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.
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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.”

 

Audience

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

Subject

Social studies
Engineering and technology
Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Job seeker resource
Career profile
Collection

Topic

NOAA careers
Technology and engineering
Marine life
Ocean and coasts
Ships and planes
Ocean exploration
Sharks, rays, and skates
Fish
Ecosystems
Invertebrates
Sea turtles
Marine mammals
Ocean floor features

Collection name

Marine Careers: A Sea Grant guide to ocean opportunities

Explore a wide range of marine career fields and hear from the people working in those fields. This website, hosted by Sea Grant, gives people a chance to say what they like and dislike about their careers, what they see for the future in their fields, and much more.

Audience

College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Career profile

Topic

Marine life
Ocean and coasts
Aquatic food webs
Ocean floor features
Ocean currents
Ocean acidification

An overview of the different types of oceanography career paths.

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Technology and engineering
Ocean exploration
ROVs, AUVs, and drones
Ocean floor features

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Exploration

Learn about NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer ship and how the technology onboard helps shape the future of ocean exploration.

Audience

Grade 6-8

Subject

Social studies
Math
Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Module/unit
Activity/demonstration
Lesson plan
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean floor features

NGSS DCI

ESS2: Earth’s Systems

Special categories

Models
Hands-on
Uses data
Instructional strategies

In this 6-7 day investigation, students begin with an introduction to seamounts that are present in the Gulf of Alaska. They learn how seamounts were formed and look at a bathymetric map of a seamount. In Activity 3A, students explore sea floor mapping techniques as they participate in an activity to create a map of a sea feature they have molded out of clay. In Activity 3B, students watch a short animated presentation, "Who cares about Sea Floor Mapping?" then create a model of a seamount found in Alaska. They use pre-sonar techniques to collect data and create a graph of their seamount using Excel.

Audience

Grade 3-5

Subject

Arts
Social studies
ELA (English Language Arts)
Earth science

Resource type

Lesson plan
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean floor features

NGSS DCI

ESS2: Earth’s Systems

Special categories

Models
Hands-on
Instructional strategies

Collection name

Teacher at Sea

In this lesson students will learn about some of the features found on the ocean floor and that our knowledge of the ocean floor is due to exploration. Students will understand that there are similar features on the ocean floor that there are on land. Students will understand the importance and excitement of ocean exploration.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean floor features

These maps show for the first time the course of ancient ice masses. They show how they shaped essential habitat for the western Gulf of Alaska’s abundant fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Marine life
Ocean floor features

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Marine life

Fool's gold, or iron pyrite, acts as a fertilizer for life in the deep sea.

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

Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Arts
Social studies
ELA (English Language Arts)
Math
Engineering and technology
Earth science
Life science
Physical science

Resource type

Module/unit
Collection
Activity/demonstration
Lesson plan
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Technology and engineering
Marine life
Climate
Ocean and coasts
Buoys
Satellites
ROVs, AUVs, and drones
Ecosystems
Sea level rise
Climate data monitoring
Climate change impacts
Ocean pollution and marine debris
Ocean floor features
Ocean currents
Ocean acidification

Special categories

Informal
Models
Hands-on
Instructional strategies

Collection name

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer: Education materials collection

The Okeanos Explorer education materials collection was developed to encourage educators and students to become personally involved with the voyages and discoveries of the Okeanos Explorer – the only federal vessel dedicated to exploring our largely unknown ocean for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge about the deep ocean.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product

Topic

Technology and engineering
Marine life
Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Satellites
Clouds
Cryosphere
Fires
Sea level rise
Invertebrates
Coral reef ecosystems
Climate data monitoring
Climate change impacts
Changing seasons
Weather systems and patterns
Weather observations
Hurricanes
El Niño and La Niña
Ocean floor features
Ocean acidification

Access NOAA data from a variety of satellite, model, and other observations in a single, user-friendly interactive map. Investigate various datasets related to the ocean, atmosphere, land, cryosphere, and climate and view them as animations over weeks, months, or years. Mouse over the maps to inspect individual data values at any point.