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
Grade 3-5

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Video
Background information
Poster/brochure
Collection
Multimedia

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Hurricanes

Special categories

Printable
Safety/preparedness
Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Storm surge videos and brochures

Brochures and videos on a major hazard of hurricanes: storm surge. Most resources are also available in Spanish.

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Technology and engineering
Tsunamis

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Tsunami science and safety

The first tsunami vertical evacuation center in North America is at an elementary school in Greys Harbor County, WA. Watch to learn about tsunamis, and how the evacuation center could save hundreds of lives.

Audience

Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Multimedia
Video

Topic

Freshwater
Great Lakes ecoregion
Ocean and coasts
Ocean pollution and marine debris

Ella M. White Elementary fifth-grade students visited Thunder Bay River in the northeast Michigan watershed, where they used nets to trawl for plastics and were shocked to find microplastics in the water. After analyzing samples from the river, fifth-grader Tucker Bright said, “If there are this many microplastics in this little sample, just imagine how many there are in the Great Lakes!” To raise awareness about finding plastics in the river and finding solutions to this problem, these Alpena Public Schools students developed a film, “Plastics 101.”

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ecosystems

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Fix the ocean

At Florida A&M University’s Environmental Sciences Institute, students now have the opportunity to join a program that gives them access to the biggest science lab in the world … the ocean.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Social studies
Life science
Physical science

Resource type

Webinar
Multimedia

Topic

Marine life
Ocean and coasts
Ecosystems
Marine mammals
Aquatic food webs
Ocean floor features

Special categories

Education at home
Instructional strategies

Collection name

National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series: Archived webinars

Long-term small-boat based studies in the main Hawaiian Islands have revealed amazing information on 11 resident species of whales and dolphins, as well as migratory and open-ocean species that visit the islands. Studies in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been more limited due to logistics of vessel surveys. Comparisons of sightings and tagging data from the two areas suggest that there are resident populations of many species of dolphins and whales in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument that have yet to be recognized. Join research biologist Robin Baird of Cascadia Research Collective who will compare what is, and isn't, known about whales and dolphins throughout the Hawaiian archipelago.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Multimedia
Game/online activity

Topic

Space
Space weather

A classic matching memory game using images of the Sun, the science of space weather, Earth's magnetosphere, and the upper atmosphere. After matching an image correctly, you can learn more about what is in the image.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology

Resource type

Data product
Easy-to-use data product
Multimedia
Video

Topic

Space
Space weather
Technology and engineering
Satellites

Collection name

Science On a Sphere catalog

This x-ray movie of the sun, produced by Dr. Steven Hill of NOAA’s Space Environment Center, is from October 19, 2003 through November 4, 2003. The data for it is from GOES Solar X-Ray Imager, SXI, which is an instrument attached to the GOES 12 satellite. The Space Environment Center receives a stream of the data which it then uses to make space weather alerts and forecast services. The SXI collects one image per minute and varies the exposure settings to allow for three different views to see coronal structures, active regions and solar flares.

Audience

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

Subject

Social studies
Life science

Resource type

Career profile
Video
Collection
Multimedia

Topic

Marine life
Salmon
Sharks, rays, and skates
Fish
Invertebrates
Fisheries and seafood

Special categories

Region
Pacific Islands region

Collection name

Sustainable fisheries video gallery

Explore this collection of videos from NOAA Fisheries on sustainable fisheries.

Audience

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

Subject

Social studies
Life science

Resource type

Video
Collection
Multimedia

Topic

Marine life
Salmon
Fish
Invertebrates
Fisheries and seafood

Collection name

Sustainable seafood video galley

Learn more about sustainable seafood with this collection of videos from NOAA Fisheries.

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
Climate change impacts

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Research

To collect data about ocean temperature and other measurements, fleet of underwater floats—called ARGO—have been deployed at more than 3,000 spots around the world. Using this data, scientists can create temperature maps and we can learn how much and how fast the ocean is warming.