If you’ve been with me for a hot second, then you’ve likely heard me talk about my ultimate favorite tool for engaging students with new content: LINKtivity Digital Learning Guides. But, depending when you jumped in to the game, you may or may not have a clear understanding of what LINKtivities are.

Today I’m going to fix that.

I’m on a mission to yell “LINKtivity®” from the mountain tops because I know how powerful they can be in instilling the love of learning for all students.

But, before yelling from the mountain tops - I’ll start here, with you…

When you’re ready, check out the video below and get ready to become a LINKtivity fanatic!

Now, let’s take a closer look:

What are LINKtivity® Interactive Learning Guides?

SIMPLY PUT, LINKTIVITIES ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU TEACH…

LINKtivity® Interactive Learning Guides were created out of a desire to provide students with an experience that truly ignites the love of learning and is powerful enough to meet the demands of a 21st century classroom.

LINKtivities are your secret tool to instant engagement - the kind that leaves students craving more.

Through LINKtivities, students are put in the driver seat. They work at their own pace as they click their way through a kid-friendly digital learning guide showcasing images, videos, and kid-friendly websites.

IT’S A COMPLETE MULTIMEDIA EDU-VENTURE.

Students explore topics from across the content areas (& even holidays!) on individual digital devices, gathered around a SMARTboard, or even together in small groups!

LINKtivities can take even the driest, most dull topics, and turn them into a captivating activity that even your most reluctant students can get on board with.

HECK - THEY’LL BE HAVING SO MUCH FUN, THEY WON’T EVEN REALIZE THEY ARE LEARNING!

Speaking of reluctant or struggling learners - All LINKtivity® Interactive Learning Guides provide audio support to making learning with LINKtivities accessible for all! You’ll feel confident that each of your students’ needs are being met, and your students will feel empowered to take ownership of their learning!

Student accountability and assessment:

Even though LINKtivities are designed to put students in control of their learning, it’s easy to keep students accountable and get a pulse of their understanding of the topics, skills, and strategies that they are exploring through their LINKtivity®.

Each LINKtivity® comes with a flipbook or recording sheet (printable AND digital) so that they can showcase their learning in an authentic way.

Not only that, each LINKtivity® comes with a rubric written in kid-friendly language so that you can help communicate expectations and guidelines for student learning.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Episode 45: How to Use Rubrics for Assessment AND Instruction

If you’re like thousands of other teachers who start using LINKtivities and love them, you’re next question is going to be…where can I get more? Well, I have a simple answer for that…

Join the Linktivity® Learning Membership:

What if you had access to each and every LINKtivity ever created?

What if you got immediate access to any and ALL future LINKtivities to be created?

Well, now you can with the LINKtivity® Learning Membership. It’s your all-access pass to my entire collection of LINKtivities - all in one place, at one low monthly price!

Click here to learn more about LINKtivity® Learning

Now when a new LINKtivity® comes out - you’ll already have access to it inside your membership library.

Now when you are on the hunt for a great activity for teaching reading comprehension strategies, weather, World War 1, maps, St. Patrick’s Day…. or you fill in the blank…. your hunt won’t last very long because there’s a LINKtivity® for that!

Inside of LINKtivity® Learning you’ll have unlimited access to any and all LINKtivities!

LINKtivity® Frequently asked questions:

+ What digital devices will LINKtivities work on?

Any device that has access to the internet can be used to display LINKtivities. This includes chrome books, iPads, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, and even smartphones. You will want to make sure that your devices have up to date operating systems on them.

+ How are LINKtivities viewed?

Each LINKtivity® is essentially hosted on its own micro website, which means you and your students will only need access to the internet in order to view the LINKtivities. You will be provided with a link for each LINKtivity® that you can share with your students to access and view the LINKtivity®. These links can be shared on any secure platform such as Google Classroom, SeeSaw, and Microsoft Teams.

+ Will I be able to download the LINKtivities to my computer to keep forever?

The LINKtivities themselves are hosted on the internet through a special link so that they can be updated and revised as needed. They can NOT be downloaded and saved to your individual devices. You will have access to each and every LINKtivity® for as long as you have a membership. Should you choose to cancel your membership, you will no longer have access to the LINKtivities.

+ I have some ELL students or students who struggle to read. How can I support them with the reading portions of the LINKtivities?

All LINKtivities have audio support that allows them to have the text on the LINKtivity® read to them! This makes it super simple to provide extra assistance to students who may be learning English or may struggle with reading.

+ I am still teaching virtually with my students. Will this subscription work for me?

When the pandemic began, teachers were scrambling for interactive digital resources to keep their students engaged and motivated. LINKtivities made the sudden change from in-person to virtual seamless for thousands of teachers who were already using them in their classrooms. If you are planning on teaching virtually, or have the potential to need to teach virtual, LINKtivities and the companion resources can easily be accessible from home. Each LINKtivity is designed to be a "virtual teacher" offering videos, audio support, self-checking activities, and more. And, should you return back to in-person, you and your students won't skip a beat when you continue using LINKtivities in the classroom!

+ Do I need any special software to display LINKtivities?

Nope! You and your students only need access to the internet in order view the LINKtivity®. No fancy programs or software involved! You do want to make sure that your devices have the most updated operating systems and browsers so that LINKtivities display properly.

+ Do students HAVE to work individually?

Ideally, students will want to work independently on their digital device so that they can go at their own pace. However, if classroom technology is limited, you can work together as a whole class by displaying the LINKtivity® on a whiteboard or Smartboard and navigate through the LINKtivity® together. LINKtivities can even be viewed at home by simply providing the links to your students!

+ I’ve read that some of the LINKtivities include links to outside websites as well as YouTube videos. Is this correct?

YES! Most LINKtivities include links to outside websites such as Google Earth to help enhance student learning. In additional, many LINKtivities have YouTube videos that are embedded right into the LINKtivity®. This means your students will not see YouTube Ads or have the option to view additional videos from the YouTube sidebar. The videos and websites that are included are kid-friendly and age-appropriate. If your school has blocked YouTube, then your students will not be able to view these videos. HOWEVER, each teacher guide has links to the YouTube videos that are used inside the LINKtivity®. This allows you to have your school technology department whitelist these individual videos, if possible. You can also view these videos as a whole class if your teacher device has access to YouTube.

Although the YouTube videos and outside websites enhance student learning and make the LINKtivities more interactive, these additional multi-media features are typically not critical to the content being taught. If you are unable to watch the YouTube videos, your students can still gain value from the LINKtivity® resource itself. As an alternative, students can view the LINKtivity® at home to view the videos and outside websites.

+ How are students held accountable for their time spent using a LINKtivity®?

As a bonus inside the membership, each LINKtivity® comes with a flipbook, recording sheet, or project activity that students complete while exploring the LINKtivity®. These activities can be used to assess a students understanding of the content shared in the LINKtivity®. These flipbooks and recording sheets are provided in printable and digital formats. In addition, many LINKtivities even have drag and drop self-check activities embedded right in the LINKtivity® for students to check their own understanding of the topic.

+ Are answer keys provided for the flipbook, recording sheet, or project activities?

YES! You’ll find answer keys for any student work that is to be completed using the LINKtivities.

+ What if I already have purchased LINKtivities off of Teachers Pay Teachers?

When you purchase a LINKtivity through TpT, you have purchased a permanent license. This means that you will have access to the LINKtivity® and the companion resources for the lifetime of that LINKtivity. You will not need to be a member of the LINKtivity® Learning Membership in order to maintain access to the LINKtivities that you have purchased on TpT.

+ What topics do the LINKtivities cover?

There are LINKtivities inside the membership for every content area, including seasons and holidays. Even more, the LINKtivity® library is growing all the time with new topics. As a founding member, you will have the opportunity to influence the topics that are added to the library. Here's a sampling of the topics that are covered by LINKtivities in the membership:

SCIENCE TOPICS:

Human Body Systems
Animal Life Cycles
Biomes of the World
Plants
States of Matter

SOCIAL STUDIES TOPICS:

Gold Rush
Branches of Government
European Explorers
WWI & WWII
Colonial Jobs

READING SKILLS:

Reading Strategies (Making Connections, Visualizing, Questioning...etc)
Main Idea & Supporting Details
Point of View
Poetry
Nonfiction Text Structures

MATH:

Measurement Conversions
Place Value

Holidays & Seasons

Christmas Around the World
Presidential Election
St. Patrick's Day

To preview the entire current LINKtivity® library, CLICK HERE.

+ What if I join and don't see topics that meet my curriculum needs?

Although the LINKtivity® library will be constantly growing, if you do not see enough topics to fit your curriculum needs, you can cancel your membership at any time, no questions ask.

+ Can I pause my membership?

Yes! If you have an active monthly or annual plan, you are free to pause your membership for up to 3 billing cycles at anytime. Your membership will continue to be active for the remainder of the billing period and then will automatically be paused for the number of cycles you have chosen. Billing will automatically resume after the pause. If you wish to resume your membership before the pausing period is up, you can reactive at any time, and billing will resume.

Please note: Pricing for annual members has the savings of pausing a membership for the summer already built into the annual pricing (plus extra!). Pausing an annual membership will simply defer your annual renewal by the amount of billing cycles paused.

+ Can I upgrade from a monthly plan to an annual membership plan?

Yes! If you are loving LINKtivity® Learning and want to lock in the savings of an annual plan, you'll be able to upgrade inside your account on the site.

From time to time special one-time pricing plans, such as a Founding Members plan, may be offered. These special pricing plans may only be offered once and may not be available for upgrades or downgrades. You can still upgrade or downgrade your plan, but will need to choose a currently offered plan.

Have a question that wasn’t answered above? Feel free to reach out to me personally at hello@classroomnook.com

I personally respond to each and every question and would love to hear from you!

A Beginner's Guide to Using LINKtivity Digital Learning Guides