In Lions of the Namib, narrator Sir David Attenborough narrates the struggles of lion prides surviving in one of the harshest environments on Earth — the Namib Desert. With little water and scarce prey, these lions must use strategy and patience to hunt, but even their best efforts often end in failure. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
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.
In The Animals of the Namibian Desert, narrator Sir David Attenborough teaches about the animals in Namibia. Elephants here walk up to 50 miles a day to find food. Lion prides are small and hunt oryxes that are in search of water. Oryx take to the sand dunes to escape from hungry lions. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Grassland Floods in the Okavango, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how heavy rains flood the Okavango Delta, transforming the grasslands into a waterlogged landscape. Lions must adapt to hunting in the wet conditions, while their prey, like buffaloes, face new struggles to find food and safe ground. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Go Jetters' Safari Adventure in Kenya, the Go Jetters crew visits Maasai Mara National Park Reserve in Kenya, Africa, where they see many animals like lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and wildebeest. Millions of wildebeest travel together across the park, following rainclouds to find fresh grass to eat. They work together to stay safe and find food in this huge, wild place! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four plucky international heroes as they travel the globe visiting the world’s most famous landmarks with their friend and mentor, Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
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 African Elephant Marches Towards Water, narrator Sir David Attenborough investigates how African elephants use their memories to find waterholes. The elephants gather in groups and travel during the night, when temperatures are cooler. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Sea Lion Pups Living in Social Groups, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how sea lions, especially baby sea lions, benefit from living in social groups on the coast of Patagonia. 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 On the Hunt with Sea Lions, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores how the sea lions of the Galapagos Islands use the rough and barren coastline to their advantage, enticing their prey into a cove. 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 Sea Lions and Storms, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how mother sea lions try to shield their pups from harsh storms hitting the coast where they are raising their young. This video is an excerpt from BBC’s Nature's Great Events, a documentary series that showcases some of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles on Earth, exploring how life adapts to natural events that can transform entire landscapes.
In A Harsh Winter for Sea Lions, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how these animals endure freezing temperatures and protect their young in an unforgiving environment. This video is an excerpt from BBC’s Nature's Great Events, a documentary series that showcases some of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles on Earth, exploring how life adapts to natural events that can transform entire landscapes.
In A Feeding Frenzy in Shallow Temperate Seas, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains that water rich in nutrients means plenty of fish and plenty of predators. Dense shoals of fish dodge hungry sea lions and dusky dolphins in this undersea spectacle. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Lions of the Namib, narrator Sir David Attenborough narrates the struggles of lion prides surviving in one of the harshest environments on Earth — the Namib Desert. With little water and scarce prey, these lions must use strategy and patience to hunt, but even their best efforts often end in failure. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
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.
In The Animals of the Namibian Desert, narrator Sir David Attenborough teaches about the animals in Namibia. Elephants here walk up to 50 miles a day to find food. Lion prides are small and hunt oryxes that are in search of water. Oryx take to the sand dunes to escape from hungry lions. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Grassland Floods in the Okavango, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how heavy rains flood the Okavango Delta, transforming the grasslands into a waterlogged landscape. Lions must adapt to hunting in the wet conditions, while their prey, like buffaloes, face new struggles to find food and safe ground. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Go Jetters' Safari Adventure in Kenya, the Go Jetters crew visits Maasai Mara National Park Reserve in Kenya, Africa, where they see many animals like lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and wildebeest. Millions of wildebeest travel together across the park, following rainclouds to find fresh grass to eat. They work together to stay safe and find food in this huge, wild place! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four plucky international heroes as they travel the globe visiting the world’s most famous landmarks with their friend and mentor, Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.
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 African Elephant Marches Towards Water, narrator Sir David Attenborough investigates how African elephants use their memories to find waterholes. The elephants gather in groups and travel during the night, when temperatures are cooler. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Sea Lion Pups Living in Social Groups, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how sea lions, especially baby sea lions, benefit from living in social groups on the coast of Patagonia. 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 On the Hunt with Sea Lions, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores how the sea lions of the Galapagos Islands use the rough and barren coastline to their advantage, enticing their prey into a cove. 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 Sea Lions and Storms, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how mother sea lions try to shield their pups from harsh storms hitting the coast where they are raising their young. This video is an excerpt from BBC’s Nature's Great Events, a documentary series that showcases some of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles on Earth, exploring how life adapts to natural events that can transform entire landscapes.
In A Harsh Winter for Sea Lions, narrator Sir David Attenborough shows how these animals endure freezing temperatures and protect their young in an unforgiving environment. This video is an excerpt from BBC’s Nature's Great Events, a documentary series that showcases some of the most dramatic wildlife spectacles on Earth, exploring how life adapts to natural events that can transform entire landscapes.
In A Feeding Frenzy in Shallow Temperate Seas, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains that water rich in nutrients means plenty of fish and plenty of predators. Dense shoals of fish dodge hungry sea lions and dusky dolphins in this undersea spectacle. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.