Bring your students on an underwater adventure into the coral reef ecosystem! Whether you're exploring the vast beauty of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or diving into the rich, biodiverse waters of Indonesia, coral reefs are some of the most vibrant and important ecosystems on Earth. 

✨ 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 coral reefs. (Don't miss the tusk fish an octopuses!) Brought to you by world-class BBC programs like Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Animal Babies, and Life. 
• Free Printable: Use the Coral Reef 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.

• 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 Sponges on the Reef Are a Home Worth Defending, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how shrimp inhabit sponges and how they help the sponge and the sponge helps them. Learn about a shrimp colony. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

In Competition on the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how one predator-prey pair interact on the reef. Watch jack fish try to corral silversides who have their own defensive tactic. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

In Nightfall on the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how animals survive on the coral reef at night. Watch how manta rays hunt at night. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

In The Coral Reef Habitat, narrator Sir David Attenborough examines the animals that live on the coral reef, one of the most diverse places in the animal world. Learn about animals that live in the reef, climb out away from the reef, or return to the reef from the open ocean. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

In Predators and Defenders of the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough examines what happens when predators descend on the coral reef. Learn how a crab protects the reef. Learn how parrotfish’s actions add up to creating beaches and islands. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

In Pipefish Breeding at the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how the banded pipefish work together to produce as many offspring as possible. Learn about the male pipefish’s role in breeding. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.

In Changes in the Coral Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how one diver is capturing the coral bleaching around Lizard Island in Australia. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.

In Giant Creatures of the Great Barrier Reef, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores how certain animals work together to find food. Teamwork makes the dream work for these largest animals in Australia's Great Barrier Reef! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.

In A Sea of Opportunity in Coral Reefs, narrator Sir David Attenborough, dives into the inhabitants of this very busy coral reef, including cuttlefish who have a special adaptation to capture their prey. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.