To help your students dive deeper into the article content, we created this bundle of article response worksheets. We designed these worksheets to be used with any magazine article and to keep students focused as they read and enhance comprehension and retention. (Please note that some worksheet types are better fits for certain content and grade levels). Assign students the same one, mix them up, or let them choose!
In Understanding the Brain's Unique Sensory Connections, learn how synesthesia occurs in the brain and how it allows people to experience the world in an extraordinary way by connecting senses in unique ways, like seeing colors when hearing sounds. Understanding synesthesia is helping researchers assist individuals with sensory limitations, such as blindness, by expanding our knowledge of how the brain processes stimuli. This insight is leading to advancements in both sensory research and the treatment of sensory disorders. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The World’s Most Extraordinary People, a documentary series revealing how rare medical conditions inspire groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
In The Barbel Fish and Hippo Connection, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores the fascinating symbiotic relationship between barbels and hippopotamuses in Kenya’s fresh-water pools. These clever fish rely on hippos for nourishment, feasting on their nutrient-rich dung and cleaning the hippos' skin of pests. The partnership deepens as barbels even clean the hippos' teeth, creating a mutually beneficial bond and revealing nature’s intricately balanced ecosystems! This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
Feeling stressed? Try reading this out loud!
Researchers have found that reading together can help strengthen bonds and reduce stress. In a recent study, families were asked to read together while wearing a brain monitoring cap that tracks activity over time. The results suggested that moments of shared reading can sync brain patterns between two people, which then suggest that the experience of reading books together helps parents and children connect.
Furthermore, the importance of stories themselves can’t be ignored. Stories are how people explain the world and their lives to one another — the decisions you make and the person you become are partially influenced by the stories you’ve read or heard. The research is very new, but studies of this sort can help us understand why reading together builds empathy, focus, emotional well-being, and might support children’s development and encourage a lifelong love of reading. And not just because a good story might distract two siblings for long enough to stop flicking each other’s ears!
In JoJo and Gran Gran Celebrate Mother’s Day, four generations of JoJo’s family connect during a spa day. A real-life family prepares a celebration for their mom for Mother’s Day. This video is excerpted from BBC’s JoJo & Gran Gran, a children's animated television series following JoJo, an inquisitive and cheerful 4-and-a-half-year-old girl and her loving Gran Gran, who always has something new to teach her.
In Obama Takes the National Stage, journalist Clive Myrie covers how Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, a moment that would introduce him to the nation. Watch Obama’s early nerves, growing confidence, and the power of a speech that connected personal stories to broader ideas of freedom and justice. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Obama: His Story, which traces Obama’s extraordinary journey to the presidency and its meaning within the broader African American freedom struggle.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Story in Song introduces students to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement through music, humor, and powerful historical images. Told as a song, the video shares key moments from Dr. King’s life and his leadership in the fight for equality in a way that is clear, memorable, and engaging for students.
Excerpted from BBC’s Horrible Histories — a multi-award-winning musical and sketch comedy series — this short video uses a familiar, student-friendly format to help make an important part of U.S. history easier to understand. The combination of lyrics, visuals, and real moments from the era helps students connect with the ideas of fairness, courage, and peaceful protest.
At just two and a half minutes, this video is ideal for classrooms. Use it as a quick introduction to Martin Luther King Jr., a lively entry point into the Civil Rights Movement, or a meaningful way to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It works well as a lesson opener, a review tool, or a discussion starter about how people have worked together to create change in a democracy.
Young people learn the hoop dance, a traditional Native American dance that has been passed down for generations. The dance expresses themes of environmentalism and connects young people to their Native American heritage. This video is excerpted from BBC News.
In Phytoplankton, the Life-Giving Force Beneath the Waves, geologist Iain Stewart explains how oceans are vital to life on Earth, especially because of tiny phytoplankton which produce 50% of the oxygen we breathe! These microscopic organisms feed sea creatures and help turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy. Oceans also have a vast network of currents that connect all the seas, proven when 29,000 rubber ducks drifted across the world, showing how these currents link every ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Earth: The Power of the Planet, a documentary series in which Dr. Iain Stewart discovers how Earth's forces can shape nature, species, and even the climate.
In How the Andes Shaped Life in South America, narrator Iain Stewart explains how the Andes have shaped South America in incredible ways, creating the Amazon River and its rainforest. One of the Andes’ most amazing residents is the llama, built for high-altitude life. But llamas didn’t originate in South America — they came from North America and crossed over millions of years ago when the continents connected. Today, just like the llamas once did, people bring new foods, technology, and ideas to the Andes, showing the world is more connected than ever! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Rise of the Continents, which uncovers how Earth’s continents formed and shaped life over millions of years.
In Uranus and Neptune, Ice Giants, narrator Ruth Wilson explores the turbulence during the teenage years of our Solar System and the connection between the craters on the Moon and the position of Neptune and Uranus. During the late heavy bombardment, icy objects hitting the moon eventually also changed the orbit of the planets, including scattering Uranus and Neptune far from where they originally formed. This video is excerpted from BBC's Horizon: Secrets of the Solar System, a series that looks at how new planets being discovered are forcing scientists to rewrite the history of our own Solar System.
To help your students dive deeper into the article content, we created this bundle of article response worksheets. We designed these worksheets to be used with any magazine article and to keep students focused as they read and enhance comprehension and retention. (Please note that some worksheet types are better fits for certain content and grade levels). Assign students the same one, mix them up, or let them choose!
In Understanding the Brain's Unique Sensory Connections, learn how synesthesia occurs in the brain and how it allows people to experience the world in an extraordinary way by connecting senses in unique ways, like seeing colors when hearing sounds. Understanding synesthesia is helping researchers assist individuals with sensory limitations, such as blindness, by expanding our knowledge of how the brain processes stimuli. This insight is leading to advancements in both sensory research and the treatment of sensory disorders. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The World’s Most Extraordinary People, a documentary series revealing how rare medical conditions inspire groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
In The Barbel Fish and Hippo Connection, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores the fascinating symbiotic relationship between barbels and hippopotamuses in Kenya’s fresh-water pools. These clever fish rely on hippos for nourishment, feasting on their nutrient-rich dung and cleaning the hippos' skin of pests. The partnership deepens as barbels even clean the hippos' teeth, creating a mutually beneficial bond and revealing nature’s intricately balanced ecosystems! This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
Feeling stressed? Try reading this out loud!
Researchers have found that reading together can help strengthen bonds and reduce stress. In a recent study, families were asked to read together while wearing a brain monitoring cap that tracks activity over time. The results suggested that moments of shared reading can sync brain patterns between two people, which then suggest that the experience of reading books together helps parents and children connect.
Furthermore, the importance of stories themselves can’t be ignored. Stories are how people explain the world and their lives to one another — the decisions you make and the person you become are partially influenced by the stories you’ve read or heard. The research is very new, but studies of this sort can help us understand why reading together builds empathy, focus, emotional well-being, and might support children’s development and encourage a lifelong love of reading. And not just because a good story might distract two siblings for long enough to stop flicking each other’s ears!
In JoJo and Gran Gran Celebrate Mother’s Day, four generations of JoJo’s family connect during a spa day. A real-life family prepares a celebration for their mom for Mother’s Day. This video is excerpted from BBC’s JoJo & Gran Gran, a children's animated television series following JoJo, an inquisitive and cheerful 4-and-a-half-year-old girl and her loving Gran Gran, who always has something new to teach her.
In Obama Takes the National Stage, journalist Clive Myrie covers how Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, a moment that would introduce him to the nation. Watch Obama’s early nerves, growing confidence, and the power of a speech that connected personal stories to broader ideas of freedom and justice. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Obama: His Story, which traces Obama’s extraordinary journey to the presidency and its meaning within the broader African American freedom struggle.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Story in Song introduces students to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement through music, humor, and powerful historical images. Told as a song, the video shares key moments from Dr. King’s life and his leadership in the fight for equality in a way that is clear, memorable, and engaging for students.
Excerpted from BBC’s Horrible Histories — a multi-award-winning musical and sketch comedy series — this short video uses a familiar, student-friendly format to help make an important part of U.S. history easier to understand. The combination of lyrics, visuals, and real moments from the era helps students connect with the ideas of fairness, courage, and peaceful protest.
At just two and a half minutes, this video is ideal for classrooms. Use it as a quick introduction to Martin Luther King Jr., a lively entry point into the Civil Rights Movement, or a meaningful way to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It works well as a lesson opener, a review tool, or a discussion starter about how people have worked together to create change in a democracy.
Young people learn the hoop dance, a traditional Native American dance that has been passed down for generations. The dance expresses themes of environmentalism and connects young people to their Native American heritage. This video is excerpted from BBC News.
In Phytoplankton, the Life-Giving Force Beneath the Waves, geologist Iain Stewart explains how oceans are vital to life on Earth, especially because of tiny phytoplankton which produce 50% of the oxygen we breathe! These microscopic organisms feed sea creatures and help turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy. Oceans also have a vast network of currents that connect all the seas, proven when 29,000 rubber ducks drifted across the world, showing how these currents link every ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Earth: The Power of the Planet, a documentary series in which Dr. Iain Stewart discovers how Earth's forces can shape nature, species, and even the climate.
In How the Andes Shaped Life in South America, narrator Iain Stewart explains how the Andes have shaped South America in incredible ways, creating the Amazon River and its rainforest. One of the Andes’ most amazing residents is the llama, built for high-altitude life. But llamas didn’t originate in South America — they came from North America and crossed over millions of years ago when the continents connected. Today, just like the llamas once did, people bring new foods, technology, and ideas to the Andes, showing the world is more connected than ever! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Rise of the Continents, which uncovers how Earth’s continents formed and shaped life over millions of years.
In Uranus and Neptune, Ice Giants, narrator Ruth Wilson explores the turbulence during the teenage years of our Solar System and the connection between the craters on the Moon and the position of Neptune and Uranus. During the late heavy bombardment, icy objects hitting the moon eventually also changed the orbit of the planets, including scattering Uranus and Neptune far from where they originally formed. This video is excerpted from BBC's Horizon: Secrets of the Solar System, a series that looks at how new planets being discovered are forcing scientists to rewrite the history of our own Solar System.