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

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Cryosphere
El Niño and La Niña

In recent years, a popular debate has been occurring within the climate community. No, it’s not whether climate change is occurring and caused by humans. (It is.) Instead, it’s regarding how much of an effect, if any, the rapid warming of Earth’s frozen cake-topper we call the Arctic, and the corresponding reduction in Arctic sea ice, has been having on winter across the mid-latitudes where most of us live.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
El Niño and La Niña

Special categories

Education at home
Instructional strategies

When the Pacific Ocean warms and cools with El Niño and La Niña, global temperatures rise and fall. Because there was a La Niña event in the early part of this year, the global surface temperature for 2012 won't break the high temperature record. However, the odds are that this will be the warmest of the La Niña years in the global climate record.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Climate
Weather and atmosphere
Climate data monitoring
El Niño and La Niña

How do El Niño and La Niña events form and increase in strength? The key is in the ocean-atmosphere coupling across the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Intermediate data product
Data product

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
El Niño and La Niña

Extremes of temperature and precipitation can occur at any time. However, it can be shown that the El Niño/Southern Oscillation has a relationship to the relative frequency of these seasonal climate extremes in the United States. To see which regions of the U.S. have an increased or decreased risk of extreme warm/cold (or dry/wet) seasons during an ENSO event, select from the options below. Note that these changes in ENSO-related climate risk vary not only by region, but also by season.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Multimedia
Webinar

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
El Niño and La Niña

In this webinar for educators, learn all about how to teach about El Niño. People all over the world experience impacts from El Niño and La Niña, the recurring climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean. As this year's La Niña subsides, join us for a science-based exploration of this powerful phenomena. In this presentation, participants will dive deep into Data in the Classroom's El Niño Module to examine decades of observations from Earth observing satellites and take a virtual tour of the new web-based curricular modules and data tools. Data in the Classroom is designed to help teachers and students use real scientific data to explore dynamic Earth processes.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
El Niño and La Niña

Special categories

Education at home
Instructional strategies

This video demonstrates how warm water in the central Pacific can influence prevailing pressure and precipitation patterns across the ocean basin. These atmospheric disturbances influence the average position of the Jet Stream. In turn, the jet alters temperature and precipitation patterns in the United States.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
El Niño and La Niña

Special categories

Education at home
Instructional strategies

When cooler-than-average ocean surface temperature emerges in the Pacific Ocean, rainfall patterns shift westward. More atmospheric disturbance there fuels the Jet Stream and alters prevailing weather conditions throughout the United States. This is one of the most influential "teleconnections" in climate science.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
El Niño and La Niña

ENSO is one of the most important climate phenomena on Earth due to its ability to change the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn, influences temperature and precipitation across the globe.