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.
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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

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

Subject

Life science

Resource type

Activity/demonstration
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Freshwater
Marine life
Invasive species
Fish
Great Lakes ecoregion

Special categories

Informal
Printable
Education at home
Hands-on
Instructional strategies

Working with a set of illustrated Great Lakes fish cards, students identify distinguishing characteristics of fish and use a dichotomous key to identify 10 common fish families.

Audience

Grade K-2
Grade 3-5

Subject

Life science

Resource type

Activities, lessons, and units
Activity/demonstration

Topic

Marine life
Fish
Life in an estuary

NGSS DCI

LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Special categories

Instructional strategies
Education at home
Hands-on
Informal

In this activity, students build their own fish and describe how it lives in its habitat. Students choose which type of body shape, mouth, and tail will aid in the survival of their fish in their habitat. Students can draw in scales and sensory organs if they choose.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5

Subject

Life science

Resource type

Lesson plan
Activities, lessons, and units

Topic

Freshwater
Marine life
Fish
Great Lakes ecoregion

NGSS DCI

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Special categories

Informal
Models
Instructional strategies

Like all animals, fish need to survive and grow large enough to reproduce. Fish that make it to adulthood and to spawning time use a range of strategies to ensure successful reproduction. This lesson looks at the factors that go into keeping a fish species alive while examining the life cycle of Great Lakes fish.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Life science

Resource type

Background information

Topic

Marine life
Conservation
Entanglement
Fisheries and seafood
Sea turtles

Turtle excluder devices promote sea turtle conservation by allowing sea turtles to escape safely from fishing gear.

Audience

Adults
College+
Grade 9-12

Subject

Social studies
Life science

Resource type

Citizen science project

Topic

Marine life
Fish
Fisheries and seafood

Special categories

Citizen science
Cultural heritage

The FISHtory Project has two ways to help collect information from historic dock photos. FISH & PEOPLE: Count is an easier project where you can mark the number of fish and people in a photo. FISH: Classify is a more challenging project where you can identify four common species using a draw tool. After the common fish are marked, you will be given a list of less common fish and asked to identify the remaining fish in the photo. If you're not a fish expert, don't worry! All skill levels are welcomed and encouraged to use a given field guide to help identify fish and provide your best guess.

Audience

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

Subject

Social studies
Humanities/liberal arts
Life science

Resource type

Easy-to-use data product
Data product
Background information
Collection

Topic

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

Collection name

FishWatch sustainable seafood database

Get up-to-date information on the status of some of the nation’s most valuable marine fish harvested in U.S. federal waters as well as U.S. farmed fish that help meet our country’s growing seafood demand. Learn how to make smart seafood choices by knowing the facts about what makes U.S. seafood sustainable — from the ocean or farm to your plate. Search by species name or browse by region to learn more about the sustainability of over 100 seafood species.

Audience

Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults

Subject

Life science
Social studies

Resource type

Collection
Multimedia
Video

Topic

Marine life
Fish
Fisheries and seafood
Invertebrates
Salmon

Collection name

FishWatch sustainable seafood video gallery

This collection of videos from NOAA FishWatch cover a wide range of sustainable seafood topics.

Audience

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

Subject

Life science

Resource type

Background information
Collection

Topic

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

Collection name

Fun facts about sea life

NOAA Fisheries answers thousands of questions every year about the ocean and the life that thrives within them. Learn fascinating information about fish and other marine animals, and dive deeper into more information on these species.

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Marine life
Technology and engineering
Fisheries and seafood
Seaweed, algae, and aquatic plants
Invertebrates
Fish

Collection name

Ocean Today

Ocean Today host Symone Johnson introduces the Future of Ocean Farming video collection, which highlights innovations in ocean farming, or aquaculture.

Audience

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

Resource type

Video

Topic

Ocean and coasts
Marine life
Fish
Fisheries and seafood
Endangered species

Special categories

Other languages
Spanish

Collection name

Ocean Today
Ocean Today: Marine life

Goliath grouper can grow to more than eight feet in length and 800 pounds. These giant groupers were once so overfished in the Southeastern United States, they were considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Thankfully, a vocal and dedicated group of fishers and marine scientists worked together to prompt NOAA to ban all harvest of goliath grouper. This action in the early 1990s gave the grouper time to recover and gave scientists time to learn more about this fish in hopes of sustaining its rebound.