Back to school bundles: NOAA resource kits for your classroom

📚 Background information for educators 

• Ecosystems are complex — and that means there are a lot of ways we can promote their health and resilience! Get started by learning about kelp forests and coral reefs, two diverse ocean ecosystems.
• Get an overview of coastal ecosystem science at NOAA: Learn what can impact ecosystems, what is being studied, and how we can help.
• Get a bird’s eye view of the health of major U.S. marine and Great Lakes ecosystems: Ecosystem indicators are measures of the natural, social, and economic condition of the system. The National Marine Ecosystem Status provides an overview and trends of indicators in eight U.S. ecosystem regions. 

💭 Engage your students

• Use coloring pages, puzzles, and activities to help students visualize and learn about the national marine sanctuaries ecosystems.

• Focus on a specific coastal ecosystem with these downloadable PDF booklets, which include fun and informative activities about the coastal ocean and its inhabitants.
• Discover how the ocean nurtures all life on Earth, from the smallest fish … to us. Watch the special extended preview offsite link of the IMAX film “Ocean Odyssey.” 
  ⭐Bonus: View the educators guide with eight lessons included.
• Join the experts with an episode-by-episode discussion of the children’s TV show, “Octonauts.” Our podcast NOAA and the Octonauts educates elementary students about the real-life versions of the Octonauts sea creatures and the ocean they call home.

🔎 Explore and visualize

• Dive into marine ecosystems: Sanctuaries 360° virtual dives (no virtual reality headset required) offer an immersive view of national marine sanctuaries across the country. 
  ⭐Bonus: Lesson plans are available to guide student exploration. 
• How does your morning routine differ from a sea otter’s? How is it the same? (We all have to eat breakfast, right?!) Watch this video and discuss with your students while learning about the interconnectedness of sea otters, kelp, and humans.
• Then, have students explore how humans are connected to our environment in this idealized coastal town. 

🔬Hands-on learning

• Oysters have a big job in many ecosystems — cleaning the water! Learn about oysters’ role in the ecosystem and how they filter water with the “From Dirty to Clean in 15” activity from the Elementary Oyster Unit.
• Get creative: By painting a reef mural offsite link, students will learn about different types of animals that inhabit a coral reef ecosystem, which habitats the animals prefer, and what a healthy reef looks like. 

🌎 Visualize data with SOS Explorer®

Emphasize the importance of protecting marine habitats with this Fisheries Species Richness visualization. This visualization uses colors on the globe to show species richness, or the number of different species in an area. Specifically, it shows where people catch many of the fish and invertebrates we eat. 

• Download NOAA’s SOS Explorer® for the best experience, then browse for the “Fisheries Species Richness” dataset within the app.
• Alternatively, use this image to view with your students. 

Discuss: 

• Point out the legend. What do the different colors on the map mean? 
• Where are the most species found? What about the least? 
• In the ocean closer to land, what do you notice?

📚 Background information for educators

• What ingredients are needed for clouds to form? How does temperature play a role in cloud formation? Get the full scoop on clouds and learn how clouds play a vital role in our climate.
• Enjoy a brief video tutorial on cloud types, which features the NOAA Cloudwise and Weatherwise Poster. (Learn more about this poster in the “Engage your students” section below.)
• Learn about different types of clouds and how they form in this ‘Clouds Out My Window’ presentation.
  ⭐Bonus: Use this presentation as an introduction to clouds in your classroom or as a model for your own presentation.

💭 Engage your students

• Different types of clouds can give us clues about what is happening in the atmosphere — and what we can expect to happen with the weather. Watch this video to learn about the different types of clouds.
• After learning about how rainbows form, challenge students to figure out: What determines how high rainbows appear in the sky?
• Watch even more fun, informational videos about the atmosphere from SciJinks.
• Print, color, or add textiles like cotton balls or felt to this cloud coloring page. 
• The NOAA Cloudwise and Weatherwise Poster^📧 is the perfect handout for your classroom to teach and identify clouds. 
  📧 Request hard copies of the NOAA Cloud Chart for your classroom by emailing outreach@noaa.gov.

🔎 Explore and visualize

• Most of the time, we look up to see clouds in the sky. This time, try staring down at the clouds! Visualize different cloud types from the viewpoint of a NOAA satellite.
• Get used to interpreting data by viewing daily graphical forecasts for the contiguous United States. Specifically look at the sky cover forecast, which is the expected amount of opaque clouds (in percent) covering the sky for the indicated hour.

🔬Hands-on learning

• Help your students become better observers of the sky: In the 'Hole' lot of clouds activity, students craft a “cloud classification disc” and record different cloud types at various times throughout the day.
• Now that students have learned what clouds are and how they form, have them make their own cloud in a bottle.

🌎 Related SOS Explorer® dataset

Show how clouds form and move, as well as the technology used to observe them, with the Clouds - Real-time dataset. This dataset visualization provides real-time infrared satellite images to show the locations and movements of clouds, and uses temperature data to highlight the height and density of clouds.

• Preview the Clouds dataset in the dataset catalog online (recording from 2012).
• View the most recent (real-time) cloud data that’s been captured over the past month by installing NOAA’s SOS Explorer® on your mobile device or Windows computer. Then, browse for the “Clouds - Real-time” dataset in the app.
• Note: On a mobile device, you’ll be able to view “Clouds - Real-time” automatically. On the Windows computer version, when installing, choose “Custom” then choose “Cloud - Real-time” under the “Real-time” dropdown. You’ll need to install SOSx with plenty of time to download the data before class starts.

Discuss: 

• Relate what you can see on the globe to current weather patterns in your area. 
• What direction are clouds moving? What does that tell you? 
• Do you see any significant changes or patterns?

📚 Background information for educators 

• Review the essential principles of climate literacy, seven simple statements that can help educators start the conversation around climate.
• Familiarize yourself with how climate change is impacting the environment, human health, water, food resources, and more.
• Use the Climate Data Primer to learn the basics of understanding and exploring climate data.

💭 Engage your students

• When we work together to protect our communities from environmental hazards, we are building community resilience. Start by having your students envision what a resilient community could look like. 
• Download and print the full “Climate Resilience in Your Community” activity book^📧 for a deeper dive. Students can keep track of points and earn a badge after completing the activities!
  ⭐Bonus: This activity book and lessons are complete with an educators’ guide and an interactive eBook.
  📧 Request hard copies of the “Climate Resilience in Your Community” activity book for your classroom by emailing outreach@noaa.gov. 
• Join forces with an extraterrestrial and a climate scientist in NOAA’s brand new animated series Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth! The show guides students through how the ocean influences Earth’s weather and climate, and what this information tells us about our changing planet.
• Listen and learn about how climate change, rising sea levels, more intense storms, and population growth are impacting coastal America in this NOAA Ocean Podcast episode called “Making Coastal Decisions.”

🔎 Explore and visualize

• Visualize a history of atmospheric carbon dioxide trends: This animation shows global atmospheric CO₂ levels from 1979 through 2021, comparing these levels to preindustrial levels and the ice ages. Ask students to consider what might be causing the seasonal fluctuations in the Northern Hemisphere. 
• Water is everywhere — sometimes there's too much, sometimes there's too little. Explore the role of water, especially when it comes to adjusting to climate extremes offsite link. 
• NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory explains the science of greenhouse gases: what they are, how the greenhouse effect works, and how NOAA scientists monitor gases in our atmosphere all over the world.
• NOAA's Physical Sciences Laboratory explains how climate change leads to flooding and drought.

🔬Hands-on learning

• Introduce your students to real NOAA data: This online learning module called Data in the Classroom: Investigating Coral Bleaching offsite link guides students through basic graph interpretation all the way to developing their own data investigations to better understand how scientists monitor and determine coral bleaching events and impacts around the world.
  ⭐Bonus: This learning module is complete with a teacher guide, student worksheets, a video tutorial, and more.
• Have your students step into the role of a NOAA scientist: In this Climate Stripes activity, students will learn how greenhouse gases can affect our climate and how NOAA scientists extrapolate conclusions from data.
• Use real data, observe, and graph greenhouse gases by the numbers and the climate of your state.
• In this Beat the Uncertainty game, your students become the leaders — citizens, policymakers, business leaders, nonprofit leaders, and researchers — of a coastal city. Their goal? Make smart decisions that will increase the city’s resilience to climate change.  

🌎 Related SOS Explorer® dataset

Demonstrate recent climate change trends and help students understand how current temperatures compare to historical averages with the Temperature Anomaly Yearly - 1850 - Present. This dataset shows annual global temperature changes over the past year compared to the 20th-century average. 

• Preview the latest Surface Temperature Departure (monthly or yearly) on the NOAA View Global Data Explorer or use the animation window in the lower left corner to find a specific month or year since 1850! 
• View the dataset on NOAA’s SOS Explorer® by installing it on your Windows computer or mobile device. Then, browse for the “Temperature Anomaly: Yearly - 1850 - Present” dataset in the app.

Discuss: 

• This visualization shows us temperatures that are warmer or cooler than average. Make sure students understand what the colors on the visualization mean: What exactly is a temperature anomaly? Which data is the average, or reference value? 
• Do you see any significant changes or patterns? 
• Where in the world are the changes most significant? 
• Is the temperature warmer or cooler this month than what would be expected from the historical average?

📚 Background information for educators

• Learn the basics of aquatic food webs. 
• Understand how NOAA Fisheries studies and classifies food web dynamics. Narrow it down to the food web dynamics in the Northeast if you’re looking for a more specific approach. 
• Refresh your knowledge on keystone species — like Pacific salmon, krill, or sharks — to understand their importance in their ecosystem’s food web.

💭 Engage your students

• Food webs and climate: Have your students read and discuss examples of keystone species. What happens to kelp forests when sea otters disappear from an ecosystem? How are warming ocean temperatures and more intense storms impacting sharks and rays? Can they spot the similarities and differences in the changes taking place for these species and their habitats?
• Deep ocean predators come in all shapes and sizes, but they’ve all got to eat! This Deep sea dialogues: Predators video teaches us how predators survive in the ocean.
• Unpack how NOAA conserves and manages living marine resources, including endangered and threatened marine species, in this Planet NOAA Podcast, Episode 6: Jaws.

🔎 Explore and visualize

• Try your hand at managing resources in a marine ecosystem: The Virtual Ecosystem Scenario Viewer (VES-V) is an interactive model that illustrates how a virtual marine ecosystem responds to a range of living marine resource management scenarios.
  ⭐Bonus: Review the step-by-step VES-V software tutorial for easy set up instructions!
• Become immersed in the National Marine Sanctuary System without getting wet! These virtual dives come with accompanying lesson plans and activities. 
• Visualize how energy flows through different food webs of the Great Lakes.
• Salmon play a vital role in cultures and economies around the world. Have your students play the Salmon Survival board game to learn about the salmon life cycle and how they fit into the food web.
  ⭐Bonus: The board game is part of "An Incredible Journey," a series of educational resources to promote salmon stewardship. The board game is also available in Spanish.

🔬Hands-on learning

• Get your feet wet: Explore food webs and energy flow in an estuary ecosystem with these two lessons on estuary food pyramids.
• Dive in: The Ocean Food Webs Module uses the concepts of food webs and trophic levels to explore populations of marine species in ocean ecosystems. Students start by researching an organism, then the whole class combines their data to produce a food web diagram for that habitat. Next, students learn to collect biomass data, which they use to understand the relationship between biomass and trophic levels. 
  ⭐Bonus: Complete with seven module activities. 
• Try another module: The Predators and Prey Module introduces students to models used to predict populations of organisms within an ecosystem. Students will analyze a simple predator-prey system, optionally building and “running” a simple, spreadsheet based model.
• Dive deeper: Many food webs rely on primary producers that perform photosynthesis. But in the deep ocean where there’s no sunlight, hydrothermal vents fuel a different type of primary producer. Have students reconstruct a chemosynthetic food web in the deep sea.

🌎 Related SOS Explorer® dataset

Visualize human impacts on marine ecosystems, including activities such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change, with the Human Influences on Marine Ecosystems map. This map highlights areas with high and low human impact, helping students understand the various ways human activities affect marine life. 

• Preview the Human Influences on Marine Ecosystems dataset in the dataset catalog online.
• View the dataset on NOAA’s SOS Explorer® by installing it on your Windows computer or mobile device. Then, browse for the “Human Influences on Marine Ecosystems” dataset in the app.

Discuss: 

• Which areas are most heavily impacted by human activities? 
• Which ecosystems are most affected or threatened?
• What surprised you about the data presented in this visualization?