Thinkfinity

Thinkfinity 

Thinkfinity is an educational website that has lessons plans for all different grade-levels and topics. [|www.thinkfinity.org] 
 * Description of Assignment: Our assignment was to find two lessons on Thinkfinity that we could use in our classroom. From there, we were to write up a description of the lesson and how we could use it in our classroom. **


 * Process**: I picked each of the different topics that my students study throughout the course of the year. I was just about to start my unit on multiplication, so I thought I would start by searching that topic. I typed in multiplication and then searched in grades 3-5. I found an excellent lesson on looking at patterns. I used this lesson to do skip counting and start teaching repeated addition. Then I looked up another topic, which was about rocks, which goes perfectly with my Rocks and Minerals unit. The lesson that I found was a great summarizing lesson that has students determine what type of rock the floating rock is on the first page.

This is a great way to introduce students to multiplication. Students look for patterns on a 0-99 chart to help them understand skip counting. media type="custom" key="4976305"  This is a lesson that has students figure out what type of rock is pictured. They have to use their prior knowledge to try to determine the type of rock. Each page gives the students information about the type of rock, and whether or not that is the one pictured. media type="custom" key="4976347" **Reflection:** It's amazing the websites that are available on the internet! I have always subscribed to EnchantedLearning.com, which has different lesson plans and activities, but many of them are geared toward lower levels than I teach. What I really like about Thinkfinity is how easy it is to search for a topic in your grade-level (or in close proximity). The lessons have all different printouts that are linked right on the lesson plan. I was impressed with the quality and quantity of the lessons on this site. What I also like is that it is free! I thought it would be a great way to have students and parents at home use this site for research on projects. Also, it has interactive activities that they could do at home. There is even an after school portion that helps students enhance their skills. I think this site is incredibly valuable for the education of our students. It is full of 21st Century skills. **References**: (2010), //Thinkfinity.// Retrieved November, 2009 from Verizon Foundation, Basking Ridge, NJ. Website: [|www.thinkfinity.com] (2010), //Scribd.// Retrieved November, 2009 from Scribd, San Francisco, CA. Website: [|www.scribd.com].