Where to Start - English

Fitzroy Readers and Word Skills workbooks

Systematic, synthetic, evidence-based phonics resources for the explicit instruction and teaching of English.

The Fitzroy Program is a complete F-6 literacy resource. Ninety decodable readers form the core of the program. The Word Skills workbooks support the phonics principles introduced in the readers, as well as punctuation, grammar, comprehension and creative writing exercises. There is one Fitzroy Word Skills workbook for each set of Fitzroy Readers, except the last set which has two Word Skills workbooks.

The Australian English Curriculum version 9.0 has introduced a strong focus on phonics. The Fitzroy Program is a phonics program that supports a high level of achievement in all three English strands, with a particular emphasis on literacy. You can find supporting documents under Information

The Fitzroy Readers gradually introduce the 50+ most common special words (non-phonic). Some phonic words are called special words when first encountered but become sounding words later, when a reader focuses on their digraph.

Given the sequential nature of the program, it is ideal to start at the beginning. However, students can enter the Fitzroy Program at any stage of literacy development. When in doubt, it is generally recommended that the student commence at an earlier level, to increase their confidence and fill in any gaps in their knowledge.

The first seven years of schooling:

4 yr old / Prep/ Foundation	Fitzroy Alphabet Book	Alphabet Book Contents Page
Prep / Foundation	Readers & Word Skills 1-10	W/S 1-10 Contents Page
Prep / Foundation	Readers & Word Skills 1x-10x	W/S 1x-10x Contents Page
Year 1	Readers & Word Skills 11-20	W/S 11-20 Contents Page
Year 1 / 2	Readers & Word Skills 11x-20x	W/S 11x-20x Contents Page
Year 2	Readers & Word Skills 21-30	W/S 21-30 Contents Page
Year 2 / 3	Readers & Word Skills 21x-30x	W/S 21x-30x Contents Page
Year 3 / 4	Readers & Word Skills 31-40	W/S 31-40 Contents Page
Year 4 / 5	Readers & Word Skills 41-50	W/S 41-50 Contents Page
Year 6	Readers & Word Skills 51-55 & 56-60	W/S 51-55 W/S 56-60 Contents Pages

* When the Fitzroy Readers are used in conjunction with the Fitzroy Word Skills workbooks.

Read about the links between The Fitzroy Program and the Australian Curriculum.

Entry Level Tests can be used to help gauge where to start a student in the Fitzroy Program.

The Fitzroy Readers Overview of New Sounds shows which sounds and digraphs are introduced at each level of the Fitzroy Program and may help in choosing the right entry point for the learner.

The Comparison of Levels chart shows how the Fitzroy Readers sit alongside Reading Recovery and the PM Readers.