Resources for educators

National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa works through special partnerships with a group of local, regional, and federal agencies to provide resources, tools, and trainings that assist teachers in advancing their environmental goals in the classroom and pursue stewardship endeavors.

Teach the Teacher workshops

Professional development workshops with American Samoa Department of Education encourage educators to connect their lesson plans and activities to the ocean and STEM. These workshops provide teachers with resources and training to support ocean literacy in the classroom. Teachers are introduced to standards-based, hands-on activities that guide classroom teaching and learning. Ocean health, unique underwater habitats, underwater mapping, and remotely-operated vehicles are just a few topics that are discussed and encouraged for classroom implementation.

Science on a Sphere® at the Ocean Center

The Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center has the only Science on a Sphere® in the South Pacific! This unique and captivating educational tool is designed to increase public understanding of the environment. Scripts, lesson plans, evaluations, and datasets can be integrated to teachers’ lesson plans to heighten and amplify student learning and understanding. Lesson plans are available at https://sos.noaa.gov/education/lesson-plans/.

Sanctuary teacher tools

The sanctuary has learning tools for teachers to implement ocean science and environmental education in their classrooms, and staff are currently working on a resource library available to educators who register with our sanctuary education team. These toolkits are focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) and are used to enhance teachers’ activities and lesson plans.

Please contact isabel.gaoteote@noaa.gov for other teacher opportunities, upcoming professional development, and much more.