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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.
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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.”
- Activities, lessons, and units (36)
- Arts and crafts (1)
- Background information (32)
- Career profile (12)
- Citizen science project (2)
- Collection (47)
- Coloring/activity book (10)
- Data product (15)
- Job seeker resource (1)
- Multimedia (87)
- NOAA Education resource collection (1)
- Poster/brochure (2)
- Related story (17)
- Climate (275)
- Freshwater (164)
- Marine life
(481)
- Adaptations (11)
- Aquatic food webs (58)
- Coral reef ecosystems (85)
- Conservation (31)
- Ecosystems (116)
- Endangered species (20)
- Entanglement (17)
- Fish (99)
- Fisheries and seafood (111)
- Invasive marine species (9)
- Invertebrates (90)
- (-) Life in an estuary (36)
- (-) Marine mammals (135)
- Plankton (15)
- (-) Salmon (23)
- Sea turtles (64)
- Seabirds (31)
- Seaweed, algae, and aquatic plants (24)
- Sharks, rays, and skates (39)
- NOAA careers (29)
- Ocean and coasts
(665)
- Earth processes (16)
- Harmful algal blooms (19)
- Maritime archaeology and history (35)
- Ocean acidification (66)
- Ocean chemistry (16)
- Ocean currents (95)
- Ocean exploration (81)
- Ocean floor features (84)
- Ocean pollution and marine debris (176)
- Ocean sounds (15)
- Oil spills (58)
- Rip currents (22)
- Sea level rise (41)
- Tides (59)
- Tsunamis (56)
- Space (50)
- Technology and engineering (288)
- Weather and atmosphere (327)
- ESS2: Earth’s Systems (5)
- ESS3: Earth and Human Activity (12)
- ETS1: Engineering Design (7)
- LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (7)
- LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (16)
- LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (2)
- LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity (8)
- PS1: Matter and Its Interactions (4)
- PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions (1)
- PS3: Energy (3)
- B-WET grantee (2)
- Bite-sized Science webinar series (1)
- Climate change in Alaska video series (1)
- Data in the Classroom (2)
- Diving Deeper podcast (1)
- ELP grantee (1)
- Estuary Education website (2)
- Exploring our fluid Earth (1)
- FishWatch sustainable seafood database (1)
- FishWatch sustainable seafood video gallery (1)
- Fun facts about sea life (1)
- Marine Careers: A Sea Grant guide to ocean opportunities (1)
- Marine Debris STEAMSS (1)
- Microworlds (1)
- National Marine Ecosystem Status (1)
- National marine sanctuaries coloring pages and puzzles (1)
- National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series: Archived webinars (7)
- NOAA and the Octonauts podcast (1)
- NOAA Fisheries YouTube (1)
- NOAA Fisheries: Find a species (1)
- NOAA Live! 4 Kids (1)
- NOAA Marine Debris Program (2)
- Ocean Exploration careers (1)
- Ocean Exploration facts (1)
- Ocean facts (1)
- Ocean Today (35)
- Oregon Marine Scientist and Educator Alliance (ORSEA) (1)
- Raindrop to Sea video series (1)
- Salmon Heroes (1)
- Sanctuaries 360 virtual dives (4)
- Sanctuaries LIVE Interactions (1)
- Sanctuaries media gallery (1)
- Sanctuaries resource collection: Ocean sound and impact of noise (4)
- Sanctuaries resource collection: Whales (1)
- Sea Grant podcasts (1)
- Sea-Earth-Atmosphere (SEA) resources (1)
- Signals of Spring ACES (Animals in Curriculum-based Ecosystem Studies) (1)
- Sustainable fisheries video gallery (1)
- Sustainable seafood video galley (1)
- Teacher at Sea (1)
Audience
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NGSS DCI
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.
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Special categories
Collection name
Data in the Classroom has structured, student-directed lesson plans that use historical and real-time NOAA data. The five modules address research questions and include stepped levels of engagement with complex inquiry investigations with real-time and past data.
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Watch. Explore. Discover. View the beauty and mystery of the ocean realm captured on video around the globe. Videos are organized into collections to help educators.
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The jellyfish often encountered in the Chesapeake Bay in the summer is the sea nettle (Chrysaora chesapeakei). Knowing where and when to expect this biotic nuisance may help to alleviate an unpleasant encounter. These maps are experimental and depict the probability of encountering sea nettles (not their abundance or density) in the Chesapeake Bay area. The density of sea nettles that you may encounter is not reflected here because it can vary greatly from year to year at a given location and would be a much less reliable prediction.
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Learn what scientists have discovered in ten years of studying the endangered Southern Resident killer whales. See the science behind recovering this charismatic creature, from collecting their poop to tracking them using satellites.
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"Sonobuoys" record ocean sounds and are deployed over the side of a ship to send back real-time recordings.
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When you think of springtime on land, you might think of birds migrating, flowers blooming, and leaves emerging. While these changes are happening on land, changes are happening in the ocean, too! But how can you tell if spring has sprung in the sea? This graphic explains some of the seasonal effects that take place as ocean waters warm and days grow longer.
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In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuary System, the best of the best educational materials for an elementary school audience have been compiled in collaboration with the National Park Trust. Discover Spectacular with these education and outreach digital materials focused on 10 exciting topics: climate change, ocean acidification, marine debris, kelp forest ecosystems, coral reef ecosystems, sea turtles, sharks, whales and ocean noise, seabirds, and shipwrecks.
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This resource collection from NOAA Education dives into marine mammals, which are found in marine ecosystems around the globe. They are a diverse group of mammals with unique physical adaptations that allow them to thrive in the marine environment with extreme temperatures, depths, pressure, and darkness.
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Learn more about the intelligent mammals that inhabit our ocean, the problems they face, and their importance in the marine ecosystem. Read to explore NOAA’s efforts to protect dolphin populations and how national marine sanctuaries benefit dolphins.