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

Math
Engineering and technology
Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product
Background information

Topic

Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution

Special categories

Models
Instructional strategies

The System-wide Monitoring Program, or SWMP (pronounced “swamp”), Graphing and Export System provides educators and students with access to SWMP data. Students can query the database and work with real estuary monitoring data in the problem-solving exercises provided within the Estuaries 101 curriculum, and they can learn from the stories provided about how these data are used and the ongoing monitoring and research taking place at each reserve.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Life science
Math
Physical science

Resource type

Data product
Easy-to-use data product

Topic

Freshwater
Rivers
Water cycle
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Marine life
Ecosystems
Fish
Invertebrates
Life in an estuary

Special categories

Printable

The System-wide Monitoring Program, or SWMP (pronounced “swamp”), Graphing and Export System provides educators and students with access to SWMP data. These data mysteries will help students explore real events using the SWMP Graphing and Export System. Have them graph and then analyze each parameter to find out what happened, whether there was a significant change or spike in a parameter, why something occurred, who or what was impacted, and why. These mysteries are actual events tracked by reserve system researchers.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology
Math
Physical science

Resource type

Data product
Easy-to-use data product

Topic

Climate
Carbon cycle
Changing seasons
Climate change impacts
Climate data monitoring
Freshwater
Water cycle
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Weather and atmosphere
Clouds
Weather observations
Weather systems and patterns

Special categories

Citizen science

Collection name

The GLOBE Program

View interactive maps, numerical data, and graphs and figures collected by teachers and students participating in the GLOBE Program and long-term air temperature and precipitation observations from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN). While lessons for data collection and other activities are a part of the GLOBE website, specific lessons for manipulation of this data are not provided at this link.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Data product
Easy-to-use data product
Multimedia
Images

Topic

Freshwater
Great Lakes ecoregion
Technology and engineering
Satellites
Weather and atmosphere
Clouds
Weather observations

View real-time and recent satellite images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. Download high-resolution images in multiple formats.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Freshwater
Weather and atmosphere
Great Lakes ecoregion
Weather observations

The National Weather Service Great Lakes Portal has an interactive map to explore real-time data and forecasted conditions, with a focus on hazards. View the data in the interactive map, in a data table, or in text.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Math
Earth science
Life science
Physical science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Images
Data product
Collection
Multimedia

Topic

Freshwater
Weather and atmosphere
Great Lakes ecoregion
Weather observations

Collection name

Great Lakes Meteorological Real-Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON)

View real-time images and data collected by Great Lakes buoy stations or explore the data collected by the stations over the past 15 years. This real-time Great Lakes observational data is collected over time by sensors on coastal buoys as part of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory's Real-Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON). Each of ReCON’s 16 buoy stations has a webcam, collects meteorological data, and provides sub-surface measurements of chemical, biological, and physical parameters (things like wave height, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and water temperature).

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Freshwater
Weather and atmosphere
Water cycle
Weather observations

These maps show daily and monthly evaporation data for the contiguous United States.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5

Subject

Math
Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Technology and engineering
Freshwater
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Buoys
Sea level rise
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Great Lakes ecoregion
Weather systems and patterns
Weather observations
Hurricanes
El Niño and La Niña
Tsunamis
Tides
Ocean currents
Ocean acidification

The National Data Buoy Center provides real-time environmental observations collected from buoys around the world. View both recent and historical information on ocean and weather conditions, as well as any current tsunami activity. Graphs and tables of data are available for water column height at each buoy location.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Freshwater
Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Drought
Water cycle
Climate data monitoring
Weather systems and patterns
Weather observations

View the U.S Drought Monitor's weekly interactive map and summary and the Climate Prediction Center's monthly drought outlook. Zoom in to see the regional, state, and county level and obtain historical comparisons. Explore numerical and graphical data.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Easy-to-use data product
Data product
Collection

Topic

Technology and engineering
Freshwater
Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Sea level rise
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Climate change impacts
Hurricanes

Collection name

NOAA Digital Coast

Part of the NOAA Office of Coastal Management, the NOAA Digital Coast website is mobile-optimized. This website is focused on helping communities address coastal issues and visualizing coasts and adjacent land. Explore many data resources such as the Sea Level Rise Viewer, the Data Access Viewer, Intro to Lidar, Historical Hurricane Tracks, the Flood Exposure Mapper and much more.