Using VIPERS to help read at home and question children to develop comprehension.
Children are explicitly taught the skills of reading (outlined in the National Curriculum and the KS1 test domains) through the use of VIPERS which were created by Rob Smith (The Literacy Shed).
The use of questioning is vital to support children's comprehension and understanding of texts, especially as they move into Year 2. It is therefore vital that when children are reading at home they are discussing books to support their comprehension as well as using their phonics knowledge to decode.
Word reading and Comprehension go hand it hand when support children to read and both take place together to make a good reader.
You can use VIPERS at home help your children gain a good understanding of their book.
In Key Stage One children reading skills are taught and practised using the VIPERS during whole class reading sessions.
KS1 Content Domain Reference | VIPER |
1a draw on knowledge of vocabulary to understand texts | Vocabulary |
1b identify/ explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction, such as characters, events, titles and information. | Retrieve |
1c identify and explain the sequences of events in texts | Sequence |
1d make inferences from the text | Infer |
1e predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far | Predict |
VIPERS focuses on 6 skills of reading:
Vocabulary
Inference
Predict
Explain
Retrieve
Sequence (Summarise in KS2)