Just in time for the new school year, Verizon Thinkfinity has
launched a back-to-school feature that uses engaging educational
resources to help teachers get students excited about their return to
the classroom.
From
resources using football to teach geometry, to lesson plans on the
"Legend of Sleepy Hollow," to a podcast that highlights what a crew
might experience during a 520-day trip to Mars, teachers will find a
plethora of free, standards-based resources in the new Thinkfinity Back-to-School Feature.
Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org)
is a comprehensive educational website that contains tens of thousands
of free educational resources to make learning fun and improve
educational achievement. Parent-friendly resources, in-class activities
and homework help can be found quickly and searched by grade level,
keyword or subject. In addition, Verizon Thinkfinity also offers
literacy resources to assist adult learners
The
robust Back-to-School feature contains dozens of educational resources
crossing nine academic disciplines. Among the resources included in the
Back to School feature are:
- Figuring in Football -
Students examine geometric figures on a football field and search for
congruent and similar figures in this lesson from the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics' Illuminations. - 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' - In this lesson from the National Endowment for the Humanities' EdSITEment, Students explore Washington Irving's Halloween classic and ponder the mystery of what happened to Ichabod Crane.
- Mars 500 Mission - Students
listen to a podcast and learn about a crew of six volunteers who have
embarked on a simulated 520-day mission to Mars. Students discuss the
technological challenges, as well as the practical challenges faced by
the crew as a result of being so closely confined for a long period of
time. The resource was created by the American Association for the
Advancement of Science's Science NetLinks.
The Back-to-School feature is part of the newly expanded Verizon Thinkfinity. Other new features on Verizon Thinkfinity include:
- An online Thinkfinity Community
where parents, administrators and teachers can share ideas, ask for
assistance, discuss the topics of the day, and connect with colleagues
and experts across the country. - Social networking tools.
- Newsfeeds on the latest educational news.
In
addition, Verizon Thinkfinity continues to offer a comprehensive
professional-development program that allows teachers to sign up for
free online or face-to-face training, such as the Captivate Students
With Thinkfinity webinar at http://www.thinkfinity.org/webinars