Thinkfinity from Verizon

Thinkfinity is a website that contains lesson plans, interactive student materials, educational resources, and professional development; all for free. These resources have been created or reviewed by Content Partners. Content Partners are: Xpeditions, Science NetLinks, EconEdLink, readwritethink, ArtsEdge, Smithsonian's History Explorer, Illuminations, and EdSitement. The front page of Thinkfinity is where you can view resources just added, a calendar "Today in History", lesson plans, intereactives, blogs, etc. At the bottom of the page is where you can find the Content Partner sites. Did I mention that all of this is free?

Xpeditions is from National Geographic. You can search for lesson plans by standards, topic, or grade level. At the bottom of the page you can enter Xpedition Hall which is a virtual museum. Mapping Mars is a sample lesson plan from Xpeditions.

You can search Science NetLinks for Lesson Plans, Tools (interactives), Resources, and Benchmarks. You can also search Science NetLinks by benchmarks, grade level, or topic. Here is a sample lesson plan that includes student E-Sheets and an Interactive. The lesson is "Animal Diversity".

EconEdLink is from the Council of Economic Education. The main items on the front page is CyberTeach, Current Events, DataLinks, and WebLinks. You can click on one of these links to find lessons and activities, or search for a topic. A sample lesson plan from EconEdLink is The Trading Game.

ReadWriteThink is hosted by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. There are tabs for Classroom Resources, Professional Development, and Parent and Afterschool Resources. A sample lesson plan from readwritethink is "The Tale of Despereaux: Fact or Fiction?".

ArtsEdge is from The Kennedy Center and incorporates the arts into lesson plans. The main elements to this page is Teach, Connect, and Explore. "A Lens into the Past" is a sample lesson plan from ArtsEdge.

Smithsonian's History Explorer is from the Smithsonian. This site is a little different because you can search for resources by historical era. A sample lesson plan from Smithsonian's History Explorer is "A Landmark in American Justice".

Illuminations is sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. An interactive sample on Illuminations is Vector Investigation: Boat to the Island.

EdSitement is sponsored by the National Endowment for The Humanities and has lesson plans for Art & Culture, Literature & Language Arts, Foreign Language, and History & Social Studies. "The Declaration of Independence: An Expression of the American Mind" is a sample lesson plan.

Each website can be searched by topic, grade level, or standard. They all have interactives and web links as extensions to the lesson. As a teacher, you are allowed to use, change, or copy anything within Thinkfinity for your class. If you go to a website outside of Thinkfinity or one of the partner sites, make sure to check out the copy right information for that particular web page.

By the way, did I mention that it was free?