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.”

 

Audience

Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Activity/demonstration
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

NGSS DCI

ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
ESS2: Earth’s Systems

Special categories

Uses data
Instructional strategies

This educator guide offers guidance on how to best use a tsunami data product in a classroom. There are guided questions and classroom activities using this time-lapse animated interactive map of tsunamis from 1850-present.

Audience

College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Collection name

Science On a Sphere catalog

This video, originally created for Science on a Sphere, describes events surrounding the 2004 Sumatran tsunami.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Data product
Video
Background information
Collection
Multimedia

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

The NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, part of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, website has information on forecasting, research, buoys, and past tsunamis.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Technology and engineering
Tsunamis
Buoys

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish
Safety/preparedness

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Danger zone

On December 26, 2004, what began as an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean ended as the most deadly tsunami in recorded history, with nearly 240,000 lives lost. See how we've become better prepared since then.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Activity/demonstration
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Special categories

Informal
Printable
Hands-on
Instructional strategies

This globe of the Earth shows the locations of historical tsunami sources extracted from NCEI’s Global Historical Tsunami Database (ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard). A tsunami is a series of traveling waves of extremely long length and period, usually generated by disturbances associated with earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean floor. Volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides, and coastal rockfalls can also generate tsunamis, as can a large meteorite impacting the ocean. The underlying color shaded-relief image was generated from NCEI’s ETOPO1 “Ice Surface” (ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global).

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Danger zone

On March 11, 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast of Japan generated a tsunami with waves as high as 24 feet. Tens of thousands of lives were lost. The National Police Agency reported damages to hundreds of roads, bridges, and more than 100,000 buildings. Learn what made this tsunami so deadly and destructive.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish
Region
Pacific Islands region

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Danger zone

Learn how an earthquake off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 generated tsunami waves that propagated throughout the Pacific Ocean

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Technology and engineering
Tsunamis
Buoys

Special categories

Region
Pacific Islands region
Other languages
Spanish
Safety/preparedness

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Danger zone

Learn about the warning systems that were activated in the U.S. and Japan leading up to the tsunami in March 2011.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

This resource from the U.S. Tsunami Warning System includes general information, tsunami causes and characteristics, and information on forecasting, safety, and alerts.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information
Images
Multimedia

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Tsunamis

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

TsunamiReady is a voluntary community recognition program that promotes tsunami hazard preparedness as an active collaboration among federal, state/territorial and local emergency management agencies, community leaders and the public. The main goal of the program is to improve public safety before, during and after tsunami emergencies.