Are you looking for a way to keep your primary children engaged while bringing reverence into singing time? This To Think About Jesus Directed Listening activity is perfect for just that!
Invite your primary kids to connect spiritually (more spiritual connection ideas) with this sweet song about reverence by answering simple questions about the song lyrics!
**See all To Think about Jesus Singing Time Ideas**
To Think About Jesus Directed Listening
To Think About Jesus (archives) is an excellent song choice to teach your primary kids about reverence! For a meaningful way to help your primary children focus on the lyrics of this song and better understand its message, try this directed listening activity!
The basic idea for this activity is to simply ask questions that relate directly to the song lyrics. It sounds simple, but this can be a very effective tool to keep your primary kiddos engaged! In this post, I share several of ways to use this type of activity in singing time. Let’s dive in!
At the beginning of singing time, sing through the first verse and chorus of To Think About Jesus (flipchart here!). Tell the children to listen carefully to the words in the song. In a few minutes, they’ll have to answer some questions about the song.
After singing through the song, ask the kids a simple question about the song. The answer should be fairly easy to find in the lyrics. I have a list of 8 different questions that go well with this song. Grab my question cards so that you don’t have to come up with questions on the spot!
You might ask a question like, “WHO does this child think about?” In the second line, it says, “To think about Jesus…” There’s the answer!
Ask 1-2 questions each time you sing through the song. This is a great way to get the kids to really focus and listen closely to the lyrics as they sing. Look for children raising their hands reverently to answer each question.
If you want to provide some extra hints, keep your flip chart handy and allow the kids to look at the lyrics if needed. This activity focuses specifically on listening, but it doesn’t hurt to provide some help if they are stumped!
At the end of singing time, finish by sharing your testimony of the Savior and of the importance of reverence. You might even look for a few children who were especially reverent during the activity.
Directed Listening Questions:
I’ve included a list below of 8 questions specific to the first verse and chorus of this song. All the answers to these questions can be found directly in the lyrics! What other questions can you think of?
- WHAT shouldn’t be hard? – ANSWER: “To sit very still”
- WHO does this child think about? – ANSWER: “To think about Jesus”
- HOW many times do you sing the word, “Sit?” ANSWER: 2
- HOW many times do you sing the word, “Think?” ANSWER: 2
- WHERE was His cross? – ANSWER:“On the hill”
- HOW should we sit? – ANSWER: “Very still” and “Quietly”
- WHAT did He do? – ANSWER: “All that He suffered”
- HOW can we show reverence for Jesus? – ANSWER: Think about Him, sit quietly
Extension Activities:
- Make it a competition! Split the class into 2-3 teams. Give each team opportunities to answer questions about the song and award points for correct answers!
- Cut out the question cards and put them in a hat or jar. As you sing, choose volunteers to come up and pick a question. Then, have them choose the next person to answer a question!
- For older children, you may consider making it more challenging by asking all the questions at the beginning of the activity. Then, they must pay extra close attention to find all the answers as they sing!
- Write a fun way to sing on the back of each question! You can find our Ways to Sing Cue Cards here for a quick & easy singing time idea!
- Create directed listening questions for the second verse too! Then, have the kids search both verses for the answers!
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Tell Me Dear Lord Song Quiz singing time activity!
To Think about Jesus Directed Listening Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes 2 pages of directed listening questions for the first verse.
Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including an answer key, full page questions, and directed listening for the 2nd verse. You’ll find these bonus files included when To Think about Jesus is the featured song of the month.
Get more out of singing time with the INSTANT Primary Singing membership that includes printable lesson plans, tons of extended printables and an ad-free experience for each featured song of the month, or get immediate access to the entire song list for the year!
Learn more about INSTANT Primary Singing membership options here!
Have questions or need more help, see this FAQ page here.
Head over to this To Think About Jesus Eraser Pass idea for another fun way to review this song!
What other fun ways will you use this directed listening singing time activity in your Primary room?
