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 3-5
Grade K-2

Subject

Engineering and technology
Physical science

Resource type

Activity/demonstration
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Technology and engineering
ROVs, AUVs, and drones

Special categories

Informal
Hands-on
Instructional strategies

Use aluminum foil to make boats and then test designs by seeing how many pennies or paperclips they can hold.

Audience

Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Webinar
Collection
Multimedia

Topic

Technology and engineering
Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Satellites
Drought
Cryosphere
Fires
Carbon cycle
Weather systems and patterns
Hurricanes

Collection name

CIRES/NOAA Science@Home webinar

The CIRES/NOAA Science-at-Home webinars connected middle and high school classrooms in the virtual/remote learning landscape with Earth scientists. Topics include sea ice, glaciers, hurricanes, wildfires, remote sensing, climate change, and more.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science
Physical science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Data product

Topic

Technology and engineering
Freshwater
Weather and atmosphere
Ocean and coasts
Sea level rise
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Weather systems and patterns
Weather observations
Hurricanes
Tides
Ocean currents
Rivers
Harmful algal blooms

Explore real-time coastal observations, forecasts, and warnings in an interactive map tool.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology

Resource type

Video
Poster/brochure
Multimedia

Topic

Technology and engineering
Satellites

Special categories

Printable

COSMIC-2—short for Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate—is a team of six small satellites that will collect information about Earth’s weather and climate.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Data product

Topic

Technology and engineering
Mapping and charting

Shoreline is a dynamic interface between land and water. The cartographic depiction of shoreline is a representation at the time of survey. Continually Updated Shoreline Product (CUSP) provides the most up-to-date shoreline of the United States and its territories.

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Marine life
Climate
Technology and engineering
Coral reef ecosystems
Ocean exploration
ROVs, AUVs, and drones
Ocean acidification

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Marine life

Most corals were once thought to live in tropical water, close enough to the surface to receive sunlight. But with the help of submersibles and remotely operated vehicles, scientists have discovered vast forests of corals living 200 to 10,000 feet deep in dark, cold waters.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology

Resource type

Citizen science project
Mobile app
Multimedia

Topic

Technology and engineering
GPS and geodesy

Special categories

Citizen science

When you go outside and are moving around, use CrowdMag to measure the magnetic data along your path. Save, list, export or delete data to create a complete magnetic field map of your area. Share your data with a research group at NOAA. Multiple recordings along the same path are very helpful to reduce the noise and produce a more accurate magnetic field map. Get started with a tiny tutorial! https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/data/tiny-tutorials/crowdmag

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Climate
Technology and engineering
Buoys
Ocean currents

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Research

Argo is a global array of more than 3,500 free-drifting profiling floats that measure the upper two thousand meters of the ocean. Learn what these floats can tell us.

Audience

Grade 9-12

Subject

Life science

Resource type

Collection
Lesson plan
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Technology and engineering
Marine life
Coral reef ecosystems

NGSS DCI

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Special categories

Uses data
Instructional strategies

This lesson focuses on the species found in deep-sea coral communities, the threats that face them and what individuals and communities can do to help protect them. Students use data from scientific transects taken with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Marine life
Technology and engineering
Ocean exploration
Ships and planes
Ecosystems
Coral reef ecosystems

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Exploration

NOAA scientists aboard the Okeanos Explorer discover and sample deep ocean corals near Hawaii.