[InterceptPoint]

My view is that we are all sight readers except when we run into a word we don't recognize. When that happens we sound out the word to see if that helps. Some times it does, generally it doesn't.

But for a child reading their first book, sounding out a word works like MAGIC because the child finds he/she almost always knows the word after sounding it out. He/she memorizes that word and maybe never has to sound it out again. When you are learning to read this is the way to do it. You need very little help. Just give a kid the rules for sounding out words and hand them a pile of books with words that they will recognize once they pronounce them.

[Wonder Warthog]

"My view is that we are all sight readers except when we run into a word we don't recognize. When that happens we sound out the word to see if that helps. Some times it does, generally it doesn't."

True, but obtaining "sight reader" capability without learning phonics first is like an infant trying to walk without having crawled.