Reading: Basic Decoding & Word Recognition
Lesson 3: Reading Common Sight Words
Before You Start
In our last lesson, we learned to blend sounds to read words like "cat" and "sun". That is a great skill!
However, some very common English words are "tricky". They don't follow the normal phonics rules. We call these Sight Words1 because it's easier to remember them just by looking at them. Learning these words will make you a much faster reader.
Part 1: First Group of Sight Words
Let's learn our first five sight words. Read them and see how they are used in a sentence2.
| Sight Word | Khmer Translation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| the | នេះ / នោះ | The sun is hot. |
| a | មួយ | I see a cat. |
| is | គឺ / គឺជា | Kampot is nice. |
| it | វា | It is a pen. |
| in | ใน / ខាងใน | The cup is in the box. |
Part 2: Second Group of Sight Words
Here are five more very common sight words.
| Sight Word | Khmer Translation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I | ខ្ញុំ | I am a student. |
| you | អ្នក | You are a good student. |
| see | ឃើញ | I see the market. |
| can | អាច | You can read. |
| go | ទៅ | We go to school. |
Part 3: Practice Reading Sentences
Read these sentences aloud. They use your new sight words and words from our last lesson.
- I see a dog.
- You can go in the house.
- It is the sun.
- I see you.
Practice Activities
Quiz 1: Fill in the Blank
Choose the correct sight word to complete the sentence.
1. I ___ a pen. (go / see)
Answer: see
2. ___ is a big dog. (It / In)
Answer: It
3. We ___ to the market. (can / go)
Answer: go
Vocabulary Glossary
-
Sight Word (*noun*)
ភាសាខ្មែរ: ពាក្យដែលត្រូវจำ (Peak dael trov cham)
A common word that readers should know instantly just by seeing it. ↩ back to text -
Sentence (*noun*)
ភាសាខ្មែរ: ប្រយោគ (Bprayo)
A group of words that makes a complete thought, starting with a capital letter. ↩ back to text
Homework Task
Option 1: On paper, make small cards for each of the 10 sight words. Practice looking at each card and saying the word quickly.
Option 2: Write three new sentences using the sight words you learned today. For example: "I see a big bus."