Read an editorial in The Washington Times in the early 90’s where California discovered their sight reading initiative left them with a HUGE functional illiteracy rate.
I think it was over 80% and it took the OVER 20 YEARS to figure out the problem.
My mom was a grade school reading teacher, and no way in hell would she teach sight. Lady was hard core phonics.
Home schooled my kids in reading via phonics, Kumon math, Hands on Algebra in 3rd grade (That was a hoot! They understood the concepts!), and US History.
That’s a parent’s job.
Your mother was smart. Teach the phonics well, and sight-reading will come naturally. It will not need to be "taught".
Can you sight-read this garbled speech by the first Republican president?
Fuor srcoe and sveen yraes ago our ftrehas bghurot fotrh on tihs cnnoitnet, a new notain, cnveieocd in Lbetiry, and dateceidd to the ptorooipsin taht all men are cteraed euaql.Now we are egengad in a graet cviil war, tientsg wtheehr taht niaton, or any notian so cvnieoced and so dceitaded, can lnog eunrde. We are met on a garet bttlae-filed of taht war. We hvae cmoe to dcdteaie a protoin of taht fleid, as a fianl rsetnig pclae for tohse who here gvae tiehr leivs taht taht ntioan mghit lvie. It is atgheeotlr fintitg and poperr taht we soluhd do tihs.
But, in a lgerar sesne, we can not dceaitde -- we can not csoetracne -- we can not hlalow -- tihs gnruod. The bavre men, lviing and daed, who sgrluetgd hree, have ctsrencaeod it, far avboe our poor pewor to add or drecatt. The wrlod wlil llttie ntoe, nor lnog reembemr waht we say hree, but it can nveer foergt waht tehy did hree. It is for us the livnig, rheatr, to be dcaideted hree to the uhfsenniid wrok wcihh tehy who fhugot hree hvae tuhs far so nloby acevndad. It is rahetr for us to be hree didtecead to the geart tsak raminneig bferoe us -- taht form tsehe hnoored daed we tkae incareesd doeivton to taht cusae for wichh tehy gvae the lsat full marseue of dietoovn -- taht we hree hhgily rovesle taht tehse daed slahl not hvae deid in vain -- taht tihs notian, udenr God, slahl hvae a new brith of frodeem -- and taht gnvernmoet of the poeple, by the ppoele, for the pleope, slahl not pisreh form the etarh.
Each word in the speech starts with the same first letter and ends with the same last letter. The letters in between are randomly shuffled. But research has shown that normal English speakers can still read the text!
Sight-reading does not need to be taught. It comes naturally. Phonics is what needs to be taught!