1. HOW DO WE TEACH READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH VIPERS?
MARLBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL
HOW DO WE TEACH READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH VIPERS?
10th October 2018
Miss Gold
English Leader

2. Aims of this workshop
To understand how we teach reading throughout the school
To understand how we teach comprehension skills through VIPERS
To unpick the National Curriculum to understand the expectations of Reading at the end of KS1 and KS2
To have the opportunity to experience aspects of a VIPERS lesson
To further understand comprehension skills and how to help at home

3. What is VIPERS?
To develop the teaching of Reading comprehension skills across the school in preparation for the end of KS2 Reading SATs.
We teach Reading through whole class sessions. Every child will have the same text but different questions depending on their ability.
The children get a chance to read a range of text types.
They are taught the comprehension skills they need in order to understand what they are reading.

4. Draw upon knowledge of vocabulary in order to understand the text.
What does the word ………. mean in this sentence?
Find and copy a word which means ……….
What does this word or phrase tell you about ………?
Which word in this section do you think is the most important? Why?
Which of the words best describes the character/setting/mood etc?
Can you think of any other words the author could have used to describe this?
Why do you think ………. is repeated in this section?
What do the words and …… suggest about the character, setting and mood?
Which word tells you that….?
Which keyword tells you about the character/setting/mood?
Find one word in the text which means……
Find and highlight the word that is closest in meaning to…….
Find a word or phrase which shows/suggests that…….

5. Make inferences from the text.
Why was……. feeling……..?
Why did ………… happen?
Why did ………. say ……….?
Can you explain why……….?
What do you think the author intended when they said……….?
How does ………. make you feel?
Find and copy a group of words which show that…
How do these words make the reader feel? How does this paragraph suggest this?
How do the descriptions of …… show that they are ……..
How can you tell that……
What impression of …… do you get from these paragraphs?
What voice might these characters use?
What was …. thinking when…..
Who is telling the story?

6. Predict
Predict what you think will happen based on the information that you have been given.
Look at the book cover/blurb – what do you think this book will be about?
What do you think will happen next? What makes you think this?
How does the choice of character or setting affect what will happen next?
What is happening? What do you think happened before? What do you think will happen after?
What do you think the last paragraph suggests will happen next?
From the cover what do you think this text is going to be about?
What is happening now? What happened before this? What will happen after?
What does this paragraph suggest will happen next? What makes you think this?
Do you think the choice of setting will influence how the plot develops?
Do you think… will happen? Yes, no or maybe? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

7. Explain
Explain your preferences, thoughts and opinions about the text. Explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of language.
Who is your favourite character? Why?
Why do you think all the main characters are girls in this book?
Would you like to live in this setting? Why/why not?
Is there anything you would change about this story?
Do you like this text? What do you like about it?
Why is the text arranged in this way?
What structures has the author used?
What is the purpose of this text feature?
Is the use of ….. effective?
The mood of the character changes throughout the text. Find and copy the phrases which show this.
What is the author’s point of view?
What affect does ….. have on the audience?
How does the author engage the reader here?
Which words and phrases did ….. effectively?
Which section was the most interesting/exciting part?
How are these sections linked?

8. Retrieve
Identify and explain the key features of fiction and non-fiction texts such as: characters, events, titles and information.
What kind of text is this? Who did…..?
Where did…..? When did…..?
What happened when…..? Why did …….. happen?
How did …….? How many…..?
What happened to……?
How would you describe this story/text? What genre is it? How do you know?
How did…? How often…?
Who had…? Who is…? Who did….? What happened to…? What does…. Do?
How ….. is ……..?
What can you learn from …… from this section?
Give one example of……
The story is told from whose perspective?

9. Sequence the key events in the story.
Sequence and Summarise
Sequence the key events in the story.
Can you number these events 1-5 in the order that they happened?
What happened after …….?
What was the first thing that happened in the story?
Can you summarise in a sentence the opening/middle/end of the story?
In what order do these chapter headings come in the story?

10. By the end of Key Stage 1, children must meet the following standards to reach Age Related Expectations/ Greater Depth…

11. By the end of Key Stage 2, children must meet the following standards to reach Age Related Expectations/ Greater Depth…

13. Example: The sea is a dog. True or false?
Retrieval questions
One of the easiest VIPERS skills we teach in EYFS moving up to Year 6 is Retrieval skills. This is where the answer is RIGHT THERE in the text.
Example: The sea is a dog. True or false?
Answer: True because in the text it says, “The sea is a hungry dog.”
Point
Evidence

14. Explain Point Evidence Retrieval questions
Example: In July the sea is quiet. True or false?
Answer: False because in the text it says, “But on quiet days in May or June.” This means that it is only quiet in May or June but not July.
Point
Evidence
Explain

15. Making predictions by looking at the front cover of a book
What do you think a watertower is?
What do you think this book will be about?
When beginning a new book or text in a VIPERS lesson, we try to start of by giving children time to discuss their predictions of what they think the book might be about. We encourage them to use evidence from the picture or the text to support their predictions.
Where do you think this book is set? What clues are there?
What clues are there on the front cover about what kind of book this is?

16. Making predictions by looking at the front cover of a book
What clues are there on the front cover about what kind of book this is?
Point
Example: I think the book is going to be a thriller or a scary book because the colours are quite dark in the front cover and they have made it look like an alien is abducting something from Earth. The colour green and the circles aren’t very positive!
Evidence
Explain

17. Talking partners: generate some questions about this picture to help you find out more information about it...
This kind of activity will help children to look and think deeper about a picture or a text.

19. Understanding how and why authors use specific vocabulary
Find two words that tell you the inn was closed.
What do ‘clattered’ and ‘clashed’ tell you about how the Highwayman arrived at the inn?

20. Inference and explaining
What does he do that tells you the message is important to him?
Evidence
He reread the message lots of times. We know this because it says, "reread the copper plated writing that was so familiar to him." The word familiar tells us he has read it many times as he has learnt the message. "Slowly and deliberately" tell us that the message is important to him.
Point
Explain

21. Peer Reading
Children across KS2 and soon KS1 have the opportunity to read with children from different year groups once a week. This enables them to practice their reading out loud as well as allow them to experience being their own ‘teachers’ where they can ask each other questions about what they are reading.

22. Thank you for listening
QUESTIONS
Thank you for listening