Free Lesson Plans and Teacher Resources at Verizon Thinkfinity Help Bring the Stories of National Hispanic Heritage Month to Life in the Classroom

Please disregard the previously issued Verizon release, headline, "Free Online Resources at Verizon Thinkfinity.org Help Educators Bring National Hispanic Heritage Month Lessons to Life," and refer to the following release instead:

Free Lesson Plans and Teacher Resources at Verizon Thinkfinity Help Bring the Stories of National Hispanic Heritage Month to Life in the Classroom

Verizon Thinkfinity Provides Teachers and Parents With Free Educational Resources Created or Approved by the Nation's Top Education Organizations

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Verizon Thinkfinity  (www.thinkfinity.org) has launched a new feature highlighting more than two dozen free educational resources to help teachers bring the stories of Hispanic Heritage Month to life in their classrooms.

The resources range from a magical tale of a farmer and his horse, to a virtual excursion through the history of Santa Fe, N.M., to personal stories of immigration to the U.S. over the past century. Verizon Thinkfinity's Hispanic Heritage Month feature offers something for every K-12 teacher or parent interested in sharing the diverse history and important contributions Latinos have made to American culture.

Verizon Thinkfinity is a comprehensive educational website that contains 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. Verizon Thinkfinity also offers literacy resources to assist adult learners.

Among the resources available in the Thinkfinity Hispanic Heritage section are:

• The Road to Santa Fe: A Virtual Excursion -- In this resource from the National Endowment for the Humanities' EDSITEment, students learn the rich history of this 400- year-old city. Students will experience a unique mix of cultures and use an interactive map to travel the El Camino Real, an ancient road that connected Santa Fe with Mexico City.  http://edsitement.neh.gov/spotlight.asp?id=181

• Hispanic Heritage Books, such as "Bobo's Magic Wishes," a traditional Puerto Rican folktale about a farmer, Juan Bobo, who catches a magical horse but lets him go in exchange for several wishes. The story is one of several highlighted in OurStory, a project of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/bibliography/searchresults.cfm?list=Latino

• A Nation of Immigrants: Latino Stories -- This educational resource from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History contains articles and photographs highlighting personal experiences of Latino immigrants. The resource features immigrants from the 1920s who came to the U.S. to escape the Mexican Revolution; Caribbean immigrants who came by raft in the 1960s; and Mexican nationals who came between 1942 and 1964 to take part in the Bracero Program, a sometimes-controversial guest-worker program. http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_51_2.html

• My Family Traditions: a Class Book and a Potluck Lunch – In this lesson plan from ReadWriteThink, a joint project of the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, students read the bilingual children's book "Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia" by Carmen Lomas Garza and write descriptions about family traditions. Students then create a class book, including information about their own ancestry, and share a potluck lunch with families and peers. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/family-traditions-class-book-941.html

"Through Verizon Thinkfinity, teachers receive quick and free access to a multitude of educational resources to bring the stories of Hispanic-American history to life," said Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston. "From lesson plans to powerful stories of our nation's immigration heritage, Thinkfinity offers something for every K-12 teacher."

In addition to providing free educational resources, Verizon Thinkfinity offers a comprehensive professional development program that allows teachers to sign up for free online training.

Content for Verizon Thinkfinity is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Council for Economic Education, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded $67.9 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 92 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon