12 of 66 results for "marine animals"
Video
Protecting the Manatee in Belize

In Protecting the Manatee in Belize, host Simon Reeve journeys to Belize, home to one of the last large populations of manatees. These gentle marine giants, surprisingly related to elephants, face grave danger as reckless boating claims around 50 lives annually. Simon visits Wild Tracks, a rehabilitation center, where he meets baby manatees in recovery and witnesses a heartwarming release of one back into the wild. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Americas With Simon Reeve, in which Simon Reeve explores the landscapes, cultures, and wildlife of North and South America. 

Lesson Plan
How Do People Impact the Oceans?
In this lesson, you’ll help your students explore the impact humans have on the world’s oceans. Start things off with a fun game of Three Truths and a Lie about the ocean to get your class thinking about this incredible biome. Then, guide your students through two engaging videos that highlight the connection between ocean animals and human activities. Wrap up the lesson with a creative activity where your students design ocean conservation posters to show how we can all work together to keep our oceans clean.
Video
The Go Jetters at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

In The Go Jetters at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Go Jetters crew learns about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Ubercorn shares facts about how garbage gets into the ocean and how large the garbage patches are. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Go Jetters, a series that follows the adventures of four international heroes as they travel the globe visiting landmarks and solving environmental problems with Ubercorn, a disco-dancing unicorn.

Playlist
The BBC Earth Day Playlist

This Earth Day (or anytime this month), share this inspiring video playlist designed to spark curiosity and action in students ages 8–14. From incredible wildlife conservation stories to real-world environmental solutions, each clip invites students to explore the beauty of our planet — and the challenges it faces.

Get a closer look at how forests support life on Earth, discover innovative ideas like renewable energy, and meet the people working to protect endangered species and restore habitats. Along the way, students will see how small choices can make a big difference for our world.

Packed with powerful moments and meaningful learning, this playlist encourages students not just to learn about the Earth — but to think about how they can help protect it.

Kahoot
Kahoot! Coral Reef Cities

Dive beneath the waves and explore the colorful world of coral reefs and the amazing sea life they support. From bright tropical fish and graceful sea turtles to tiny coral polyps and color-changing cuttlefish, students will discover how reefs are home to some of the most diverse animal populations on Earth.

This Kahoot explores the rich ecosystems found in and around coral reefs, including the relationships between marine animals, food chains, and the special adaptations that help creatures survive underwater. Students will learn how reef animals find food, avoid predators, and depend on coral habitats for shelter and survival.

Watch the related BBC videos (below), then invite your Grade 3–8 students to test their knowledge and uncover the wonders of life beneath the sea.

Video
Your Skin as Insulator

In Your Skin as Insulator, evolutionary biologist Ben Garrod explores the role of skin in insulating the body against cold and heat. Focusing on how skin and body fat, particularly in animals like marine mammals and polar bears, helps regulate temperature, learn about how hair follicles and layers like blubber contribute to insulation and temperature regulation. This video is excerpted from Secrets of Skin, a documentary series exploring the natural history of the body’s largest organ.

Video
Strange Creatures at 500 Meters Below

In Strange Creatures at 500 Meters Below, narrator David Attenborough explains how plankton retreats into the ocean depths as the Sun rises. To follow it, we descend in a submarine where pressure increases, and temperatures drop. At 500 meters (1,640 feet) below, strange creatures emerge. Organic particles, known as marine snow, drift down, serving as food for many animals like the sea spider, which uses feathered leg-like appendages to capture it. Meanwhile, the sawtooth eel waits motionless, ready to strike at silhouetted prey swimming near the faint glow from the surface. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.

Video
The Nocturnal Migration of Plankton

In The Nocturnal Migration of Plankton, narrator David Attenborough explains how plankton retreats into the ocean depths as the Sun rises. To follow them, we descend in a submarine where pressure increases, and temperatures drop. At 500 meters (1,640 feet) below, strange creatures emerge. Organic particles, known as marine snow, drift down, serving as food for many animals like the sea spider, which uses feathered leg-like appendages to capture it. Meanwhile, the sawtooth eel waits motionless, ready to strike at silhouetted prey swimming near the faint glow from the surface. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.

Printable
Animal Fact File: Great White Sharks

What predator can burst through the ocean at nearly 40 miles per hour, replace thousands of teeth during its lifetime, and help keep marine ecosystems healthy? The answer may surprise you.

Separate fact from fiction as you dive into the world of the great white shark. Discover the incredible adaptations that make it one of the ocean's most successful hunters, from powerful jaws and razor-sharp senses to stealthy hunting strategies. You'll also learn why great white sharks are essential to healthy oceans and how conservation efforts are helping protect this iconic predator.

Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:

  • Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
  • Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
  • Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
  • Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
  • Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
  • Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
  • Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
  • Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Printable
Animal Fact File: Tiger Sharks

What shark gets its name from the dark stripes along its body and has one of the most varied diets in the ocean? Meet one of the sea's most adaptable predators.

Powerful, curious, and built to thrive in a wide range of habitats, tiger sharks are among the ocean's most successful hunters. Discover how they use their keen senses and powerful jaws to find food, why they migrate across thousands of miles of ocean, and what role they play in keeping marine ecosystems in balance. You'll also learn about the challenges tiger sharks face and the efforts underway to protect them.

Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:

  • Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
  • Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
  • Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
  • Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
  • Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
  • Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
  • Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
  • Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Video
The Blue Whale is The Biggest Animal That Has Ever Lived

In The Blue Whale is The Biggest Animal That Has Ever Lived, narrator Sir David Attenborough investigates the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, and what it reminds us about the oceans. 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.

Video
The Marine Ophthalmosaurus

In The Marine Ophthalmosaurus, naturalist Steve Backshall highlights this deadly dinosaur that hunted in the prehistoric ocean. Check out its special adaptations that made it a successful marine predator, even at night! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Deadly Dinosaurs, a documentary series in which host Steve Backshall is on the hunt for the deadliest animals to have walked the Earth — dinosaurs — exploring features of several species and putting their abilities to the test to reveal the raw power of these creatures.