Introducing your new favorite duo! JoJo & Gran Gran is a BBC children's animated television series that follows an inquisitive and cheerful 4-and-a-half-year-old girl and her loving grandmother, who always has something new to teach her. Young learners will love learning alongside the diverse cast of characters as they get to know their community and explore the natural world around them.
This is quick and easy seasonal content — perfect for an intro to a life science (plants, trees, flowers) or social studies (holidays!) lesson. Or watch the video and then try what JoJo and Gran Gran did, whether it's making a fruit crumble or writing a poem.
Gung Hei Fat Choy!
Celebrate Lunar New Year with the BBC Learning Hub’s curated resources for students ages 4–14. Through videos, articles, and printables, students can explore the traditions, symbols, and stories that mark this important holiday. From family gatherings and festive foods to lanterns, lion dances, and the Chinese Zodiac, these resources help students understand how Lunar New Year is celebrated across cultures and communities around the world.
Your phone goes in a pouch the moment you walk in. If it's seen or heard, it's gone — for 4 weeks. That's the policy at Astrea Academy, one of the strictest phone bans in the UK, and yes, those 4 weeks can run straight through school holidays.
Harsh? Maybe. But teachers say it's working. Focus is up, behavior has improved, and students' overall wellbeing has shifted noticeably since the policy took hold.
Student reactions are split. Some think the rules go too far. Others — perhaps surprisingly — admit they don't really need their phones during the school day anyway. Both groups are probably right about something.
Parents are largely on board, and for reasons that go beyond test scores. They're noticing their kids coming home and actually talking — asking questions, making eye contact, and reconnecting in small ways that are easy to dismiss until they're gone. One thing the ban has surfaced that nobody quite expected: parents realizing they have a phone problem too. Several reflected that if they want their kids to put the devices down, they probably need to do the same. Role modeling, it turns out, works both ways.
Phone-free schools aren't going away. The UK is already moving toward national guidelines pushing schools in this direction, alongside measures to encourage more moderate social media use. The experiment at Astrea Academy may be ahead of its time — or just ahead of the curve.
Discover the powerful story and lasting influence of Billie Holiday, one of the most important voices in American music history. Students will explore how her unforgettable style, emotional performances, and groundbreaking songs helped shape jazz culture while shining a light on the realities of segregation and racism in the United States.
This Kahoot examines Holiday’s life and music, including the rise of jazz clubs during the Harlem Renaissance, the challenges Black performers faced during segregation, and the impact of her famous protest song, "Strange Fruit." Students will build listening skills, expand vocabulary, and deepen their understanding of how music can inspire awareness, emotion, and social change.
Watch the related BBC videos (for mature viewers), Billie Holiday, a Voice Against Injustice and Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit, then invite your Grade 9–12 students to test their knowledge and explore the powerful connection between music, history, and culture.
Turn your classroom into a global exploration hub! This country report template invites students in Grades 3–8 to become curious investigators — uncovering what makes each country unique and sharing their discoveries in creative ways.
Designed with flexibility in mind, the resource includes two approachable formats:
- Snapshot Style: A lively, visual option that’s perfect for quick learning or younger students. Learners can sketch, label, and highlight key features — like flags, landmarks, foods, and traditions — while building confidence with short responses.
- Explorer Style: A more in-depth format for students ready to dig deeper. It guides learners through topics such as geography, wildlife, culture, and history, helping them organize ideas and develop clear, informative writing.
Best of all, this template pairs seamlessly with BBC videos — bringing countries to life through real-world sights, sounds, and stories. Students can watch, wonder, and then weave what they’ve learned into their own reports.
Quick Teacher Tips: Use country studies as a springboard into wider learning across subjects:
- Geography: Map skills, climate zones, landforms, and ecosystems
- Language Arts: Informational writing, summarizing, note-taking, and presenting
- History: Key events, timelines, and how the past shapes the present
- Math: Population comparisons, distances, currency conversions
- Arts & Culture: Traditional patterns, music, celebrations, and food
- Current Events: Tie in informational reading and media literacy by exploring what’s happening in that country today in an age-appropriate way.
In JoJo and Gran Gran Visit a Christmas Tree Farm, JoJo and her grandmother work together to find the perfect tree for their home. It has to be big enough for decorations but small enough to fit in their house. A mother and daughter go to a real-life Christmas tree farm. 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 JoJo and Gran Gran Bake Gingerbread, it’s snowing outside so JoJo and her grandmother make gingerbread pandas. They work together to mix, roll, bake, and frost two trays of delicious cookies. Two real-life friends decorate cookies with icing and sprinkles. 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 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 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 Preparing for Chinese New Year, a family in Beijing prepares for Chinese New Year in 2016 by cleaning the house, getting haircuts, and preparing scrolls that they will hang outside their house. 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.
In Preparing Flowers for Chinese New Year, a farm in Kunming, China’s Spring City, prepares flowers for the busy Chinese New Year season. Flowers travel from farm to auction, where buyers purchase them for shops. 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.
In Chunwan: The World’s Biggest Stage, performers have prepared for a year to participate in the largest televised event in China. The Chunwan, or Chinese Spring Festival Gala, is a collection of amazing acts. It is televised to the entire country and is watched by billions of people. 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.
Introducing your new favorite duo! JoJo & Gran Gran is a BBC children's animated television series that follows an inquisitive and cheerful 4-and-a-half-year-old girl and her loving grandmother, who always has something new to teach her. Young learners will love learning alongside the diverse cast of characters as they get to know their community and explore the natural world around them.
This is quick and easy seasonal content — perfect for an intro to a life science (plants, trees, flowers) or social studies (holidays!) lesson. Or watch the video and then try what JoJo and Gran Gran did, whether it's making a fruit crumble or writing a poem.
Gung Hei Fat Choy!
Celebrate Lunar New Year with the BBC Learning Hub’s curated resources for students ages 4–14. Through videos, articles, and printables, students can explore the traditions, symbols, and stories that mark this important holiday. From family gatherings and festive foods to lanterns, lion dances, and the Chinese Zodiac, these resources help students understand how Lunar New Year is celebrated across cultures and communities around the world.
Your phone goes in a pouch the moment you walk in. If it's seen or heard, it's gone — for 4 weeks. That's the policy at Astrea Academy, one of the strictest phone bans in the UK, and yes, those 4 weeks can run straight through school holidays.
Harsh? Maybe. But teachers say it's working. Focus is up, behavior has improved, and students' overall wellbeing has shifted noticeably since the policy took hold.
Student reactions are split. Some think the rules go too far. Others — perhaps surprisingly — admit they don't really need their phones during the school day anyway. Both groups are probably right about something.
Parents are largely on board, and for reasons that go beyond test scores. They're noticing their kids coming home and actually talking — asking questions, making eye contact, and reconnecting in small ways that are easy to dismiss until they're gone. One thing the ban has surfaced that nobody quite expected: parents realizing they have a phone problem too. Several reflected that if they want their kids to put the devices down, they probably need to do the same. Role modeling, it turns out, works both ways.
Phone-free schools aren't going away. The UK is already moving toward national guidelines pushing schools in this direction, alongside measures to encourage more moderate social media use. The experiment at Astrea Academy may be ahead of its time — or just ahead of the curve.
Discover the powerful story and lasting influence of Billie Holiday, one of the most important voices in American music history. Students will explore how her unforgettable style, emotional performances, and groundbreaking songs helped shape jazz culture while shining a light on the realities of segregation and racism in the United States.
This Kahoot examines Holiday’s life and music, including the rise of jazz clubs during the Harlem Renaissance, the challenges Black performers faced during segregation, and the impact of her famous protest song, "Strange Fruit." Students will build listening skills, expand vocabulary, and deepen their understanding of how music can inspire awareness, emotion, and social change.
Watch the related BBC videos (for mature viewers), Billie Holiday, a Voice Against Injustice and Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit, then invite your Grade 9–12 students to test their knowledge and explore the powerful connection between music, history, and culture.
Turn your classroom into a global exploration hub! This country report template invites students in Grades 3–8 to become curious investigators — uncovering what makes each country unique and sharing their discoveries in creative ways.
Designed with flexibility in mind, the resource includes two approachable formats:
- Snapshot Style: A lively, visual option that’s perfect for quick learning or younger students. Learners can sketch, label, and highlight key features — like flags, landmarks, foods, and traditions — while building confidence with short responses.
- Explorer Style: A more in-depth format for students ready to dig deeper. It guides learners through topics such as geography, wildlife, culture, and history, helping them organize ideas and develop clear, informative writing.
Best of all, this template pairs seamlessly with BBC videos — bringing countries to life through real-world sights, sounds, and stories. Students can watch, wonder, and then weave what they’ve learned into their own reports.
Quick Teacher Tips: Use country studies as a springboard into wider learning across subjects:
- Geography: Map skills, climate zones, landforms, and ecosystems
- Language Arts: Informational writing, summarizing, note-taking, and presenting
- History: Key events, timelines, and how the past shapes the present
- Math: Population comparisons, distances, currency conversions
- Arts & Culture: Traditional patterns, music, celebrations, and food
- Current Events: Tie in informational reading and media literacy by exploring what’s happening in that country today in an age-appropriate way.
In JoJo and Gran Gran Visit a Christmas Tree Farm, JoJo and her grandmother work together to find the perfect tree for their home. It has to be big enough for decorations but small enough to fit in their house. A mother and daughter go to a real-life Christmas tree farm. 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 JoJo and Gran Gran Bake Gingerbread, it’s snowing outside so JoJo and her grandmother make gingerbread pandas. They work together to mix, roll, bake, and frost two trays of delicious cookies. Two real-life friends decorate cookies with icing and sprinkles. 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 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 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 Preparing for Chinese New Year, a family in Beijing prepares for Chinese New Year in 2016 by cleaning the house, getting haircuts, and preparing scrolls that they will hang outside their house. 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.
In Preparing Flowers for Chinese New Year, a farm in Kunming, China’s Spring City, prepares flowers for the busy Chinese New Year season. Flowers travel from farm to auction, where buyers purchase them for shops. 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.
In Chunwan: The World’s Biggest Stage, performers have prepared for a year to participate in the largest televised event in China. The Chunwan, or Chinese Spring Festival Gala, is a collection of amazing acts. It is televised to the entire country and is watched by billions of people. 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.