When someone looks for a book to read, the book cover text and graphics play a large part in whether or not a potential reader will give it a second look. Good covers provide clues to contents. For a direct listening and thinking activity, start with a book with a colorful cover. Show the book to the class. Ask students to look closely and share their ideas of what they think the book is about and write their guesses on the board.
Choose a picture book with pictures that clearly explain the text. Go through the book page by page and ask students to share what they think is going on in the story. Affirm the shared story ideas no matter how out-of-the-box the idea seems. Talk about main themes evident in the book from the pictures. For example, for the classic story of "The Three Little Pigs," discuss the value of planning ahead. It is a good idea to plan a birthday party before inviting friends. Ask students questions based on their experiences of the theme. In this case, ask about times they did or didn't plan ahead and what the results were.
An important focus of the direct listening and thinking strategy is to read to students material they may not read on their own or to motivate new readers to want to read. Read a story, book, article or poem. Ask students to listen. Some students listen best with eyes closed, others need to doodle to keep their hands busy while they listen. Ask them to picture the scenes in their minds. Practice ahead of time so you can read with emotion and feeling. Reading to students draws them into the setting and action. Reading out loud to students also helps them assimilate the complexities of language as it expands vocabulary.
Part of the process of the direct listening and thinking method is to ask open-ended questions. As you read, ask questions about what they read and what is coming up. Draw them back to predictions made before you started reading the book to them. Ask about the accuracy of predictions and whether they need to be defended or modified and why. Continue to affirm ideas, even as you guide them into an understanding of the theme of the particular book or other material you're reading to them.
After finishing the selection, reflect on what you read. Ask how the students feel about the story or poem. Ask how the complete story followed or diverged from their predictions. Work through the key sequences of what you read. This might be as simple as asking, "And then what happened." Follow up on objectives established for this particular reading activity.