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.”

 

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No results match your search.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Social studies
Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

An oil spill science communicator for the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium shares her experiences as a resident of the Gulf of Mexico during Deepwater Horizon, and what she’s learned since then.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Technology and engineering
Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

In the decade since the largest oil spill in American history, scientists have advanced lessons learned during the Deepwater Horizon response and assessment to prepare for future oil spill disasters.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Engineering and technology
Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Technology and engineering
Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

As we go back in time to the day of our country’s largest marine oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon in 2010, we learn what’s happened since then, and how we’re better prepared for future spills.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology
Physical science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean currents
Technology and engineering
Buoys

An Argo float recently surfaced in the Atlantic Ocean to transmit temperature and salinity measurements from over a mile deep. This float was made in France and launched by German scientists in 2016, and it is one of thousands in the international Argo Program, which just recorded its two millionth profile, marking a major milestone for the 20-year old observation program.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Technology and engineering
Climate
Ocean and coasts
Buoys
Climate data monitoring
Ocean currents

An army of approximately 1,000 small drifter buoys patrols the world's ocean and records key data for climate monitoring and research. "Because the drifters provide a ground-truth of currents, they are great for combining with satellite observations to study climate-scale problems," said Rick Lumpkin, director of NOAA's Global Drifter Program, which maintains the fleet of buoys and manages the processing and distribution of the data they collect.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+

Subject

Earth science
Engineering and technology
Physical science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean currents
Technology and engineering
Buoys
Weather and atmosphere
Hurricanes

On October 8, 2018, 10 drifting buoys were thrown from the hatch of a U.S. Air Force Hurricane Hunter into the Gulf of Mexico so they could be in front of Hurricane Michael to help with hurricane forecasting.

Audience

Grade K-2
Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

One spring day in 2014, a shy young boy sidled up to the booth Ashley Braun, a writer with NOAA, was standing at during an open house hosted at NOAA's Seattle campus. His blond head just peaking over the table, this then-six-year-old, Alek, accompanied by his mom and younger sister, proceeded to ask how NOAA's oil spill trajectory model, GNOME, works. This was definitely not the question Braun was expecting from a child his age.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8

Subject

Earth science
Life science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Marine life
Ocean and coasts
Marine mammals
Oil spills
Ocean pollution and marine debris

Preventing oil spills is key, but since killer whales, also known as orcas, spend much of their time in the busy waters around Seattle, the San Juan Islands, and Vancouver, British Columbia, there is always a chance a spill could impact them.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Oil spills

Fear not! There are ways to reduce your oil consumption without having to trek several miles on foot through blizzard conditions.

Audience

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

Subject

Earth science

Resource type

Related story

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Ocean currents
Ocean pollution and marine debris
Tsunamis

More than a year and thousands of miles later, a soccer ball washed away during the Japan tsunami has turned up on a remote Alaskan island and eventually could be headed back to the Japanese school grounds it originally came from.