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January, 2008

NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries Education
Ocean motion: all about marine life in America's national sanctuaries.
Grade Level: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12


http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html

CONTENT
This education site from NOAA offers a variety of instructional materials for use in the classroom, including curriculum, lesson plans, activities and video clips as well as information on the diverse marine sanctuaries across the United States.
SITE DESIGN
The site is well designed and easy to navigate. The left side menu offers links to all areas of the larger National Marine Sanctuaries site http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/welcome.html but the area of most interest to teachers can be found in the Eduation section. The menu expands to include a list of offerings in each section. Users will need Quick Time and Real Player to view all the multimedia files.
 

REVIEW
The National Marine Sanctuaries Education site offers teachers and students a wealth of information and resources for teaching and learning about the incredible diversity of life and habitats in the National Marine Sanctuaries. Visitors to the site will want to begin by taking the virtual Sanctuary Tour where they can observe the sanctuary habitats by viewing video clips and image galleries with stunning photographs. Students will go for the Fun section that includes high-tech simulations and games as well as coloring books, puzzles, and more. Or, they might like the Student section, where they will find interactive digital labs and activities, online story books, information on marine careers, activities, free materials, and other cool stuff. For teachers, there are curriculum offerings such as the Oceans for Life Lesson Plans and Videos that include twelve free and downloadable lesson plans and short videos. There is also the Navigating Change Curriculum." Other activities include Coral Cores: Ocean Timelines and an activity about how to foster a Coral Spawning Globe." In all, this site provides a good range of short-term and longer-term learning experiences for a range of grades.

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1/28/2008