Fishing at Night Chapter 1

Category: Fishing at Night

seaside“I do like this cottage,”cottage,” said Tim, one afternoon.afternoon. He was sittingsitting on the verandahverandah with his parents and Mia, watchingwatching Ricki who was rowingrowing in the boat.

“So do I,” said Mia. “I like beingbeing up high where we can look over the water.”

The cottage was on a high part of the bank above the mouth of the MatakanaMatakana River.River. It was a very old cottage, small and rather dark inside.inside. There were two bedroomsbedrooms and a kitchen.kitchen. “That isThat’s    all we need for a holiday,”holiday,” said Mrs Gale. But what they likedliked most of all was the verandah. It stretchedstretched right acrossacross the front of the cottage, and on fine days they had their meals there, so that they could look out across the river to the hills on the far side.

“You know, this part of the river does notdoesn’t    look like a river at all,” said Mia. “It isIt’s    very wide, and there are all those little muddymuddy beaches.”es.”   

“It isIt’s    reallyreally an estuary,”estuary,” said Mr Gale. “It’s partlypartly river and partly sea. Have you trytried  the water? It tastestastes saltysalty and the tide comes in and out, just as it doesdoes on the coast. The real river startsstarts further up, where it's narrow,narrow, and the water is fresh there.”

Comprehension

Clarify these words: verandah, river mouth, stretched, estuary, tide, narrow, coast.

Retell what has happened in this first chapter.

Make inferences and give opinions about:

  • What is so good about being high up.
  • Why the cottage was fine for a holiday.
  • What was special about the verandah.
  • How the river looked.
  • What an estuary is.
  • Why the water might taste funny.
  • Whether you should put water in your mouth.
  • Why the river starts further up.

 

What prediction can you make about what might happen next?

What question could you ask about this chapter?

Visualise these uses of descriptive language: the cottage was on a high part of the bank above the mouth of the river; a very old cottage, rather small and dark inside; the verandah stretched right across the front of the cottage; the river looks wide with little muddy beaches; partly river, partly sea; the water tastes salty and the tide comes in and out; it's narrow and the water is fresh there. 

Make a connection with this chapter.

Word Study

Verb endings: What happens when we add s, ed or ing to: sit, like, do, try, taste.

Other affixes: What happens when we add other prefixes and suffixes like s, y, ly to these words: beach, mud, salt, real, part.

What two words make up these compound words: inside, bedrooms.

What two words are contracted here: that's, doesn't, it's.