NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

Data in the Classroom has structured, student-directed lesson plans that use historical and real-time NOAA data. The five modules address research questions and include stepped levels of engagement with complex inquiry investigations with real-time and past data.

The Marine Debris Prevention Best Practices Manual is a comprehensive guide to help establish lasting change on school campuses. It covers tips and tricks for engaging students in assessing school waste, bringing student leaders together into “Green Teams,” and supporting the entire school community with marine debris prevention. Learn creative ways to minimize waste in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in school gardens, and on the playground. These strategies are accompanied by case studies, standards-aligned lesson plans, videos, and other resources. 

Students distinguish observations from inferences. In studying the behaviors of humpback whales in the Hawaiian breeding and nursery grounds, as well as the Alaskan feeding grounds, students will be able to use inquiry to interpret these humpback behaviors. Students will then match fluke photographs like whale researchers to practice their observation skills, and make their own whale fluke designs.

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. In this module, students will use real data to investigate the consequences of rising sea surface temperature on coral reefs. They will also consider the importance of coral reefs in their own lives.

Estuaries are critically important ecosystems, yet they are also some of the most impacted by human activities. In this module, students will use real data to investigate the water quality characteristics of an estuary (water temperature, salinity and oxygen), the relationship between these parameters, and the effect that water quality has on estuarine organisms.

An activity book for educators and students

The elementary portion of the Oysters on the Chesapeake Bay learning sequence consists of six lessons; one for each grade in Kindergarten through 5th. Each lesson targets an important area in the study of oysters: individually, as part of an ecosystem, and in oyster restoration. While not directly building on each other, the lessons incorporate age-appropriate skills used in previous lessons and build new skills. Kindergarteners begin by learning about pollution in water, and in subsequent years build knowledge about oyster shells, oyster reefs, and oyster internal anatomy. By fifth grade, students consolidate their learning, examine other perspectives, and demonstrate their mastery of ecological principles. They investigate and communicate conflicting interests in oyster harvest and restoration and learn how science can be helpful in navigating the complexity of biological and sociological interactions.

Phenomenon-based learning is an educational approach that engages students in science. It starts with a “phenomenon,” or an attention-grabbing image or video clip that hooks students into the lesson. In these modules, we use datasets from NOAA’s Science On a Sphere® (SOS) to help explore and explain science phenomena. The modules are also aligned to NGSS.

Restoring Ea is a place-based middle school science unit exploring management strategies that could be used for the Loko ea fishpond to sustainably feed people and ensure the ecosystem is healthy and pono (balanced). This unit honors and leverages traditional and scientific ways of knowing to create experiences that connect students to ‘āina (land) through investigations of place. This unit leverages the FieldScope platform (https://lokoea.fieldscope.org/) to allow students to investigate environmental data previously collected at Loko ea over time and also to collect additional data themselves.

This three-part investigation will engage students in learning about Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and what makes it unique. Students will explore the plants and animals that live and thrive in the Channel Islands while learning about specific adaptations they have for surviving in cold water marine environments. Students will then design an experiment to model insulation, comparing how humans and sea lions have specific adaptations (or requirements) to help them survive in cold water environments.