NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

Three themed modules — Ocean Food Webs, Observations and Models, and Predators and Prey — contain 21 interactive investigations. These educational modules help high school students learn how scientist use models, or data rich representations of systems, to better understand and predict changes in environmental processes in the ocean, the weather, and climate. In these investigations, students use scientific data and models — the same ones NOAA scientists use — to explore human-caused changes in ocean ecosystems and the impacts these changes have on the animals in those ecosystems. The modules also include resources for educators, including student worksheets, NGSS alignment, and presentation graphics.

This guide includes eight elementary-level lessons, inspired by topics from the IMAX film Ocean Odyssey. Watching the film is not required for these lessons, but may enhance students’ learning experience of the topics presented in the activities. Educators can view a special extended preview offsite link of the film. Understanding the ocean and its ecosystems is essential to comprehending and protecting this planet. We must all be stewards for a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable ocean. The activities in this guide will help lead you and your students to learn more about our ocean planet, its myriad of wonders beneath the waves, and work to maintain healthy ecosystems that are resilient in the face of change.

The Deep Ocean Education Project is a collaboration among NOAA Ocean Exploration, Ocean Exploration Trust, and Schmidt Ocean Institute featuring high-quality ocean exploration and science education materials from the three organizations. The Deep Ocean Education Project website – launched in 2021 – is built around themes that are easily searchable, address key ocean-related phenomena, and encourage and support three-dimensional approaches to teaching and learning for K-12 education. The objective is to provide a one-stop resource hub for public, educators, and students looking for deep-sea educational materials. The website also includes information on how to connect with research vessels, including a list of upcoming events and opportunities, and live feeds of expeditions.

An Incredible Journey is filled with 10 hands-on lesson plans that explore the salmon life cycle; the cultural, environmental, and economic importance of salmon; the major issues facing salmon today; and how individuals can get involved to protect these iconic species.

Chemosynthesis is the synthesis of organic compounds by bacteria or other living organisms using energy derived from reactions involving inorganic chemicals, typically in the absence of sunlight. Learn more about the fascinating communities that this unique form of primary productivity fuels in this fact sheet.

Hydrothermal vents are dynamic, diverse ecosystems that exist in the absence of sunlight. This video features scientific experts who explain the geological processes that form these other-worldly ecosystems and the biological communities that call them home. Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration.

Deep-ocean predators come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have limited amounts of available food. Learn more about techniques predators use to catch their prey in this video, which also features a discussion with Dr. Scott France, a marine biologist from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration.

This guide is designed for educators in both formal and informal education situations. It is a regional introduction to three main categories of marine debris: litter; derelict or abandoned boats; and lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing gear.

All living organisms depend on one another for food. By reviewing the relationships of organisms that feed on one another, this lesson explores how all organisms— including humans—are linked. If students understand the relationships in a simple food chain, they will better understand the importance and sensitivity of these connections, and why changes to one part of the food chain almost always impact another.

By the end of the interactive lesson, the students will be able to explain why overfishing has occurred in our ocean and describe the effects of overfishing on fish stocks.