Having had this discussion in various forms over the years, I have come to agree that all readers use phonics to some extent. Otherwise we could never even attempt a proper name we'd never seen, or scientific names. Some people may be faster at sounding out, but as fluent English readers, we all do it, by necessity. I think the whole-word vs. phonics thing is very relevant when learning, though. My DD didn't seem to do much via phonics at all and suddenly started reading quite fluently at almost 5--she went from her first book read to me ever, The Cat in the Hat (rapid, barely missed a word) to easy chapter books in a few months. If she didn't know a word, she would often skip it or guess. DS has been much more phonics-based and went through the phase of sloooowlyy...sssound-ing...o...ut eachhhh w...or...duh, which DD never did. But he learned earlier--it clicked for him faster (he is probably able to decode on a 2nd grade level now, at 4). Maybe DD was storing up sight words all that time.
Last edited by ultramarina; 03/30/12 12:22 PM.
