VIPERS Reading: Master All 6 Comprehension Skills

VIPERS is a reading comprehension framework used in UK primary schools to help children develop six key reading skills. VIPERS stands for: Vocabulary (understanding word meanings), Inference (reading between the lines), Prediction (what might happen next), Explain (justify answers with evidence), Retrieve (find information in text), and Summarise (identify key themes). This framework aligns with the UK National Curriculum and ensures children develop all aspects of reading comprehension, not just literal understanding.

UK schools use VIPERS because it provides a systematic, comprehensive approach to teaching reading comprehension aligned with National Curriculum objectives. The framework ensures teachers cover all required comprehension skills, makes assessment easier by breaking skills into clear categories, helps identify specific areas where children need support, and provides a consistent approach from Key Stage 1 through Key Stage 2. VIPERS questions appear throughout SATs reading papers, making it excellent exam preparation while developing genuine comprehension skills.

The 6 VIPERS skills are: 1) Vocabulary - understanding what words mean in context, exploring word choices, and expanding word knowledge. 2) Inference - reading between the lines, understanding implied meanings, and deducing character feelings or motivations. 3) Prediction - using clues from the text to anticipate what might happen next, based on evidence. 4) Explain - justifying answers with evidence from the text, explaining author's choices and how language creates effects. 5) Retrieve - finding and extracting specific information directly stated in the text. 6) Summarise - identifying main ideas, themes, and key information across paragraphs or whole texts.

VIPERS skills develop progressively from Year 1 to Year 6. Early years (Y1-2) focus on simple retrieval, basic prediction, and discussing obvious feelings. Mid-primary (Y3-4) adds inference of character emotions, explaining simple language choices, and summarizing paragraphs. Upper primary (Y5-6) requires complex inference across texts, analyzing sophisticated vocabulary, explaining author's viewpoint and purpose, predicting with nuanced evidence, and summarizing themes across multiple chapters. Questions become longer and more complex, requiring detailed written explanations rather than single-word answers.

Primary Story integrates all 6 VIPERS domains into every story. After reading, children answer mixed VIPERS questions covering vocabulary in context, inference about characters and themes, predictions based on story events, explanations with text evidence, retrieval of key facts, and summarising main ideas. Each question includes instant feedback showing the correct answer and explaining why, helping children understand the thinking process behind each VIPERS skill. The Parent Dashboard tracks performance by VIPERS domain, highlighting which skills need more practice.

Vocabulary: 'What does the word furious mean in this sentence?' Inference: 'How do you think the character felt when...? Use evidence from the text.' Prediction: 'Based on what you have read, what do you think will happen next?' Explain: 'Why did the author use the word crept instead of walked?' Retrieve: 'What color was the character's hat?' Summarise: 'What is the main theme of this story?' or 'Summarize the character's journey in three sentences.' Each skill requires different thinking processes, from simple text scanning (retrieve) to complex analysis (explain).

Practice VIPERS at home by asking varied questions when reading together. For Vocabulary, ask 'What does this word mean?' For Inference, 'How is the character feeling? How do you know?' For Prediction, 'What clues tell us what might happen?' For Explain, 'Why did the author describe it this way?' For Retrieve, 'Can you find where it says...?' For Summarise, 'Tell me the three most important things that happened.' Primary Story provides ready-made VIPERS questions for every story, removing the planning burden while ensuring comprehensive coverage.

Yes, VIPERS is a framework for teaching and assessing reading comprehension—it's not a separate skill. Reading comprehension means understanding what you read beyond decoding words. VIPERS breaks comprehension into six distinct skill areas, making it easier to teach, practice, and assess. Before VIPERS, teachers covered comprehension less systematically. VIPERS ensures no skill is neglected. When your child practices 'comprehension questions,' they're likely answering VIPERS questions, whether explicitly labeled or not. The framework simply organizes the skills children need to fully understand texts.

Year 6 SATs reading papers are structured around VIPERS skills, though questions aren't labeled as such. The exam tests all six domains: vocabulary questions ask for word meanings, inference questions require reading between lines, explain questions assess understanding of language choices and author's purpose, retrieve questions find stated facts, and summarize questions identify themes. SATs mark schemes use VIPERS language in assessment criteria. Practicing VIPERS throughout primary school ensures children are SATs-ready without separate 'exam skills' training—they've been developing tested competencies all along.

It's completely normal for children to excel at some VIPERS skills while struggling with others. Most children find Retrieve easiest (finding stated facts) and Inference hardest (reading between the lines). Primary Story's Parent Dashboard shows performance by VIPERS domain, helping you identify specific areas needing practice. Focus practice on weaker skills while maintaining stronger ones. Inference and Explain typically need the most practice since they require higher-order thinking. Regular exposure to all six domains, with explanations showing the reasoning process, gradually strengthens weaker areas.