SIGHT WORDS

Hi! It's me - Professor Panda with a new and really important new English lesson. Today we are going to revisit, SIGHT WORDS! What is a SIGHT WORD?

• A sight word is any word that should be known to a reader automatically. Sight words are pronounced without thinking about how the word is spelled. A common first sight word is a person's name. Beginning readers are at an advantage when they learn to read sight words that occur frequently in print. However, it is possible to read a word on sight but not know the meaning of the word. For example, a student might be able to read on sight "there, their and they're" but not understand the differences in meaning. So, learning words by sight only, should not be seen as a complete reading solution.

• It is estimated that there are approximately 100 to 220 common words in English that require specific memorization.

So, here are the first group of sight words for you. Memorize them and if you are not clear on their meaning or use, look them up in a nice dictionary.

A very good way to learn sight words is to make a flash card for each one. Write the word down on one side, and on the other, write down a sentence using that word. Look at these cards at least once a day, or more! The more you practice, the more automatic they will become, and the better your English will be.

Here are the first 15 sight words you should know:

the Did you see the dog?

of I saw two of them.

and I saw Kimiko and Ichiro.

a I saw a cat.

to Takumi went to the store.

in Shou is in the house.

is Mr. Saito is here.

are Are you going home?

that Did you see that bird?

it I put it on the table.

he He took my bike!

was Kouhei was late for school.

for Mai made this for you.

on The cat is on the chair.

are Aoi and Aya are cute.

Remember: Each sentence begins with a capital (big) letter and ends with either a period, question mark, or exclamation mark. As you practice these sight words and become more comfortable with them, try to make up your own sentences.