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

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Technology and engineering
Weather and atmosphere
Satellites
Weather observations

Lightning strikes, giant sparks of electricity in Earth’s atmosphere that are hotter than the surface of the sun , are a major hazard during thunderstorms. Knowing when and where lightning is occurring can tell us a lot about a storm - including its location, whether it’s intensifying, and if the storm is capable of producing severe weather.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Social studies
Earth science

Resource type

Video
Multimedia

Topic

Freshwater
Weather and atmosphere
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Weather observations

A multi-agency project, Coastal and Inland Flood Observation and Warning Project (CI-FLOW), helps to improve the forecasts on total water level, which will tell communities how flooding will impact them. This video explains how these predictions are made and how communities can be prepared.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product
Background information

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Hurricanes

General information and data on hurricane and tropical storm climatology.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Hurricanes

Special categories

Safety/preparedness

This guide from NOAA, FEMA, and the American Red Cross explains what hurricanes are, the Saffir-Simpson wind scale, the different hazards during hurricanes, how to read forecasts, and how to stay informed and prepared for storms.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Hurricanes

Nature doesn't always pay attention to the calendar.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Weather observations

Learn about the eight different types of fog and why they form.

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+
Adults

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Background information
Data product
Easy-to-use data product

Topic

Weather and atmosphere
Tornadoes

Search through monthly and yearly tornado statistics and compare to a 30 year average. The data is presented in a bar graph and is downloadable in a spreadsheet.

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.