Guide your students on a journey through the desert ecosystem! From the sweeping sands of the Namib and Kalahari in southern Africa, to the dry heart of Australia’s Outback, and the rocky cold of the Gobi, deserts come in many forms.
✨ Perfect for Grades 3–8, here’s what you need to bring ecosystems to life:
- Iconic BBC Videos: Share the clips on this page to introduce the location, plants, animals, and climate of the desert. (Don't miss the lions and lizards!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Wilderness With Simon Reeve, Africa, and Seven Worlds, One Planet.
- Free Printable: Use the Desert Brochure Template to help students pull it all together in an ecosystem report with facts they’ve learned (and a little extra research).
It’s everything you need to make ecosystems easy to teach and truly memorable for your students.
Get ready to journey into some of the most extreme places on Earth — the deserts! From the towering dunes of the Namib and the sunbaked Kalahari to the rugged Australian Outback and the icy sands of the Gobi, these ecosystems are full of surprising life. 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!
In The Incredible Migrations of the Kalahari, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how animals like zebras and elephants navigate the harsh environment of the Kalahari Desert. Using instinct and memory, they undertake incredible migrations to find scarce water supplies during the dry season, demonstrating remarkable adaptation and resilience. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In How Animals and Humans Coexist in the Desert, host Simon Reeve explores the Kalahari Desert with Don, a member of the San people. The Kalahari is a semi-desert and one of the largest sand basins on Earth, stretching across Africa. Despite its tough environment, animals like elephants, lions and jackals thrive here, thanks to seasonal rains that bring food. The San have lived here for thousands of years and are known for their incredible survival and tracking skills, and deep knowledge of the land. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
In Young Animals in the Desert, narrator Gordon Buchanan explores the different ways baby animals get food and water. Many different animals in the Kalahari Desert, both mammals and birds, are shown and discussed including baby ostriches and cheetahs. In many situations, young animals have to be resourceful in order to seek out enough food and water to survive. This video is excerpted from BBC's Animal Babies, a heartwarming show that follows the first breaths, first steps and first feeds of some adorable baby animals, revealing the challenges they face to survive in some of the toughest but most beautiful places on the planet.
In A Leopard Hunts for Food in the Kalahari, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a one-year-old African leopard in the Kalahari Desert learns how to survive on his own by hunting for food. With limited food sources, the young leopard has to be clever and patient. He misses a few chances to catch food, but he keeps trying. Eventually, he returns to find a meal left high in the trees, but getting to it won't be so easy. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.
In Ostrich Chicks in the Kalahari narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how ostrich parents tirelessly search for water in the Kalahari Desert. After a long day, they find a watering hole teeming with giraffes, elephants, and zebras. However, danger looms as predators are nearby. When these predators chase away the larger animals, the ostrich family takes the opportunity to drink, demonstrating how survival requires adapting to challenges and opportunities. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.
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.
In The Rains Turn a Desert Into Paradise, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how water that has traveled a thousand miles arrives in the Okavango region of the Kalahari Desert. The water transforms the parched desert into a lush paradise teeming with life. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Sandgrouse's Daily Search for Water, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the extraordinary efforts of a male sandgrouse as he embarks on a treacherous 200-kilometer round trip each day through the Kalahari Desert to find water for his chicks. Along the way, he faces dangerous predators like the goshawk, and endures the heat of the desert. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Animals That Rule the Desert, host Simon Reeve journeys through the Kalahari in Botswana, where he encounters lions, elephants, and jackals. Botswana has become a safe haven for African elephants, holding nearly a third of the population after decades of poaching and habitat destruction. With only 400,000 elephants left from an original 25 million, Simon emphasizes the urgency to protect these majestic creatures. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
In Desert Pangolins' Quest for Food, narrator Sir David Attenborough reveals how pangolins find nutritious food in the harsh, dry environment of the desert. They use their keen sense of smell to locate termite nests. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
Guide your students on a journey through the desert ecosystem! From the sweeping sands of the Namib and Kalahari in southern Africa, to the dry heart of Australia’s Outback, and the rocky cold of the Gobi, deserts come in many forms.
✨ Perfect for Grades 3–8, here’s what you need to bring ecosystems to life:
- Iconic BBC Videos: Share the clips on this page to introduce the location, plants, animals, and climate of the desert. (Don't miss the lions and lizards!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Wilderness With Simon Reeve, Africa, and Seven Worlds, One Planet.
- Free Printable: Use the Desert Brochure Template to help students pull it all together in an ecosystem report with facts they’ve learned (and a little extra research).
It’s everything you need to make ecosystems easy to teach and truly memorable for your students.
Get ready to journey into some of the most extreme places on Earth — the deserts! From the towering dunes of the Namib and the sunbaked Kalahari to the rugged Australian Outback and the icy sands of the Gobi, these ecosystems are full of surprising life. 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!
In The Incredible Migrations of the Kalahari, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how animals like zebras and elephants navigate the harsh environment of the Kalahari Desert. Using instinct and memory, they undertake incredible migrations to find scarce water supplies during the dry season, demonstrating remarkable adaptation and resilience. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In How Animals and Humans Coexist in the Desert, host Simon Reeve explores the Kalahari Desert with Don, a member of the San people. The Kalahari is a semi-desert and one of the largest sand basins on Earth, stretching across Africa. Despite its tough environment, animals like elephants, lions and jackals thrive here, thanks to seasonal rains that bring food. The San have lived here for thousands of years and are known for their incredible survival and tracking skills, and deep knowledge of the land. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
In Young Animals in the Desert, narrator Gordon Buchanan explores the different ways baby animals get food and water. Many different animals in the Kalahari Desert, both mammals and birds, are shown and discussed including baby ostriches and cheetahs. In many situations, young animals have to be resourceful in order to seek out enough food and water to survive. This video is excerpted from BBC's Animal Babies, a heartwarming show that follows the first breaths, first steps and first feeds of some adorable baby animals, revealing the challenges they face to survive in some of the toughest but most beautiful places on the planet.
In A Leopard Hunts for Food in the Kalahari, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a one-year-old African leopard in the Kalahari Desert learns how to survive on his own by hunting for food. With limited food sources, the young leopard has to be clever and patient. He misses a few chances to catch food, but he keeps trying. Eventually, he returns to find a meal left high in the trees, but getting to it won't be so easy. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.
In Ostrich Chicks in the Kalahari narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how ostrich parents tirelessly search for water in the Kalahari Desert. After a long day, they find a watering hole teeming with giraffes, elephants, and zebras. However, danger looms as predators are nearby. When these predators chase away the larger animals, the ostrich family takes the opportunity to drink, demonstrating how survival requires adapting to challenges and opportunities. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Africa, a study of the landscape and wildlife of the world’s wildest continent, Africa.
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.
In The Rains Turn a Desert Into Paradise, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how water that has traveled a thousand miles arrives in the Okavango region of the Kalahari Desert. The water transforms the parched desert into a lush paradise teeming with life. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Sandgrouse's Daily Search for Water, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the extraordinary efforts of a male sandgrouse as he embarks on a treacherous 200-kilometer round trip each day through the Kalahari Desert to find water for his chicks. Along the way, he faces dangerous predators like the goshawk, and endures the heat of the desert. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Animals That Rule the Desert, host Simon Reeve journeys through the Kalahari in Botswana, where he encounters lions, elephants, and jackals. Botswana has become a safe haven for African elephants, holding nearly a third of the population after decades of poaching and habitat destruction. With only 400,000 elephants left from an original 25 million, Simon emphasizes the urgency to protect these majestic creatures. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
In Desert Pangolins' Quest for Food, narrator Sir David Attenborough reveals how pangolins find nutritious food in the harsh, dry environment of the desert. They use their keen sense of smell to locate termite nests. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.