilize detention time, or to practice the use of detention at all.  A study done by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nebraska Department of Education points out that very little research has been done on the effectiveness of using detention to correct student behavior. This study also found that despite the lack of evidence “detentions are one of the most common disciplinary actions utilized by schools with varying ages of students.” 

​What little research there is about after school detentions reveals that detention alone is ineffective with repeat offenders. Kids who frequently find themselves in after school detention quickly perceive it as a part of their normal school routine. Think Judd Nelson’s character John Bender from Breakfast Club. 
However, detention can be an effective form of discipline to those students that rarely misbehave or cause trouble. “[Because] these students are not used to being disciplined by staying after hours, [it has] more of an effect on these students instead of the students who grow accustomed.” https://blogs.edweek.org/topschooljobs/careers/2017/07/classroom_management_and_disci.html
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5/1/2019 1 Comment

Sometimes what students need is not on the lesson plan.

Stressed Out Students Are The Ones Who Act Out

How are you supposed to slow down, stay calm, and be empathetic when kidsare acting out? Because, you know, the kids who are acting out are the ones in need. They’re the ones who: 
  • realize it’s Wednesday. “The day I switch from mom’s house to dad’s house. But dad won’t answer the phone when mom calls to remind him, so sometimes he forgets me at school. I’m worried I’ll be forgotten again.”
  • just saw Suzy’s post on Instagram. “She took a picture when I fell down at lunch, and everyone is commenting LOL. The whole school is laughing at me!”
  • are worn out and exhausted. “I didn’t get to bed until 10 last night because I had soccer, a band concert, my violin lesson, and a boy scout meeting. I’m so tired.”
  • are lost in class and in the lessons. “I miss a lot of school. It’s only third grade. What’s so important in third grade that I have to go to school every day?”
  • who are afraid to speak up. “I’m too nervous to ask for help. What if no one will help me, or I get in trouble for asking?”
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4/27/2019 0 Comments

How Friends Can Help Us With Mindfulness

Sometimes you just don’t feel like yourself. When that happens, you can take a minute, check yourself, maybe calm down, and get back on track. But sometimes you can’t. In the times that you can’t, you need friends who will remind you to be mindful.

​This engaging and insightful cartoon is designed to encourage thinking and discussions about mindfulness and what to do when you feel yourself losing control. Episode 14: On The Fly - Mindfulness is an effective discussion starter to help guide your students in conversations about mindfulness and strategies to be more mindful and helpful to others.  Visit Rocketoons.com to view full episodes.
Sometimes we know exactly where we are going and what we are doing, but sometimes the rules get changed on us. Maybe we are able to see the changes coming, and we know what to do to get back on course. Other times, we have to rely on our friends and on ourselves to make those adjustments – on the fly.

Join these two dragonflies as their flight path takes an unexpected turn when contaminated fuel enters the picture. You will learn a little about how to take care of your friends, and yourself.
Visit Rocketoons.com
Getting Started With Rocketoons Guide
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4/17/2019 0 Comments

Learning to Talk About Mental Health

Mental health issues can be hard for children to understand. We can’t always see if someone is mentally healthy or unhealthy, but understanding that mental health issues are very real health concerns can help us support loved ones who struggle with them. Understanding mental health issues can also give us the courage to speak up when we don’t feel as well as we could.

​This illuminating and humorous cartoon is designed to encourage thinking and discussions about how to support people with mental health challenges.  Rocketoons Episode 9: Marv or Myth - Talking About Mental Health can start Cartoonversations to help kids talk about how mental health issues are very real and what we can do to be good listeners and friends.
As our mythical creatures point out to us, they are very real – and so are mental health issues. We can’t see mental illness the way we see other illnesses, so we have to be on the lookout to make sure friends and family (and ourselves) get the right support to be mentally healthy.
Visit Rocketoons.com
Getting Started With Rocketoons Guide
Rocketoons are FREE for everyone. There is no membership or subscription required and no password to remember. 
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4/15/2019 1 Comment

Listening to Kids on Mindfulness, Resilience, and Gratitude

Rocketoons encourage kids to think and talk about essential life skills and social-emotional learning topics. Episode 8 - Resilience uses tardigrades - the world's most resilient creatures - to help kids understand the importance of a growth mindset.   

This engaging and inspiring cartoon is designed to encourage thinking and discussions about what to do when things don't go our way. Mindfulness, gratitude, and asking for help are just a few of the ideas brought up in this animated video to help kids learn how to navigate through adversity.  Watch Rocketoons Episode 8: Making the Grade - Resilience and use the Rocketoons Cartoonversation™ Card to help your kids discover the many ways they can build resilience and succeed.
Resilience. When something doesn't go well, we need to be able to bounce back - to get back on track. That isn't always easy. In fact, sometimes it feels impossible. We all need to work on being more resilient, and we all need to know that it's okay to ask for help. Join our tardigrades, nature's most resilient creature, to learn a few secrets about how to get back on our feet when things don't go our way.

​
Visit Rocketoons.com
Getting Started With Rocketoons Guide
Rocketoons are FREE and available for everyone. There is no subscription, password, or membership required. We don't take any personal information!
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4/13/2019 1 Comment

Helping Kids Discover the Consequences of Skipping School

It might sound like great fun to skip school, until you realize the damaging consequences. Truancy, which is any unexcused absence from school, causes kids to fall behind in school, and falling behind can lead to low self-esteem and depression. Kids who skip school regularly are more likely to experiment with drugs, drop out and not graduate, and get in other kinds of trouble.       

Episode 7: Hop, Skip, and a Jump - Truancy is an award-winning and fact-packed animated cartoon designed to encourage thinking and discussions about the troubles caused by skipping school.  Watch the cartoon and use the Rocketoons Cartoonversation™ Card to help your kids talk about how skipping school puts them on a dangerous and challenging path. For help getting started refer to our step-by-step guide "Getting Started With Rocketoons." Rocketoons are free - there are no passwords, memberships, or subscriptions!
Let's all play Hop, Skip, and a Jump, the game show that proves truancy is never a good idea. Join our contestants as they match wits (or try to) with show host Flynn Valentine. All of our contestants are skippers, one way or another, and it shows when they try to keep up with the questions. From low self-esteem to losing your driver's license, skipping school never leads to anything good - and it certainly can lead to something bad. 

Have some fun with our contestants, but pay careful attention to the facts and figures. You will hear everything you need to know about staying in school and avoiding the pitfalls of truancy.
Visit Rocketoons.com
Getting Started With Rocketoons Guide


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