Shared reading 

Shared reading involves children joining in with the reading and comprehension of a text whilst guided and supported by an adult. The text can be read by an adult if it is tricky or the child can read it themselves. The reader should be encouraged to use expression in voice and note the features of the text e.g. the title, any illustrations, the author/ illustrator and the structure of the text. Shared reading aims to improve comprehension skills known as VIPERS (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval of information and sequencing). During shared reading the children are encouraged to ask and answer comprehension questions either verbally or in written form and any feedback about the text should be encouraged and discussed.

Please see the links below for the shared reading text and tasks. 

Our text for today is called "Sammy the Street Dog". This story is based on some of the events of the Great Fire of London. Let's read through the story together (each child could read a paragraph of the story). 

There are some questions below that can be asked whilst reading through the story together. The questions relate to our comprehension skill strands called VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Explanation, Prediction, Retrieval and Sequencing). When answering the questions this could be done on whiteboards or scrap paper to practise writing down our comprehension of a text.

Vocabulary questions

1. (page 4) The phrase "a fire was raging" is used, what does this mean?

2. (page 6) what does the word "chaos" mean?

Inference questions

1.(page 9) Why didn't the people use a fire hose to put out the flames instead of leather buckets filled with water? 

2. (page 17) How do you think Sammy was feeling when he got out of the Cathedral? 

Prediction questions

1. Let's read up to page 7, can you predict (have a sensible guess) what will happen next? Is the fire over?

2. Once you have read up to page 9 can you predict what the people might do to stop the fire spreading?

Explanation questions

1. (page 5) Can you describe why the children were crying?

2.(page 12) Can you explain why the people were going to the riverbank?

Retrieval questions

1. (page 4) What woke Sammy up?

2. (page 4) How is the smoke described ? (expanded noun phrase). 

Sequencing questions

1.Now that you are at the end of the book, can you write down all the places that Sammy went to try to find safety after the fire started?