The Fish and chip shop
Written by Bel Richardson Illustrated by Balarupa
Why is phonics important to learn? The English language seems like it is full of a lot of crazy pronunciations and spelling. While a small amount of English must be rote learned due to exceptions from rules, much of it can be decoded using phonics. When you know phonics, you are like a detective following clues to solve a mystery. In this series, we use only words that your little reader will be able to break down into standard phonemes. This will build reading confidence while strengthening their phonics foundation.

Is this the right level for my little reader? If your reader can decode about 90% of the words in this book independently, this will be an appropriate platform to begin their study of phonics. By understanding a majority of the words, a reader can use context to decode new terms. If a reader breezes through, you might need to take them up another level. If this level is still a bit too tricky for them, get your reader to try some of the earlier levels first. Challenges can be good, but too much too quickly could overwhelm your reader. Take things slow and steady. Enjoy the books and the journey together!

How can I be a good learning buddy for my reader? If you are helping somebody to read this book, there are plenty of ways that you can go about it. Do the initial exercises together before you begin to read so that you have both experienced the isolated sounds and discussed them. If the reader gets stuck, cover up all but the first phoneme in the word so that the sound can be isolated again. Slowly move along and reveal more phonemes. Once they can say each individual part of the word, you can focus on blending. Say the words so that they can hear them, and get them to repeat it out aloud several times. To consolidate knowledge after you finish a page, talk about what happened and what is in the picture. Then, try saying some of the words on the page and see if the reader can identify them. Get the reader doing this as well, saying words which you need to find. Above all, you should be patient. Create a safe place to make mistakes so that the reader is willing to give things a go.

Special Words This book has some special words that you should take your reader through before you begin. Many special words are those that we use in day-to-day conversation. Unfortunately, a lot of their phonetic structures do not conform to rules that your reader has learned. These words can be frustrating and confusing, but they are also a part of natural reading, writing, and conversation.

to, the, there, go, has, what, order, do, you, want, me, put, tastes, two, sure, waste
Say each word to your reader a few times so that they can get used to its sound. Get them to repeat it back to you. Afterwards, see if your reader can think of any words that rhyme with this sound in order to help lock in how to pronounce it. Finally, think of some basic sentences that use this word. For example, if the word is ‘the’ you can create basic sentences with a subject, verb, and object: "The hat is on the table."
It is time to eat! I am starved. I think that I will try the fish and chip shop. I have not been there yet.
Here it is. Let’s go inside. It is very clean. It has been around for a long time. It must be good.
Smell that! What terrific fish and chips! I cannot wait to try it. I will go and make an order for us all.
Do you want to try the fish? Do you want to try the chips? I see a fish burger as well! We can try it all!
I tell the man that we will order fish, chips, and a burger. He is very happy to help. A good shop must have good staff.
The man tells me that there are different burgers. I think that I will have the cod burger. It looks very yummy.
I will order a lot of chips. They look crunchy and fresh. Crunchy chips are the best. I will get him to put chicken salt on the chips.
I will pay. This lunch is on me. I tell the man where we are sitting. He says that he will bring our food over to us soon!
Yum! We can share all of this food. I will take a bite out of the burger first. It tastes just as good as it looks!
We have eaten almost everything. Two little bits of fish to finish up. We need to make sure that we do not waste food.
It says to put the trash in the bin. Cleaning up helps the staff.
The man says thank you. I say thank you for the food!
