Kahoot! Desert Survivors

In A Crucial Resource in the Desert, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores the Saguaro cacti. Saguaros are cacti with very shallow roots. Learn how they expand after a rainstorm and flower during four weeks of the summer, supporting the wildlife around them. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.

In The Atacama Desert: A Secret Water Supply, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores The Atacama, the driest desert in the world. Learn about the guanaco that live there and the desert mist, created when cold water from the ocean cools the moist, warm air above it. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.

In Lions of the Namib, narrator Sir David Attenborough narrates the struggles of lion prides surviving in one of the harshest environments on Earth — the Namib Desert. With little water and scarce prey, these lions must use strategy and patience to hunt, but even their best efforts often end in failure. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.

In How Plants Thrive in Extreme Conditions, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes plants that thrive in some of the harshest places on Earth. The dragon’s blood tree in Socotra uses its unique shape to catch the morning mist and water its roots, while the desert rose stores water in its thick trunk and grows right out of bare rock. Meanwhile, the red mangrove tree survives salty water by filtering out most of the salt through pores, showing how nature helps plants adapt to tough environments! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.

In Meet the Drongo, the Desert’s Biggest Trickster!, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the mysterious Kalahari Desert, a dry and ancient land full of strange wonders. Discover the bond between meerkats and clever drongo birds, one of nature’s biggest tricksters. During winter, the drongo mimics warning calls to steal food from the meerkats, but they’re smart enough to catch on to its tricks. Despite his sneaky ways, the drongo is a loyal ally most of the year. This video is excerpted from BBC's Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.

Venture to the frozen edges of our planet — the polar regions! From the icy Arctic, home to polar bears, to the vast white wilderness of Antarctica, where penguins rule, these ecosystems are as extreme as they are breathtaking. After watching our videos, challenge your students to become ecosystem experts by creating their own colorful report filled with fascinating facts. (They’ll need to dig deeper with extra research, too!) Inside the brochure, students will uncover and share:

• Location of the ecosystem on a world map
• Adjectives that describe the ecosystem
• Three animals that live in the ecosystem
• Three plants that grow in the ecosystem
• The climate of the ecosystem
• What makes the ecosystem important
• Their favorite fun facts

Your students will summarize the most important details in their own words while keeping it clear and easy to understand. As they choose what to include, they’ll sharpen their ability to evaluate and combine information from different sources. Best of all, they’ll show off their creativity and communication skills by designing a brochure that’s as fun to read as it is informative!