The United States didn’t become a nation overnight. It took decades of protest, argument and compromise, and a lot of disagreement about what kind of country it should be. This playlist follows that story through nine turning points. It starts with the political traditions of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and a British tax on printed paper that pushed the colonies toward revolt. From there it moves through the Declaration of Independence, a first attempt at national government that didn’t hold, and the hard-won Constitution that replaced it. It ends with the young republic’s first real tests: George Washington’s presidency, the split into rival political parties, and an armed uprising over a tax on whiskey.
Each video runs a few minutes and covers one turning point, so the series can be watched start to finish or one video at a time.
Every video comes with printable discussion questions, vocabulary, a writing prompt, and classroom activities, all available from the video page. The questions ask students to think about what moved the colonies from protest to independence, why the Articles of Confederation failed, and why the founders’ arguments over federal power didn’t end once the Constitution was signed.
Teachers and Parents: The videos run in chronological order, starting with Indigenous political traditions and ending with the first major challenge to federal authority. Ways to use them:
- Unit introduction: Play the full series to open a unit on the founding for students aged 11–18.
- Lesson starter: Assign The Stamp Act before a lesson on taxation and representation, or the Constitution videos before a class debate on compromise.
- Compare and contrast: Pair The Articles of Confederation with A Constitution Created Through Compromise and have students list what changed and why.
- Then and now: Use The First Political Parties in America to start a discussion on how party divisions began and what they look like today.
Long before the U.S. Constitution was written, five nations in what is now New York State had agreed to govern together under a shared set of laws. That story, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, is where this Kahoot! begins. From there, it moves across North America and through time: the cliff dwellings Ancestral Puebloans built into the canyon walls of Mesa Verde, the forced removal of the Cherokee along the Trail of Tears, the effort to bring buffalo back to the Great Plains, and the lives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada today. Some answers may surprise you, and some will change how you think about history you thought you knew.
Teachers: Use it to open or review a unit on Indigenous history, government, or human rights, or pair it with the rest of the Indigenous Peoples Around the World Kahoot course.
The San have lived in the Kalahari, a vast semi-desert stretching across Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, for thousands of years. They are among the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. Watch the BBC video clips to see how they live in a place with little surface water: reading animal tracks in the sand, hunting with poisoned arrows, making fire by hand, and finding food and water where outsiders see none. Then take the Kahoot to test what you’ve learned, including the harder story of how San communities have fought to stay on their land and keep their knowledge alive as the world around them changes.
Teachers: Show the clips as a class before playing the Kahoot live or assign both for independent learning. It works as a hook for units on Indigenous peoples, African geography, or human adaptation to extreme environments. The land rights questions give students an opening to discuss who decides how traditional lands are used.
One of the last landmasses to be settled, New Zealand, or Aotearoa, is home to the Māori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand. Over 700 years ago, the Māori brought traditions, knowledge, and their language, te reo Māori, to Aotearoa, all of which continue to shape the country today. Explore Māori history and culture, from extraordinary waka voyages to the haka performed by a New Zealand sports team. Watch the BBC videos below to gear up with the knowledge you need to take the Kahoot!
Discover how Māori communities have preserved their identity and traditions across generations, despite there being a time when te reo Māori was discouraged in schools. Learn more about the significance of it now being an official language of New Zealand, as well as the marae as community gathering places and cultural practices such as haka and tā moko. Explore how Māori heritage remains a vibrant and important part of life in Aotearoa today.
Teachers: Use the videos as a lesson starter, homework activity, or introduction to Indigenous cultures and New Zealand history. Follow with the Kahoot as a live class quiz or self-paced challenge to check understanding and spark discussion. Students will learn about Māori migration to Aotearoa, the Treaty of Waitangi, the importance of marae, te reo Māori, and cultural traditions including the hongi, haka, and tā moko. The activity supports learning about Indigenous histories, cultural identity, and the ways traditions can be preserved and revitalized over time. Watch for common misconceptions, such as thinking haka is only performed in happy occasions such as to welcome guests or at sporting events, when it is also performed to honor achievements such as at funerals.
The Maya built one of the world's most remarkable civilizations, creating impressive cities, studying the stars, and developing advanced systems of mathematics and writing. Explore the achievements and legacy of the Maya people. Watch the BBC videos below, then take the Kahoot to test your knowledge.
Discover how Maya societies flourished across parts of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Learn about their temples, calendars, scientific knowledge, and cultural traditions, while exploring how Maya communities continue to live and celebrate their heritage today.
Teachers: Use the videos as a starter activity for lessons on ancient civilizations, geography, or cultural heritage. Follow with the Kahoot as a formative assessment or review activity. Students will examine Maya achievements in architecture, astronomy, mathematics, and writing, while learning about the lasting influence of Maya culture. The activity supports comparisons between civilizations and encourages discussion about how ancient knowledge continues to shape the modern world. Watch for misconceptions such as the belief that the Maya disappeared, as millions of Maya people still live throughout Mesoamerica today.
Sápmi stretches across the far north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula, and it’s home to the Sámi, the Indigenous people of the region. Watch the BBC video clips to see how Sámi families have followed reindeer herds across the tundra for centuries, why their bright traditional clothing (gákti) can show where someone comes from, and how joik, a traditional form of song, is used to express a person, place, or feeling. Then take the Kahoot to test what you’ve learned, including how a warming Arctic is making snow, ice, and grazing land harder to predict, and what that means for a way of life built around them.
Teachers: Show the BBC clips as a class before playing the Kahoot live or assign both for independent learning. It fits units on Indigenous peoples, European geography, or climate change, and gives students a concrete example of how a warming planet affects real communities.
By 1860, the United States had been arguing over slavery for decades. This playlist follows that argument as it hardened into war. It covers the people who resisted slavery, the court case that denied Black Americans citizenship, a raid that pushed the country closer to the edge, and the election that led seven states to secede before Lincoln took office. Each video runs a few minutes and focuses on a single turning point, so the series can be watched start to finish or one video at a time.
Each video comes with discussion questions, vocabulary, a writing prompt ,and classroom activities — all printable from the video page. Questions include why Southern states seceded after Lincoln’s election and how the Civil War split families in border states.
Teachers and Parents: The videos are in chronological order and work as a full unit introduction for students 11–18. They can also be assigned individually to set up a specific lesson. The opening video, from BBC’s American History’s Biggest Fibs With Lucy Worsley, puts slavery at the center of the conflict and gives students a framework for the rest of the list. The Kentucky video closes the list and leads into the companion playlist, The Civil War and Its Aftermath, which runs from the Emancipation Proclamation through the end of Reconstruction. Use the "Share With Students" feature to assign videos directly or "Add to Playlist" to build your own sequence.
“Sharing is caring” is a good motto, but winning a Nobel Peace Prize takes a lot more. You could ask Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the South African judge named as the 2026 winner, but she may be too busy to answer. At 85, she is still hearing cases at one of the world’s highest courts.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year to a person or organization that has made an exceptional contribution to peace. That means more than good manners. Winners have often spent decades helping countries cooperate, ending wars, or defending people’s rights. Pillay’s prize highlights an important idea: peace is more than the end of fighting. It also depends on protecting rights, applying laws fairly, and holding people responsible for the most serious crimes.
Pillay grew up in a family of Indian descent in South Africa under apartheid. Apartheid was a system of laws, in place from 1948 until the early 1990s, that separated people by race and denied non-white South Africans equal rights. Despite facing discrimination, she became a lawyer. In 1995, she became the first non-white woman to serve as a judge on South Africa’s High Court.
She went on to work at the international level. She was a judge on the International Criminal Court, which puts individuals on trial for crimes such as genocide and war crimes. She then served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN’s top official responsible for protecting human rights around the world. Throughout her career, she has argued that the same basic legal principles should apply to everyone, everywhere.
Today, she is a judge at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s main court for disputes between countries. She is hearing a case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide.
Women have been flying planes since before commercial airlines even existed, so why is it that today, women make up only about 6% of pilots worldwide? Although they account for more than a third of the aviation industry’s workforce, most women work in the cabins or on the ground and are much more rarely in the cockpit.
This low (ahem, abysmal) percentage of female pilots has several possible explanations, but it shouldn’t surprise you that none of them are because women aren’t capable! More likely reasons include a lack of female role models, limited access to science and technical education, gender stereotypes, and the challenge of balancing a demanding career in aviation with family life. These are a lot to work against, but support such as scholarships, cadet programs, flexible working, and family-friendly policies could help more women enter the profession and stay in it.
Think those are too much to ask for? Take a look at India! There, around 15% of airline pilots are women — that’s almost three times the global average. Experts say this is partly because of a smaller gender pay gap and the rapid growth of their aviation industry.
Unfortunately, getting more women into piloting roles isn’t as simple as just hiring more females. Part of it starts in early education, where schools can show young women that a career in aviation is possible for them (not just the boys in their class). Organizations like governments and airlines also need to address pay, safety, and working hours.
From the founding of the United States to the Civil War and beyond, American presidents have led the country through moments of conflict, expansion, crisis, and change.
This BBC video playlist explores figures including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and others, examining the decisions, ideas, and events that defined their presidencies.
Look beyond familiar stories to consider both their achievements and shortcomings. How did the challenges of their eras influence their choices, and how should we understand the complicated legacies of leaders who helped shape American history?
In honor of Women’s History Month, this BBC video playlist examines the careers and legacies of leaders including Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Michelle Bachelet, and others. Across different countries, eras, and political systems, these women navigated elections, economic upheaval, international conflict, social change, and intense public scrutiny.
Explore the ideas and policies that defined their time in public life, the historical circumstances that shaped their leadership, and the debates surrounding their decisions. Their approaches differed significantly: some pursued major social reforms, while others championed free-market policies or challenged established political structures.
Their stories also raise larger questions about power and representation. How have expectations of women in leadership changed over time? How can gender shape the way political leaders are perceived and judged? And how should the achievements of influential figures be considered alongside the controversies and consequences of their decisions?
These BBC videos offer an opportunity to examine leadership with nuance — and explore the complex roles women have played in shaping modern politics and public life.
Examine the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and its system of governance, explore the remarkable cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, and see how Native communities are restoring buffalo herds with deep cultural and ecological significance. Experience traditional arts such as hoop dance and hear Indigenous voices discussing issues affecting their communities today.
Together, these stories reveal the diversity of Native nations and communities, each with its own history, traditions, and relationship to the land. They also connect past and present, showing how Indigenous peoples are preserving languages and cultural practices, strengthening communities, and shaping conversations about land, sovereignty, conservation, and identity.
From ancient places and longstanding traditions to contemporary challenges and achievements, these BBC videos offer multiple perspectives on the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have shaped — and continue to shape — North America.
The United States didn’t become a nation overnight. It took decades of protest, argument and compromise, and a lot of disagreement about what kind of country it should be. This playlist follows that story through nine turning points. It starts with the political traditions of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and a British tax on printed paper that pushed the colonies toward revolt. From there it moves through the Declaration of Independence, a first attempt at national government that didn’t hold, and the hard-won Constitution that replaced it. It ends with the young republic’s first real tests: George Washington’s presidency, the split into rival political parties, and an armed uprising over a tax on whiskey.
Each video runs a few minutes and covers one turning point, so the series can be watched start to finish or one video at a time.
Every video comes with printable discussion questions, vocabulary, a writing prompt, and classroom activities, all available from the video page. The questions ask students to think about what moved the colonies from protest to independence, why the Articles of Confederation failed, and why the founders’ arguments over federal power didn’t end once the Constitution was signed.
Teachers and Parents: The videos run in chronological order, starting with Indigenous political traditions and ending with the first major challenge to federal authority. Ways to use them:
- Unit introduction: Play the full series to open a unit on the founding for students aged 11–18.
- Lesson starter: Assign The Stamp Act before a lesson on taxation and representation, or the Constitution videos before a class debate on compromise.
- Compare and contrast: Pair The Articles of Confederation with A Constitution Created Through Compromise and have students list what changed and why.
- Then and now: Use The First Political Parties in America to start a discussion on how party divisions began and what they look like today.
Long before the U.S. Constitution was written, five nations in what is now New York State had agreed to govern together under a shared set of laws. That story, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, is where this Kahoot! begins. From there, it moves across North America and through time: the cliff dwellings Ancestral Puebloans built into the canyon walls of Mesa Verde, the forced removal of the Cherokee along the Trail of Tears, the effort to bring buffalo back to the Great Plains, and the lives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada today. Some answers may surprise you, and some will change how you think about history you thought you knew.
Teachers: Use it to open or review a unit on Indigenous history, government, or human rights, or pair it with the rest of the Indigenous Peoples Around the World Kahoot course.
The San have lived in the Kalahari, a vast semi-desert stretching across Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, for thousands of years. They are among the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. Watch the BBC video clips to see how they live in a place with little surface water: reading animal tracks in the sand, hunting with poisoned arrows, making fire by hand, and finding food and water where outsiders see none. Then take the Kahoot to test what you’ve learned, including the harder story of how San communities have fought to stay on their land and keep their knowledge alive as the world around them changes.
Teachers: Show the clips as a class before playing the Kahoot live or assign both for independent learning. It works as a hook for units on Indigenous peoples, African geography, or human adaptation to extreme environments. The land rights questions give students an opening to discuss who decides how traditional lands are used.
One of the last landmasses to be settled, New Zealand, or Aotearoa, is home to the Māori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand. Over 700 years ago, the Māori brought traditions, knowledge, and their language, te reo Māori, to Aotearoa, all of which continue to shape the country today. Explore Māori history and culture, from extraordinary waka voyages to the haka performed by a New Zealand sports team. Watch the BBC videos below to gear up with the knowledge you need to take the Kahoot!
Discover how Māori communities have preserved their identity and traditions across generations, despite there being a time when te reo Māori was discouraged in schools. Learn more about the significance of it now being an official language of New Zealand, as well as the marae as community gathering places and cultural practices such as haka and tā moko. Explore how Māori heritage remains a vibrant and important part of life in Aotearoa today.
Teachers: Use the videos as a lesson starter, homework activity, or introduction to Indigenous cultures and New Zealand history. Follow with the Kahoot as a live class quiz or self-paced challenge to check understanding and spark discussion. Students will learn about Māori migration to Aotearoa, the Treaty of Waitangi, the importance of marae, te reo Māori, and cultural traditions including the hongi, haka, and tā moko. The activity supports learning about Indigenous histories, cultural identity, and the ways traditions can be preserved and revitalized over time. Watch for common misconceptions, such as thinking haka is only performed in happy occasions such as to welcome guests or at sporting events, when it is also performed to honor achievements such as at funerals.
The Maya built one of the world's most remarkable civilizations, creating impressive cities, studying the stars, and developing advanced systems of mathematics and writing. Explore the achievements and legacy of the Maya people. Watch the BBC videos below, then take the Kahoot to test your knowledge.
Discover how Maya societies flourished across parts of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. Learn about their temples, calendars, scientific knowledge, and cultural traditions, while exploring how Maya communities continue to live and celebrate their heritage today.
Teachers: Use the videos as a starter activity for lessons on ancient civilizations, geography, or cultural heritage. Follow with the Kahoot as a formative assessment or review activity. Students will examine Maya achievements in architecture, astronomy, mathematics, and writing, while learning about the lasting influence of Maya culture. The activity supports comparisons between civilizations and encourages discussion about how ancient knowledge continues to shape the modern world. Watch for misconceptions such as the belief that the Maya disappeared, as millions of Maya people still live throughout Mesoamerica today.
Sápmi stretches across the far north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula, and it’s home to the Sámi, the Indigenous people of the region. Watch the BBC video clips to see how Sámi families have followed reindeer herds across the tundra for centuries, why their bright traditional clothing (gákti) can show where someone comes from, and how joik, a traditional form of song, is used to express a person, place, or feeling. Then take the Kahoot to test what you’ve learned, including how a warming Arctic is making snow, ice, and grazing land harder to predict, and what that means for a way of life built around them.
Teachers: Show the BBC clips as a class before playing the Kahoot live or assign both for independent learning. It fits units on Indigenous peoples, European geography, or climate change, and gives students a concrete example of how a warming planet affects real communities.
By 1860, the United States had been arguing over slavery for decades. This playlist follows that argument as it hardened into war. It covers the people who resisted slavery, the court case that denied Black Americans citizenship, a raid that pushed the country closer to the edge, and the election that led seven states to secede before Lincoln took office. Each video runs a few minutes and focuses on a single turning point, so the series can be watched start to finish or one video at a time.
Each video comes with discussion questions, vocabulary, a writing prompt ,and classroom activities — all printable from the video page. Questions include why Southern states seceded after Lincoln’s election and how the Civil War split families in border states.
Teachers and Parents: The videos are in chronological order and work as a full unit introduction for students 11–18. They can also be assigned individually to set up a specific lesson. The opening video, from BBC’s American History’s Biggest Fibs With Lucy Worsley, puts slavery at the center of the conflict and gives students a framework for the rest of the list. The Kentucky video closes the list and leads into the companion playlist, The Civil War and Its Aftermath, which runs from the Emancipation Proclamation through the end of Reconstruction. Use the "Share With Students" feature to assign videos directly or "Add to Playlist" to build your own sequence.
“Sharing is caring” is a good motto, but winning a Nobel Peace Prize takes a lot more. You could ask Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the South African judge named as the 2026 winner, but she may be too busy to answer. At 85, she is still hearing cases at one of the world’s highest courts.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year to a person or organization that has made an exceptional contribution to peace. That means more than good manners. Winners have often spent decades helping countries cooperate, ending wars, or defending people’s rights. Pillay’s prize highlights an important idea: peace is more than the end of fighting. It also depends on protecting rights, applying laws fairly, and holding people responsible for the most serious crimes.
Pillay grew up in a family of Indian descent in South Africa under apartheid. Apartheid was a system of laws, in place from 1948 until the early 1990s, that separated people by race and denied non-white South Africans equal rights. Despite facing discrimination, she became a lawyer. In 1995, she became the first non-white woman to serve as a judge on South Africa’s High Court.
She went on to work at the international level. She was a judge on the International Criminal Court, which puts individuals on trial for crimes such as genocide and war crimes. She then served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN’s top official responsible for protecting human rights around the world. Throughout her career, she has argued that the same basic legal principles should apply to everyone, everywhere.
Today, she is a judge at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s main court for disputes between countries. She is hearing a case in which Myanmar is accused of genocide.
Women have been flying planes since before commercial airlines even existed, so why is it that today, women make up only about 6% of pilots worldwide? Although they account for more than a third of the aviation industry’s workforce, most women work in the cabins or on the ground and are much more rarely in the cockpit.
This low (ahem, abysmal) percentage of female pilots has several possible explanations, but it shouldn’t surprise you that none of them are because women aren’t capable! More likely reasons include a lack of female role models, limited access to science and technical education, gender stereotypes, and the challenge of balancing a demanding career in aviation with family life. These are a lot to work against, but support such as scholarships, cadet programs, flexible working, and family-friendly policies could help more women enter the profession and stay in it.
Think those are too much to ask for? Take a look at India! There, around 15% of airline pilots are women — that’s almost three times the global average. Experts say this is partly because of a smaller gender pay gap and the rapid growth of their aviation industry.
Unfortunately, getting more women into piloting roles isn’t as simple as just hiring more females. Part of it starts in early education, where schools can show young women that a career in aviation is possible for them (not just the boys in their class). Organizations like governments and airlines also need to address pay, safety, and working hours.
From the founding of the United States to the Civil War and beyond, American presidents have led the country through moments of conflict, expansion, crisis, and change.
This BBC video playlist explores figures including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and others, examining the decisions, ideas, and events that defined their presidencies.
Look beyond familiar stories to consider both their achievements and shortcomings. How did the challenges of their eras influence their choices, and how should we understand the complicated legacies of leaders who helped shape American history?
In honor of Women’s History Month, this BBC video playlist examines the careers and legacies of leaders including Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Michelle Bachelet, and others. Across different countries, eras, and political systems, these women navigated elections, economic upheaval, international conflict, social change, and intense public scrutiny.
Explore the ideas and policies that defined their time in public life, the historical circumstances that shaped their leadership, and the debates surrounding their decisions. Their approaches differed significantly: some pursued major social reforms, while others championed free-market policies or challenged established political structures.
Their stories also raise larger questions about power and representation. How have expectations of women in leadership changed over time? How can gender shape the way political leaders are perceived and judged? And how should the achievements of influential figures be considered alongside the controversies and consequences of their decisions?
These BBC videos offer an opportunity to examine leadership with nuance — and explore the complex roles women have played in shaping modern politics and public life.
Examine the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and its system of governance, explore the remarkable cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, and see how Native communities are restoring buffalo herds with deep cultural and ecological significance. Experience traditional arts such as hoop dance and hear Indigenous voices discussing issues affecting their communities today.
Together, these stories reveal the diversity of Native nations and communities, each with its own history, traditions, and relationship to the land. They also connect past and present, showing how Indigenous peoples are preserving languages and cultural practices, strengthening communities, and shaping conversations about land, sovereignty, conservation, and identity.
From ancient places and longstanding traditions to contemporary challenges and achievements, these BBC videos offer multiple perspectives on the Indigenous peoples and cultures that have shaped — and continue to shape — North America.