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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.”
- Climate (278)
- Freshwater (164)
- Marine life
(483)
- Adaptations (11)
- Aquatic food webs (58)
- Coral reef ecosystems (86)
- Conservation (31)
- Ecosystems (116)
- Endangered species (20)
- Entanglement (17)
- Fish (100)
- Fisheries and seafood (112)
- Invasive marine species (9)
- Invertebrates (91)
- Life in an estuary (36)
- Marine mammals (136)
- Plankton (15)
- Salmon (23)
- Sea turtles (64)
- Seabirds (31)
- Seaweed, algae, and aquatic plants (24)
- Sharks, rays, and skates (39)
- NOAA careers (28)
- Ocean and coasts
(667)
- 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 (86)
- (-) 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 (293)
- Weather and atmosphere (328)
- ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe (1)
- ESS2: Earth’s Systems (10)
- ESS3: Earth and Human Activity (26)
- ETS1: Engineering Design (15)
- LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (8)
- LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (16)
- LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (1)
- LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity (13)
- PS1: Matter and Its Interactions (16)
- PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions (2)
- PS3: Energy (3)
- PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer (2)
- B-WET grantee (4)
- Bite-sized Science webinar series (1)
- CLEAN climate and energy education resource collection (1)
- Diving Deeper podcast (1)
- Estuary Education website (1)
- H.O.M.E.S. at Home webinars (1)
- Marine Debris at-home collection (1)
- Marine Debris Program posters (1)
- Marine Debris STEAMSS (4)
- Marine Debris Toolkit (1)
- Maritime Archaeology (1)
- National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series: Archived webinars (2)
- NOAA Live! 4 Kids (1)
- NOAA Live! Alaska (1)
- NOAA Marine Debris Program (5)
- NOAA Ocean Podcast (1)
- NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer: Education materials collection (1)
- Ocean Exploration educational materials (1)
- Ocean facts (1)
- Ocean Today (34)
- Oregon Marine Scientist and Educator Alliance (ORSEA) (1)
- Sanctuaries media gallery (1)
- Sanctuaries resource collection: Ocean sound and impact of noise (2)
- Science On a Sphere catalog (1)
- Sea Grant podcasts (1)
Audience
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Collection name
This archive presents a list of National Ocean Service Diving Deeper podcast titles, publication dates, audio (mp3) links, and transcripts for all episodes released between 2009-2016. This podcast was retired in 2016, replaced by the NOAA Ocean Podcast.
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Ecological forecasts, commonly referred to as "ecoforecasts," detail how interactions between organisms and their environment may affect economies and communities that depend on ecosystem services, human health, and the health of bodies of water. Ecoforecasts bring together wide-ranging research and observations to allow coastal resource managers to answer "What if?" questions about the numerous factors that affect coastal resources.
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NGSS DCI
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This guide is designed for educators in both formal and informal education situations. It is a regional introduction to three main categories of marine debris: litter; derelict or abandoned boats; and lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing gear.
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A healthy ocean starts with us. Learn how student leaders in American Samoa interned as part of a microplastics research project to protect ocean health.
Audience
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Learn about threats to the smalltooth sawfish, large shark-like rays that are found in tropical and subtropical bodies of water.
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Why teach about estuaries? This suite of estuary education resources help educators bring estuarine science into the classroom through hands-on learning, experiments, fieldwork, and data explorations. These specially designed lessons, activities, data explorations, animations and videos can be used independently or as a supplement to existing curricula and can be adapted to meet any grade level.
Audience
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Pizza or PB&J? Apple or orange? School cafeterias offer students daily lunch choices, but school-provided meals can generate serious waste, including single-use plastic utensils and plastic foam trays. Lunchroom decisions affect students daily, and the waste from single-use items will affect them for years if they become marine debris. How can we reduce this waste? By empowering students to think critically about their trash and use creativity to design solutions.
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An interactive water pollution simulation as seen thru the experiences of “Fred the Fish” as he travels downstream encountering obstacles along the way. Students will learn about human impacts on aquatic ecosystems and discuss how to be better watershed stewards. Find additional supporting materials for the Fred the Fish video under "Classroom Activities" on this page offsite link.
Audience
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Special categories
The From Shore to State House curriculum was the product of a project with the University of Hartford to create an open source, replicable, college-level service learning course to improve knowledge, lead outreach, inform policy, and inspire change on the issue of marine debris. The curriculum guides students to prevent marine debris and develop policy alternatives to discuss with state legislators.
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Learn more about garbage patches including what they are and how we can help.