Key to what you are saying (I agree) is that by starting to write something (even a shell script) you get instant feedback and reinforcement.

If you are spending time understand a framework you don't get to that part as quickly.

While it may seem trivial even having someone see what happens in the shell when they do simply from the command line:

Lesson One from the command line:

echo "Enter your name:"

read x

echo "Hello $x"

..is the type of reinforcement that allows someone to feel as if they are making progress.

Lesson Two: Ok let's put that in a script and make it executable:

...and so on.

(Obviously equivalent examples with Php.)