LINK stands for List, Inquire, Note, and Know. It is a great strategy because it gets all the children in class involved. It is used to support student discussion on a particular topic and therefore activate their prior knowledge. It begins by the teacher choosing a topic or keyword and then allowing 2-3 minutes of brainstorming. The teacher writes student responses around that word, making sure to get a response from each student in the room. It is probably best to start with the shy students. The next step is to have students respond to each other, expanding their own knowledge by inquiring and questioning one another. The teacher helps students do this in a respectful way. Then students write or take note of the new information they learned from inquiry and discussion. Finally, they read a selection on the topic and discuss their learning.
Ruth Ann Timmons