Fitzroy Programs (Australia)

1. Fitzroy Readers 1-10 package (Starter set for Teacher)

2. Fitzroy Readers 1X-10X package

3. Fitzroy Readers 11-20 package

4. Fitzroy Readers 21-30 package

5. Fitzroy Readers 31-40 package

6. Fitzroy Readers 41-50 package

7. Fitzroy Readers 51-60 package

To attend the Fitzroy Teaching Training sessions, please refer to the home page for more details.

The Fitzroy Method: A Brief Explanation

The Fitzroy Program of Readers and Word Skills is not an ordinary set of story books and written activities with some phonics hints thrown in. It is systematic phonics.

You teach letters of the alphabet and the sounds they represent. You explain that a written word is a string of letters showing sounds from left to right.

You teach children the skill of decoding English as they encounter it outside the class room.

There are hundreds of thousands of English words. You cannot hope to teach them all! That's why the Fitzroy Method teaches students how to approach new words, by understanding sounds and digraphs.

The Fitzroy Method: How is it Done?

Begin by talking about sounds, then joining of sounds, thus making words. Our alphabet represents sounds, both by single letters (a, b, c ...) and by digraphs (ch, ew, tion ...). From sounds such as a, h and t we make words such as hat.

The Fitzroy Readers systematically introduce sounds one by one with each story. The Fitzroy Method ensures fast progress and successful remediation because there are no surprises.  Each new story uses only:

• the sounds and words learned in previous stories,
• the new sound that this story makes memorable, and
• a few new special words, that is sight-words which we do not attempt to sound out, because they do not conform to the rules (at least not to any that we have learned so far).

The Fitzroy Method: Why it Works.

Children like rules. They retain far more if taught rules and exceptions rather than item-by-item.

Systematic phonics rewards children with regular victories. It is fun to know how to decipher a whole new family of words at a time - rather than having to endure a slow process of rote accumulation.

The Fitzroy Method is motivating because children love to go home with new skills that work in the world outside of school, prized skills that they can demonstrate within their own communities - such as reading signs, notes, labels, lists, stories, instructions, dictionaries…

In Australia, more than 3500 schools have bought the Fitzroy Readers. In Singapore, it has grant its footing that apart from Schools, parents are using them! We recommend them to you.

More details on The Phonic Approach and The Fitzroy Programs right after this product listing.

	Fitzroy Readers 1-10 package (Starter set for Teacher) comprises of the following 7 items. Fitzroy Readers 1-10 Suitable for beginners who have learned most of the sounds of the alphabet. Readers 1-10 use only basic sounds, except for Story 9, which introduces the diagraph oo as in roof. Readers 1-10 contains 10 books: 1. A Fat Cat 2. A Big Pig 3. Bug on a Rug 4. Dot 5. The Pet Hen 6. Fox on the Box 7. I Can Run 8. The Picnic 9. My Pup 10. John and His Fox Fitzroy Readers 1-10 Big books (not included in the teacher package) Fitzroy Word Skills 1 Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Book 1 support a set of 10 Readers, devoting 7 pages of activities to each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 1 Answers provided for Word Skills 1. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 1-10 Containing ten of the Reader stories 1-10. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling. Fitzroy Alphabet Book Provides 50 worksheets for sounding and writing the alphabet. Includes alphabetical order and two-letter words. Leads directly into the Readers and the Word Skills. This book has 50 x A4 pages designed for absolute beginners. The first 5 pages help with the forming of lines and circles. Then there is a page for each letter - help with writing, sounding and recognising. There are many activity pages helping with discrimination, alphabetical order, and forming two-letter words. The activities in this Alphabet Book are designed for absolute beginners, including pre-writing and letter formation. They are complete preparation for Fitzroy Readers 1 to 10 and for the Fitzroy Word Skills Activity Book 1. Fitzroy Sounds Two disks are supplied: The phonetic disk provides the phonetically correct sound for each letter. For example, the 'f' sound is voiceless and continuous as it sounds at the end of 'cliff'. This one is specially recommended for ESL students. The traditional disk provides an alternative way of sounding 13 of the letters. This is to accommodate teachers who use the traditional soundings such as 'fhhh!'(voiced plosive) – as in 'fish' without the 'sh’. This book is especially suitable for the Singapore market as some ideas are supplied with the help of the Singapore exclusive distributor, September 21 Enterprise Pte Ltd. Teacher's Guide This book fills a gap for many teachers who have not yet learned how to exploit the phonic features of English. Phonic methods are the secret to early literacy, as has been borne out by the phenomenal success of our materials in saving the literacy of many children across the country. Include sample lesson plans, spelling list and assessment tools for each level. This book is especially suitable for the Singapore market as some ideas are supplied with the help of the Singapore exclusive distributor, September 21 Enterprise Pte Ltd.
	Fitzroy Readers 1X-10X package for Teacher comprises of the following 4 items. Fitzroy Readers 1x-10x Each story features a basic English sound (e.g. oy), a few sight words (e.g. said), a revision word list and an extension word list. Readers 1x-10x contains 10 books: 1x. Ann and Mal 2x. Tom Cat and Jim Rat 3x. The Mud Hut 4x. Ants at the Camp 5x. The Big Mess 6x. The Sick Dog 7x. The Land of Zond 8x. The Bus Stop 9x. The Billabong 10x. Cat and Kitten Fitzroy Word Skills 1X Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Book 1X supports a set of 10 Readers, devoting 7 pages of activities to each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 1X Answers provided for Word Skills 1X. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 1X-10X Containing ten of the Reader stories 1X-10X. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling.
	Fitzroy Readers 11-20 package for Teacher comprises of the following 4 items. Fitzroy Readers 11-20 Each story features a basic English sound (e.g. oy), a few sight words (e.g. said), a revision word list and an extension word list. Readers 11-20 contains 10 books: 11. The Animals 12. My Lost Bear 13. The Frog & the Fly 14. The Girl & the Boy 15. Tall and Small 16. Buns and Eggs 17. The Fish 18. Dad and the Kids 19. Mark and Mars 20. Wombat Fitzroy Readers 11-20 Big books (not included in the teacher package) Fitzroy Word Skills 2 Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Book 2 supports a set of 10 Readers, devoting 7 pages of activities to each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 2 Answers provided for Word Skills 2. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 2 Containing ten of the Reader stories 11-20. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling.
	Fitzroy Readers 21-30 package for Teacher comprises of the following 4 items. Fitzroy Readers 21-30 Each story features a basic English sound (e.g. oy), a few sight words (e.g. said), a revision word list and an extension word list. Readers 21-30 contains 10 books: 21. Woodpecker 22. Rabbit Wants a Carrott 23. The Girls & the Ball 24. Cat, Dog & Vet 25. Tom and Benji 26. Eight Frogs & Snake 27. Tabitha and Thug 28. Love 29. Owl and the Clown 30. Jessica Fitzroy Word Skills 3 Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Book 3 supports a set of 10 Readers, devoting 7 pages of activities to each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 3 Answers provided for Word Skills 3. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 3 Containing ten of the Reader stories 21-30. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling.
	Fitzroy Readers 31-40 package for Teacher comprises of the following 4 items. Fitzroy Readers 31-40 Each story features a basic English sound (e.g. oy), a few sight words (e.g. said), a revision word list and an extension word list. Readers 31-40 contains 10 books: 31. Kate & the Rake 32. The Boat 33. On the Hill 34. The Cat & the Fish 35. Dolly Duck 36. Captain Hornblower 37. Flying Doctor 38. David the Duck 39. Silas the Cat 40. Shawn & the Go-Cart Fitzroy Word Skills 4 Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Book 4 supports a set of 10 Readers, devoting 7 pages of activities to each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 4 Answers provided for Word Skills 4. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 4 Containing ten of the Reader stories 31-40. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling.
	Fitzroy Readers 41-50 package for Teacher comprises of the following 4 items. Fitzroy Readers 41-50 Each story features a basic English sound (e.g. oy), a few sight words (e.g. said), a revision word list and an extension word list. Readers 41-50 contains 10 books: 41. Tim Comes to Stay 42. The Bear Next Door 43. Ling Goes to China 44. Cindy’s Trip to Perth 45. Sir John & Bear Brothers 46. Arthur & the Crayfish 47. The New Year Party 48. Inconvenient Puncture 49. The Grass is Greener 50. The Wisdom of Solomon Fitzroy Word Skills 5 Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Book 5 supports a set of 10 Readers, devoting 7 pages of activities to each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 5 Answers provided for Word Skills 5. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 5 Containing ten of the Reader stories 41-50. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling.

	Fitzroy Readers 51-60 package for Teacher comprises of the following 7 items. Fitzroy Readers 51-60 Each story features a basic English sound (e.g. oy), a few sight words (e.g. said), a revision word list and an extension word list. Readers 51-60 contains 10 books: 51. Paul’s Principle 52. The Dirt Track 53. Athlete Pete 54. Meeting the Challenge 55. Transported 56. David & Goliath 57. Excavations 58. Andrew & Diana 59. Lost & Won 60. The Facts of Life Word Skills 6A & 6B are carefully designed so as not to waste time on unnecessary and abstruse matters. It is practical for today’s world. It enables students: 1. to speak intelligently about the structure of English, 2. to use English correctly in ways which are still considered important in today’s world, 3. to know the standard terms of grammar – noun, verb, prefix, tense, preposition, etc – exactly as they are used in the world today in publishing, journalism, philosophy, etc, 4. to have the necessary grammatical knowledge to tackle a language other than English, 5. to enjoy the workings of English, to expand vocabulary and to write more artfully. Fitzroy Word Skills 6A Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Books 6A supports stories 51-55 with 14 pages for each story. These Word Skills advance the student further in spelling, punctuation and basic grammar. (They also include more advanced activities for the students who progress faster,) Fitzroy Word Skills Number 6A has the essentials of grammar for busy modern students. These can be used by students working on stories 51-55. Word Skills 6A is designed in A4 size page modules, making each topic a digestible activity for one session. Written in a large, generous, easy format, and presented in small logical steps, this work book provided a friendly approach for anyone trying to master English grammar. Fitzroy Word Skills 6B Workbooks to use alongside the Readers. Books 6B supports stories 56-60 with 14 pages for each story. Fitzroy Word Skills Number 6B has the essentials of grammar for busy modern students. These can be used by students working on stories 56-60. Word Skills 6B is designed in A4 size page modules, making each topic a digestible activity for one session. Written in a large, generous, easy format, and presented in small logical steps, this work book provided a friendly approach for anyone trying to master English grammar. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 6A Answers provided for Word Skills 6A. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Word Skills Answer Book 6B Answers provided for Word Skills 6B. Each answer page shows the full question page with the answers marked in. The level of English in each worksheet of the Word Skills is taken from the corresponding Fitzroy Reader. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 6A Containing five of the Reader stories 51-55. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling. Fitzroy Readers Audio CD 6B Containing five of the Reader stories 56-60. Careful pronunciation to cater for ESL students, for slow students and for story telling.
	Fitzroy Reader Stories on CD-ROM Educational software for IBM compatible and Macintosh computers produced in conjunction with Greygum Software. Including the first forty Fitzroy Reader stories and various interactive activities based upon the stories. The activities include hangman, word squares and creative writing by modifying the existing text. Assistance in reading is given with the option of having a whole page read out. Alternatively, a student may select an individual word and have it read to them in a natural human voice. For use in computers - MAC or IBM-compatible PCs Makes learning to read very easy indeed. Every page shown on screen - words and pictures. Words spoken by the computer in clear English. Any word repeated on demand. Student can alter, re-write, store and reprint any story. Games can be played with selected vocabulary A CD for Stories 1-10 and 1x-10x, one for Stories 11-20, 21-30. Fitzroy Talking Readers 1-10 Fitzroy Reader Stories 1-10 on CD-ROM. Fitzroy Talking Readers 1x-10x Fitzroy Reader Stories 1x-10x on CD-ROM. Fitzroy Talking Readers 11-20 Fitzroy Reader Stories 11-20 on CD-ROM. Fitzroy Talking Readers 21-30 Fitzroy Reader Stories 21-30 on CD-ROM.
	Alphabetics Game This is a word-making game using English letters and digraphs. There are two types of activities, one for beginners, and the other for older children and adults (50 possible levels). The package contains graded word lists, clear instructions for the teaching activities and rules for the higher table games. Now with a SHORT RULES sheet for those who want to get straight into the game. It is ideal for helping slow beginners. Also includes enjoyable after-dinner game for literate adults.

The Origins of the Fitzroy Readers

The name of our town, Fitzroy, is known to thousands of children - mostly in schools across Australia, but also in New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore and many other countries. This is because the title Fitzroy Readers is printed across the top of every copy of seventy children's story books created here in Fitzroy and published as a series for learning to read. Over this decade, a million story booklets have been printed.

Back in the early seventies, we, Faye Berryman and Philip O'Carroll, met and started up Fitzroy Community School in North Fitzroy, an inner suburb of Melbourne. Many of the houses here are over a century old, built in the old English style. The school faces a leafy park, known as the Edinburgh Gardens. Faye had been a secondary teacher who had seen the sad outcomes for children who emerged from primary schooling with poor literacy. Philip had been a philosophy lecturer specialising in logic and linguistics. Between the two of us, we were determined to come up with a method of teaching that would ensure that every child could read well.

The Fitzroy Readers have helped children in over 3000 schools in Australia, and many children in other countries. Furthermore, since we published these, school systems across Australia have gradually re-adopted a phonic element into their reading programmes.

And we sometimes wonder who is reading our stories. And we wonder how the teachers, children and parents who use the Fitzroy Readers in so many places far and wide, imagine Fitzroy, the source of their seventy stories.

The Whole Language Approach

Giving children books and encouraging parents to read to their children is a lovely thing. However, as government policy, to be implemented as the weapon against Australia's poor literacy standards, it can only fail. Not only this, but such a government initiative will lull the general public into the false security that something practical is being done to remedy the problem.

It is a big red herring. The real issue confronting us is the flawed literacy method used in most of our schools and taught to trainee teachers in our universities - namely the whole language approach. This approach, which was taken up by academics and schools over thirty years ago, may have been well intentioned, but it was/is not well founded.

The whole language approach is based on the false premise that since children naturally acquire speech by exposure to the spoken language of the group they are born into, that the same will hold true for reading and writing. The theory goes: immerse the children in stories read aloud and they will naturally come to read and write. The Australian education industry (including our universities) has failed to acknowledge research findings - both local and international, and available over the past thirty years - that the whole language approach would fail many children, and that a systematic phonic approach to teaching literacy, should be employed. Humans are genetically endowed with the ability to acquire speech. But reading and writing are learned skills - as human history has consistently shown us.

The first thing that a teacher of English to beginners must do is see how spoken English is transformed into its written form. English is an alphabetic language. We use the letters of the alphabet to represent our speech sounds. Teaching someone to read and write means explaining how the alphabetic code of English works. This is not done in most of our schools.

Yours faithfully,
Faye Berryman, English Co-ordinator, Fitzroy Community School.

The Phonic Approach

"The Phonic Approach" is one of the established methods of teaching children to read and write English. Its main rival is "The Whole Language" approach. The Whole Language approach presents children with words without exploring the sounds of the component letters. The child is expected to become familiar with the look of the word and remember the spoken word to which it corresponds.

The Phonic Approach, by contrast, introduces children firstly to the letters of the alphabet and their basic sounds. Beginning with simple words, children learn how words are formed from these component letters. English uses combinations of letters (eg: sh, th, etc.) to make particular sounds. And there are of course some English words whose spelling does not conform to any phonic principles. These words must still be learned as "whole words".

Objections to the whole word approach include the fact that children cannot decipher words they have never seen and are therefore at the mercy of their schooling for their vocabulary. With the phonic approach children can learn whole families of words at once - for example the ay words.

Having learned the sound of ay the student can then read: bay, day, gay, hay, lay, may, pay, ray, say, way, stay, play, pray, tray, sway, etc.