This summer has been brutal in parts of France and Spain due to raging fires.
Near Bordeaux, France is experiencing its worst wildfires in decades. Despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters working day and night, changing winds have kept changing the direction of the fires, making them hard to contain. Fields and forests have burned, villages have been evacuated, businesses have closed, and traffic has been diverted to keep people away from the danger.
Bordeaux’s mayor says the city itself is not being evacuated. That’s a good sign, but that doesn’t mean everything is all better. Tens of thousands of displaced people are staying in temporary shelters, such as schools and sports centers, while tourists are being urged to stay away until the fires can be contained.
Spain is also fighting to contain its blazes. One fire near Madrid was described by Spain’s Interior Ministry as “the most aggressive that Spain has ever seen.” The fires drove people to flee, abandoning their homes and even their pets (some of whom have been found and fed by rescuers.) Spain's prime minister described the situation as a “climate emergency” — six times more land burned during the hot, dry summer than during the previous year.
What country is made up of thousands of islands and sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire? Meet Indonesia, an island nation filled with volcanoes, rainforests, coral reefs, and some of the most unusual animals on Earth.
From Komodo dragons and orangutans to vibrant coral reefs and towering volcanoes, Indonesia’s islands are packed with natural wonders. Discover how the country’s geography has shaped the way people live, explore its history and government, and learn about its many languages, traditions, foods, and celebrations. You’ll also meet some of Indonesia’s incredible wildlife.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce a geography or social studies unit
- Support nonfiction reading practice
- Compare countries and cultures
- Complete map and research activities
- Prepare students for projects or presentations (use our country report template!)
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Celebrate the incredible work of Sir David Attenborough — a storyteller who has helped millions of students and viewers explore the natural world. On the occasion of his 100th birthday on May 8, 2026, we honor his enormous accomplishments in the field of environmental advocacy and his role in revolutionizing nature documentaries.
This playlist brings together 10 unforgettable clips from landmark BBC series like Planet Earth, Blue Planet, and Frozen Planet. Each video showcases amazing wildlife, powerful storytelling, and moments that spark curiosity and wonder.
Perfect for the classroom or at home, these videos help students connect with nature, understand our planet, and feel inspired to protect it.
In JoJo and Gran Gran Celebrate Diwali, JoJo meets a friend who is celebrating Diwali. She tries yummy sweets, makes a rangoli design, and watches fireworks. A real-life girl shares what Diwali means to her. 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 Throwing Fire for Chinese New Year, iron metal workers in Nanquan, China, create amazing, glowing art with molten metal. Today, they perform nightly, but the tradition goes back hundreds of years. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth, a documentary series detailing the world's largest annual human migration (Chunyun), where over 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Happy holidays! With so many celebrations all over the globe during this season, it's the perfect time to teach your Grade 3–5 students about winter holidays around the world. Make copies of this mini-book (simply print on both sides flipped on the short edge, stack, and fold to assemble) for your students and invite them to read about each holiday and complete a simple report page full of questions, coloring, drawing, favorite facts, and more. Here are the eight winter holidays covered:
-
Diwali: A Hindu Festival of Lights celebrating the victory of light over darkness, with lamps, fireworks, and family gatherings.
-
St. Lucia Day: A Scandinavian holiday honoring St. Lucia, featuring processions with candles and special buns to bring light during the dark winter.
-
Las Posadas: A Mexican tradition reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter, celebrated with processions, songs, and parties.
-
Hanukkah: A Jewish holiday celebrating the miracle of the Temple’s menorah oil lasting eight days, marked with candles, dreidel games, and fried foods.
-
Winter Solstice: The shortest day and longest night of the year, celebrated by many cultures as the return of the sun with feasts and light-themed traditions.
-
Christmas: A Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, often marked with gift-giving, decorations, and family gatherings.
-
Kwanzaa: A weeklong African American celebration honoring African heritage and the Seven Principles through candles, reflection, and community activities.
-
Lunar New Year: An Asian cultural holiday welcoming the new year on the lunar calendar, celebrated with family reunions, special foods, and traditions for good luck.
Around the world, over one-third of the grass that grows will be harvested by insects! First watch The Industrious Insects of the Grasslands, a short clip from the award-winning BBC series Planet Earth. Sir David Attenborough introduces you to grass cutter ants, who harvest grass to feed underground fungus that they feed upon, and termites, who can digest grass and in turn become food for the giant anteater.
Once your students have watched the video, invite them to check for understanding with this quick, 8-question quiz!
In Sarah and Duck and the Fireworks Dance, Sarah and Duck are playing indoors. When a fireworks display lights up the sky, Duck hides, until Sarah finds him and helps him enjoy the fireworks with a pair of earmuffs. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Sarah & Duck, a kids' show about the adventures of 7-year-old Sarah and her quacky, flappy best friend, Duck.
In How to Walk on Coals and Not Get Burned, host Greg Foot explores the chemical reactions that create fire, and the qualities of fire when it comes into contact with water that make it possible to walk across coals and not get burned. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Secrets of Everything, in which daredevil science geek Greg Foot is ready to try anything to get the answers to life’s weirdest questions.
In Climate Change and the Impact of Wildfires, learn how climate change has made the possibility of wildfires more likely and more widespread. Now wildfires are happening around the world, including in colder countries. Wildfires in the western United States have become particularly devastating and dangerous for the people who live there. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Climate Change - The Facts, a documentary that delves into the science of climate change and its far-reaching consequences.
In Uncovering the Sun’s Most Magnetic Secrets, narrator Richard Hammond explains how the Sun gives us warmth and light, but up close, it's a raging fireball that can unleash powerful solar storms, disrupting electricity and communication on Earth. To understand these storms, scientists launched the world’s most powerful solar telescope using a helium balloon and sending it 23 miles into the sky. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds, which uncovers the hidden forces and unseen phenomena shaping our world.
In Why Does News Keep Changing?, host Radzi Chinyanganya explores the way news stories develop and change over time. For example, the Australian bushfires became an international news story in 2019 and 2020. While the initial stories highlighted the destruction and death of people and animals, the media later looked at the impact of climate change as a cause of the fires. Disinformation also spread as the story developed. Some rumors said that the fires were started by environmentalists to bring awareness, but journalists were able to disprove these claims. As coverage expands, journalists must update their stories and correct any statements that were previously wrong. This video is excerpted from BBC’s My World, a program created for teenagers eager to learn more about the important stories shaping our world.
This summer has been brutal in parts of France and Spain due to raging fires.
Near Bordeaux, France is experiencing its worst wildfires in decades. Despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters working day and night, changing winds have kept changing the direction of the fires, making them hard to contain. Fields and forests have burned, villages have been evacuated, businesses have closed, and traffic has been diverted to keep people away from the danger.
Bordeaux’s mayor says the city itself is not being evacuated. That’s a good sign, but that doesn’t mean everything is all better. Tens of thousands of displaced people are staying in temporary shelters, such as schools and sports centers, while tourists are being urged to stay away until the fires can be contained.
Spain is also fighting to contain its blazes. One fire near Madrid was described by Spain’s Interior Ministry as “the most aggressive that Spain has ever seen.” The fires drove people to flee, abandoning their homes and even their pets (some of whom have been found and fed by rescuers.) Spain's prime minister described the situation as a “climate emergency” — six times more land burned during the hot, dry summer than during the previous year.
What country is made up of thousands of islands and sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire? Meet Indonesia, an island nation filled with volcanoes, rainforests, coral reefs, and some of the most unusual animals on Earth.
From Komodo dragons and orangutans to vibrant coral reefs and towering volcanoes, Indonesia’s islands are packed with natural wonders. Discover how the country’s geography has shaped the way people live, explore its history and government, and learn about its many languages, traditions, foods, and celebrations. You’ll also meet some of Indonesia’s incredible wildlife.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce a geography or social studies unit
- Support nonfiction reading practice
- Compare countries and cultures
- Complete map and research activities
- Prepare students for projects or presentations (use our country report template!)
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Celebrate the incredible work of Sir David Attenborough — a storyteller who has helped millions of students and viewers explore the natural world. On the occasion of his 100th birthday on May 8, 2026, we honor his enormous accomplishments in the field of environmental advocacy and his role in revolutionizing nature documentaries.
This playlist brings together 10 unforgettable clips from landmark BBC series like Planet Earth, Blue Planet, and Frozen Planet. Each video showcases amazing wildlife, powerful storytelling, and moments that spark curiosity and wonder.
Perfect for the classroom or at home, these videos help students connect with nature, understand our planet, and feel inspired to protect it.
In JoJo and Gran Gran Celebrate Diwali, JoJo meets a friend who is celebrating Diwali. She tries yummy sweets, makes a rangoli design, and watches fireworks. A real-life girl shares what Diwali means to her. 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 Throwing Fire for Chinese New Year, iron metal workers in Nanquan, China, create amazing, glowing art with molten metal. Today, they perform nightly, but the tradition goes back hundreds of years. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth, a documentary series detailing the world's largest annual human migration (Chunyun), where over 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Happy holidays! With so many celebrations all over the globe during this season, it's the perfect time to teach your Grade 3–5 students about winter holidays around the world. Make copies of this mini-book (simply print on both sides flipped on the short edge, stack, and fold to assemble) for your students and invite them to read about each holiday and complete a simple report page full of questions, coloring, drawing, favorite facts, and more. Here are the eight winter holidays covered:
-
Diwali: A Hindu Festival of Lights celebrating the victory of light over darkness, with lamps, fireworks, and family gatherings.
-
St. Lucia Day: A Scandinavian holiday honoring St. Lucia, featuring processions with candles and special buns to bring light during the dark winter.
-
Las Posadas: A Mexican tradition reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter, celebrated with processions, songs, and parties.
-
Hanukkah: A Jewish holiday celebrating the miracle of the Temple’s menorah oil lasting eight days, marked with candles, dreidel games, and fried foods.
-
Winter Solstice: The shortest day and longest night of the year, celebrated by many cultures as the return of the sun with feasts and light-themed traditions.
-
Christmas: A Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, often marked with gift-giving, decorations, and family gatherings.
-
Kwanzaa: A weeklong African American celebration honoring African heritage and the Seven Principles through candles, reflection, and community activities.
-
Lunar New Year: An Asian cultural holiday welcoming the new year on the lunar calendar, celebrated with family reunions, special foods, and traditions for good luck.
Around the world, over one-third of the grass that grows will be harvested by insects! First watch The Industrious Insects of the Grasslands, a short clip from the award-winning BBC series Planet Earth. Sir David Attenborough introduces you to grass cutter ants, who harvest grass to feed underground fungus that they feed upon, and termites, who can digest grass and in turn become food for the giant anteater.
Once your students have watched the video, invite them to check for understanding with this quick, 8-question quiz!
In Sarah and Duck and the Fireworks Dance, Sarah and Duck are playing indoors. When a fireworks display lights up the sky, Duck hides, until Sarah finds him and helps him enjoy the fireworks with a pair of earmuffs. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Sarah & Duck, a kids' show about the adventures of 7-year-old Sarah and her quacky, flappy best friend, Duck.
In How to Walk on Coals and Not Get Burned, host Greg Foot explores the chemical reactions that create fire, and the qualities of fire when it comes into contact with water that make it possible to walk across coals and not get burned. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Secrets of Everything, in which daredevil science geek Greg Foot is ready to try anything to get the answers to life’s weirdest questions.
In Climate Change and the Impact of Wildfires, learn how climate change has made the possibility of wildfires more likely and more widespread. Now wildfires are happening around the world, including in colder countries. Wildfires in the western United States have become particularly devastating and dangerous for the people who live there. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Climate Change - The Facts, a documentary that delves into the science of climate change and its far-reaching consequences.
In Uncovering the Sun’s Most Magnetic Secrets, narrator Richard Hammond explains how the Sun gives us warmth and light, but up close, it's a raging fireball that can unleash powerful solar storms, disrupting electricity and communication on Earth. To understand these storms, scientists launched the world’s most powerful solar telescope using a helium balloon and sending it 23 miles into the sky. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds, which uncovers the hidden forces and unseen phenomena shaping our world.
In Why Does News Keep Changing?, host Radzi Chinyanganya explores the way news stories develop and change over time. For example, the Australian bushfires became an international news story in 2019 and 2020. While the initial stories highlighted the destruction and death of people and animals, the media later looked at the impact of climate change as a cause of the fires. Disinformation also spread as the story developed. Some rumors said that the fires were started by environmentalists to bring awareness, but journalists were able to disprove these claims. As coverage expands, journalists must update their stories and correct any statements that were previously wrong. This video is excerpted from BBC’s My World, a program created for teenagers eager to learn more about the important stories shaping our world.