TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The fish that walk on land | Noah R. Bressman
We think of fish as completely aquatic animals. But there are actually hundreds of fish species that are amphibious, meaning that they possess adaptations that enable them to survive on land. Once on land, however, they face suffocation,...
Curated Video
Discover Echolocation: Bats’ Adaptation to Navigate the Dark
Video 3 of the Echolocation Unit. Here, students will dive deep into how echolocation works. The segment explains how bats send out high-pitched sounds, listen for the returning echoes, and use their brains to create a mental map of...
Curated Video
Masters of the Night: The Secrets of Nocturnal Animals
Uncover the fascinating world of nocturnal animals such as foxes, wolves, and owls. Learn how these creatures have evolved to dominate the night with specialized senses and behaviors that give them an edge in the darkness. This video...
Great Big Story
Discover the Malayan tapir, Asia's gentle giant
Uncover the unique traits and challenges of the Malayan tapir, from its remarkable camouflage to its endangered status.
Wonderscape
Animal Adaptations: Survival Strategies in Nature
Explore the fascinating world of animal adaptations, where species develop physical and behavioral traits to thrive in their environments. Discover how sharks, bears, raccoons, and other animals have evolved to fit their habitats, from...
Wonderscape
The Science of Hibernation: How Animals Prepare
This video delves into the intricate preparations animals undertake for hibernation, including creating hibernacula or dens and the various triggers that signal the start of hibernation. It explains the differences between hibernation...
Wonderscape
Hibernation: Nature's Winter Survival Strategy
This video delves into the fascinating world of animal hibernation, explaining how and why various species, including mammals, amphibians, and invertebrates, enter this dormant state. It covers the concepts of hibernation and estivation,...
Curated Video
Improving Clarity in Informational Writing with Transition Words and Phrases
In this video, the teacher explains how to make writing clear in an informational text by adding transition words and phrases. The teacher guides the students through the process of identifying chapters, reviewing beginning and ending...
TED-Ed
Are Naked Mole Rats the Strangest Mammals?
Imagine a mammal with the metabolism of a plant! This strange mammal appears cold-blooded like a reptile and demonstrates the social life of an insect. A short video examines learning the incredible adaptations of the naked mole rat.
TED-Ed
Why do Animals Form Swarms?
Swarms contain no leader, yet often act with an intelligence higher than any individual member. Birds, insects, and fish all commonly swarm for a variety of reasons. Scholars learn about swarming behavior in a short video before...
Be Smart
Nature's Living Fireworks!
Seventy-five percent of ocean species create their own light. Bioluminescence stars in an enlightening biology video that takes a look at some cool species. From fireflies to deep sea creatures, the video explores the process,...
Be Smart
The Superb Owl!
What if we described an animal like we describe a football team competing in the big game? A cool video attempts to do just that as part of a larger biology playlist. It discusses an owl with superb adaptations and anatomy to survive in...
Be Smart
Pigeon Story: How the Rock Dove Became the Sky Rat
After training, pigeons can recognize correctly spelled words among misspelled words. In addition, they can use number sense to count, memorize thousands of pictures, and use navigational aids humans don't understand. As part of a larger...
Be Smart
How Baby Sea Turtles Find Their Way Home
Sea turtles return to the beach they were born on more than a decade later to lay eggs. An interesting video explains this phenomenon as part of an extensive playlist covering biology. It describes what scientists know and don't know...
TED-Ed
How Do Fish Make Electricity?
Shocking! Share the story of electric fish with young biologists for a fascinating lesson in specialized cells. The narrator of the video describes how some species of fish generate electric current, differentiates between weakly and...
Be Smart
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Concussions?
Woodpeckers withstand more than 4,000 Gs without getting a concussion, yet humans only withstand up to 300 without getting one. An eye-opening video explains the difference in anatomy between humans and woodpecker brains as part of a...
TED-Ed
How Ingenious Animals Have Engineered Air Conditioning
Humans aren't the only species to build structures with air conditioning—we weren't even the first! The video explains how a variety of species that live under and above ground design their structures to allow for air circulation. It...
TED-Ed
Jellyfish Predate Dinosaurs. How Have They Survived So Long?
Jellyfish range in size, species, hunting habits, and venom secretions. But one thing most all jellyfish have in common is their ability to survive and flourish in our oceans since before dinosaurs. Watch the video and find out...
TED-Ed
Inside the Minds of Animals
Is it instinct and intelligence that divide animals from humans? What are they really thinking, and how do we define that? Check out this great video that discusses everything from Descartes' thoughts on the topic and Darwinian...
TED-Ed
Claws vs. Nails
Nail down the differences between claws and fingernails with an informative video that details the evolutionary changes that led some animals to develop nails while other creatures retained their sharp claws.
TED-Ed
How Do Viruses Jump from Animals to Humans?
Can humans be infected by animal viruses? Pupils explore the phenomenon of viral evolution and learn about how animal viruses sometimes adapt to infect humans. They see how viruses are transmitted and what pathogens need to survive. The...
TED-Ed
How Turtle Shells Evolved... Twice
How do turtle shells form? Scholars explore the evolution of turtle shells and learn about how they form from many different bones before relating the process to cell differentiation in an organism. Pupils also look at different turtle...
PBS
When Ichthyosaurs Led a Revolution in the Seas
During The Great Dying, 90 percent of life in the ocean died. A video lesson from the PBS Eon series describes how the oceans recovered. Viewers learn how some species adapted and thrived while others became extinct.
PBS
The Croc That Ran on Hooves
A crocodile with hooves and razor-sharp teeth was really a thing—and there is proof. A video lesson from the PBS Eons series presents the fossil evidence and explores the reasons for the adaptations of the unique reptile. Scholars see a...