I agree, Mia. Maybe it is a difference between how GT kids read and how ND kids read, but I don't necessarily think that phonics have to be drilled into kids or that whole word reading is so limiting as all that.
Fluent readers read whole word. Phonics always seemed to me to be a way to get kids to the point of being able to read whole word. If a GT kid starts at whole word on his/her own and is able to apply that knowledge to new words, I don't really see any reason to belabor phonics instruction. I also don't get why an ND kid couldn't internalize the rules of pronunciation when taught whole word.
I think some combination of phonics and whole word instruction is probably best, but I also don't buy the "they just memorized 1000-2000 words and couldn't really read" statement about whole word instruction. That seems loopy to me. If the kids knew the alphabet and "B says buh," how could this be?
