Thinkfinity


 * Thinkfinity: A Free Educational Resource Tool!!**

After looking through the thinkfinity website I found several lesson plans that I thought would be beneficial for me at the high school level. The two that I selected focus our unit on exploration. If you need a great lesson on Columbus's voyages which looks at the differing perceptions of Columbus and the Taino people, this would be a great lesson to use: We also complete a unit on the Civil War at the end of the year. This is the only unit we work on that is completely focused on American history. I try to bring in as many characters from the war, and one of the most famous is Abraham Lincoln. This lesson is a wonderful tool for really examining the Gettybury address and why it was given. It also looks at the address from the perspective of a slave living in a border state, a Confederate soldier, and Union soldier's wife:
 * __What is Thinkfinity?__** [|Thinkfinity] is a website that offers teachers free resources (primary sources, games, etc.) interactive activities, lesson plans that are based on national education standards, a 21st century skills section, and teacher professional development opportunities.
 * __How will I use thinkfinity in the future?__** I plan to use thinkfinity in the future to to learn more about 21st Century Skills. Because so many of the lessons on the thinkfinity website and its content partners require using technology I need to move outside of my comfort zone and start to implement these lessons in my daily activities. The only way to get better is to practice, so that is what I am going to continue to do. The next items I plan to use in my classroom are activities on the [|Election of 1860] and the [|Kansas-Nebraska act] and how these two events led to the Civil War.
 * __Reflection:__** This was an invaluable lesson because of how applicable to the classroom it was. Everything we worked on ties into our own curriculum, and as long as the technology is available (always a big "if") then they would not only be innovative ways to bring material to life, it also would teach students 21st century skills that they can take away with them and use in other classes or the work force. The best part about this activity was looking through all of the available resources to see what I could use. There were so many items to choose from it was almost a little overwhelming. Since then I have started to lesson plan with thinkfinity lessons in mind. I am fortunate enough to have a lap top and LCD projector I can use to show the students visuals, let them hear speeches, and carry out simulations. What a great tool!