NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

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Welcome to our searchable database of education resources created by NOAA and our partners. If you have issues or feedback, please let us know by filling out our feedback form offsite link or sending us an email at education@noaa.gov.

Tips for using the database

Searching for terms that contain more than one word.

Use quotation marks around multiple-word phrases you want to search. For example, searching “climate change” will return resources about “climate change.” If you don’t include quotation marks, it will return resources that include either the word “climate” or “change.” 

Opening resources in a new tab.

 Follow the instructions below for the device you are using.

  • PC: Hold down the control (ctrl) key while clicking the link. Or, right-click the link and select “open in new tab.”
  • Mac: Hold down the command key while clicking the link.
  • iPhone or iPad: Press and hold the link. Select “open in new tab” from the pop-up menu.
  • Android device: Press and hold the link. Select “open in new tab” from the pop-up menu

Expanding categories.

Each category has a plus sign (+) to expand the available filters within the category. Some categories have subcategories. Look for the plus sign (+) to see more filterable items.

Making the most of the filterable categories.

There are several categories you can use to filter through the resources. 

  • “Audience” filters by grade level, including postsecondary education, and also has a filter option for adult learners.
  • “Subject” filters by the general subject area, such as Arts, Earth science, Math, and more.
  • “Resource Type” filters allow you to look for resources ranging from activities, lessons, and units to videos or background information.
  • “Topic” filters are more specific than subject. They include filters such as climate, freshwater, and weather and atmosphere.
  • “NGSS DCI” filters by Next Generation Science Standards Disciplinary Core Ideas. Only activities, lessons, and units (and no other resource types) have NGSS DCI associated with them. Not all activities, lessons, and units have this alignment.
  • “Special categories” offers additional filters for specific types of resources and topics, such as printables, resources available in other languages, and safety/preparedness.

Exploring activities, lessons, and units.

Activities, lessons, and units are bundled together under resource type. You can expand to filter for only one type. Activity/demonstration refers to straightforward activities with little or no classroom strategy or pedagogy. Lesson refers to structured activities that are intended for a classroom audience. Module/unit refers to a collection of lessons that can build upon each other over multiple class periods or times of instruction; some people might call this a curriculum. 

Understanding instructional strategies.

Within special categories, there is an expandable filter called “instructional strategies.” This includes special filters that are applicable for some lessons, activities, and units, including things like “outdoor education” and “uses data.”

 

No results match your search.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Career profile

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

Emergency responder, Doug Helton, is used to people asking what he does between spills, and they are surprised to learn that thousands of oil and chemical spills occur every year in U.S. waters. Planning and responding to those keeps Doug plenty busy. Most of these spills are thankfully small and rarely make the news, but even small spills, such as a diesel spill from a fishing vessel sinking in a harbor, can be a threat to marine life and a process to clean up.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Career profile

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Oil spills
Ocean pollution and marine debris

Alexis Temkin is a PhD student at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she looks at how chemicals, like those released into the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, can have an impact on human health. Working in the field of marine biomedicine is a perfect blend of her interests in marine biology and medicine.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Career profile
Video
Multimedia

Topic

Marine life
Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest accidental offshore oil spill in history. In this video, Lisa DiPinto, a Senior Scientist at NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, shares how NOAA went about the massive task of assessing the damage to the entire northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystem—finding more than 1,300 miles of shoreline were oiled.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Career profile

Topic

Technology and engineering
Ocean and coasts
Ships and planes
Oil spills

A life at sea, or a career conserving natural resources? Both!

Audience

Grade K-2
Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology
Life science
Physical science

Resource type

Career profile
Collection
Multimedia
Webinar

Topic

Climate
Carbon cycle
Cryosphere
Freshwater
Rivers
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Marine life
Aquatic food webs
Coral reef ecosystems
Ecosystems
Fish
Fisheries and seafood
Invasive marine species
Invertebrates
Life in an estuary
Marine mammals
Plankton
Salmon
Sea turtles
Seabirds
Seaweed, algae, and aquatic plants
Sharks, rays, and skates
Ocean and coasts
Harmful algal blooms
Maritime archaeology and history
Ocean acidification
Ocean exploration
Ocean floor features
Ocean pollution and marine debris
Oil spills
Tsunamis
Space
Space weather
Technology and engineering
Buoys
ROVs, AUVs, and drones
Satellites
Ships and planes
Weather and atmosphere
Drought
Fires
Hazards and safety
Hurricanes
Weather observations
Weather systems and patterns

Special categories

Cultural heritage
Other languages
American Sign Language
Spanish

Collection name

NOAA Live! 4 Kids

This webinar series was developed by NOAA's Regional Collaboration Network and Woods Hole Sea Grant at WHOI in response to the COVID school closures. With over 100 webinars featuring different NOAA experts/topics and a moderated question and answers session throughout so that students could get a peek at what our NOAA scientists do in all the various NOAA offices. They range in geography, content, and NOAA line office focus but are all designed to engage the students, answer their questions, and give them a glimpse of possible career options. Captions are available in English and Spanish. Many have ASL interpretation.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Social studies
Engineering and technology
Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Related story
Career profile
Background information

Topic

Technology and engineering
Marine life
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Buoys
Seabirds
Sea turtles
Marine mammals
Hurricanes
Oil spills
Ocean pollution and marine debris

Special categories

Cultural heritage

The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration blog has been active since 2010.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Social studies
Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Career profile
Video
Multimedia

Topic

Technology and engineering
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

In April 2005, NOAA and several partners conducted an emergency response drill in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The drill scenario involved a hypothetical grounding at Elbow Reef, off Key Largo, of the M/V Portsmith Trader, an 800-foot cargo vessel carrying 270,000 gallons of fuel. In the scenario, the grounding injured coral reef habitat and submerged historical artifacts, and an oil spill threatened other resources. The Safe Sanctuaries drill tested the capabilities of several NOAA programs, and included participation from the U.S. Coast Guard (the lead federal agency in the event of an actual incident) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Career profile
Podcast
Multimedia

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

Special categories

Education at home
Instructional strategies

Collection name

Sea Grant podcasts
Making Waves podcast

In this podcast, we talk with NOAA marine biologist Gary Shigenaka to find out how marine life is faring in Prince William Sound today. We also look at lessons we might learn from this environmental disaster in light of growing oil exploration and shipping traffic in the Arctic.