Yes, I've seen those "tests" where words are repeated but most don't see it. It's fun to watch my ds6 getting more sophisticated with reading : I see him scanning ahead to understand the context and inferring common phrases (he'll read it intuitively and then go back to correct himself. I also agree that sight-readers often understand a lot about phonics without being taught - where I see ds missing a good phonics lesson (which he will get in school) are the differing vowel combinations and some consonant blends). Where I see him reasoning different than a phonics learner - if he comes to a word he doesn't know, he'll guess a similar "looking" and contextually "fitting" word instead of going the sounding-it-out route.
