From Florence Nightingale to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, these short classroom films tell the stories of ten extraordinary and inspiring people.
Each story is told through drama, music and movement, starting with each significant individual as a child, exploring their motivation and how they grew up to change the world.
Teachers please note that these short films were originally broadcast in 2012 as part of BBC Two's Learning Zone. The films are broadly suitable for teaching KS2 pupils and older (Second Level in Scotland), but we recommend review prior to use in class. Where there are more challenging scenes (such as Edward Jenner's experience of smallpox as a child), we have noted beneath the video.
Alexander Graham Bell. video
Alexander Graham Bell tells the story of his life and describes how he invented the telephone.
Florence Nightingale. video
Florence Nightingale tells the story of her life and how she grew up to become a nurse.
Harriet Tubman. video
Harriet Tubman explains how she escaped slavery and then helped others to do so.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel. video
Isambard Kingdom Brunel shares how he became an engineer and tunnelled through Box Hill.
Mary Anning. video
Mary Anning describes how her astonishing fossil finds changed scientific thinking.
Edward Jenner. video
Edward Jenner tells the dramatic story of his life and how witnessing the victims of smallpox as a child motivated him to help others.
Elizabeth Fry. video
Elizabeth Fry describes how she reformed life for prisoners and their families in prison.
Grace Darling. video
Grace Darling describes the night she and her father rowed out in a boat to save sailors.
Rosa Parks. video
Rosa Parks describes how her refusal to give up a seat on a bus changed the rules of American society.
Thomas Barnardo. video
Thomas Barnardo tells the story of setting up his first home for London's street children.
Where next?
Explorers. collection
A cross-curricular series using the theme of explorers to introduce subjects such as history, science, creative writing, art and design, maths and geography.
Bitesize: Black History Month collection
Use these Bitesize resources to set homework, independent study tasks or to consolidate learning for your pupils.
Newsround
The latest news stories from Newsround to share in the classroom.
