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

Social studies
Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes

Preparation and resiliency cannot be achieved with accurate or timely forecasts alone.

Audience

Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video
Background information
Multimedia

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes

Collection name

SciJinks

A video from SciJinks on how tornadoes form.

Audience

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

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Technology and engineering
Weather and atmosphere
Ships and planes
Tornadoes

NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter P-3 Orion airplanes, known best for flying through tropical cyclones, can also take to the skies for a different research cause: The tracking of tornadoes in the southeastern United States. This short video shows what the pilots could see in the cockpit.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Story map
Multimedia

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

NOAA’s story map takes you inside Tornado Alley to NOAA’s Norman, Okla., campus. It’s here that some of the world’s most significant scientific and technological breakthroughs are born. From the front lines of meteorology and the way forecasts are made, to a revealing look at what’s on the horizon, you’ll see how NOAA continues to change the face of weather forecasting. Catch the action in America’s heartland!

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes

This story map takes you inside Tornado Alley to NOAA’s Norman, Oklahoma, campus. It’s here that some of the world’s most significant scientific and technological breakthroughs are born.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology

Resource type

Activities, lessons, and units
Activity/demonstration
Background information
Collection

Topic

Climate
Climate data monitoring
Ocean and coasts
Ocean currents
Tides
Technology and engineering
Weather and atmosphere
Clouds
El Niño and La Niña
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Weather observations
Weather systems and patterns

Special categories

Instructional strategies
Informal
Printable
Safety/preparedness

Collection name

JetStream: An online school for weather

This site is designed to help educators, emergency managers, or anyone interested in learning about weather and weather safety. The information contained in JetStream is arranged by subject; beginning with global and large-scale weather patterns followed by lessons on air masses, wind patterns, cloud formations, thunderstorms, lightning, hail, damaging winds, tornados, tropical storms, cyclones and flooding. Interspersed in JetStream are "Learning Lessons" which can be used to enhance the educational experience.

Audience

Grade K-2
Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Activities, lessons, and units
Activity/demonstration

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes
Weather systems and patterns

Special categories

Instructional strategies
Hands-on
Informal
Models

Collection name

JetStream: An online school for weather

Rain and hail will be suspended by the updraft inside a thunderstorm until the weight of the hail and water can no longer be supported. Usually, the stronger the updraft in a thunderstorm, the more intense the storm and the larger the size of hail that can be produced. Suspending a ping pong ball in the stream of air supplied by a hair dryer will demonstrates how hail is supported in thunderstorms.

Audience

Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology
Life science
Physical science

Resource type

Collection
Data product
Advanced data product

Topic

Climate
Carbon cycle
Changing seasons
Climate change impacts
Climate data monitoring
Cryosphere
Marine life
Coral reef ecosystems
Ecosystems
Ocean and coasts
Space
Space weather
Technology and engineering
Buoys
Satellites
Weather and atmosphere
Drought
El Niño and La Niña
Fires
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Weather observations
Weather systems and patterns

Collection name

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

NCEI is a major NOAA data repository that hosts and provides public access to one of the most significant archives for environmental data on Earth. Over 25 petabytes (25 million gigabytes) of atmospheric, coastal, oceanic, and geophysical data are available, including interactive maps, numerical data, satellite imagery, graphs and figures, modeled and predicted data, and more.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology

Resource type

Career profile
Collection
Multimedia
Video

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes

An archive of video footage from the National Severe Storms Laboratory VORTEX2 tornado research project.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Clouds
Drought
Fires
Weather systems and patterns
Weather observations
Tornadoes
Hurricanes

This glossary contains information on more than 2000 terms, phrases, and abbreviations used by the National Weather Service (NWS). Many of these terms and abbreviations are used by NWS forecasters to communicate between each other and have been in use for many years and before many NWS products were directly available to the public.