Visit the main page for the Reading Program to explore the new category, or choose a combination below to launch a quick tour directly to your selection (activities are on the right, and categories of words are along the top).

The Reading program is expanding this Fall – look for more new categories (Food & Beverage, Action Words (part 2), Shapes & Colors, and Buildings) and more ways to explore the program.

The Art category contains words such as draw, paint, and beauty. These words help the learner to explore basic terms associated with art. Check out all of the Art word videos.

The Sports category contains terms that are used in popular sporting events and games. These terms are used frequently in Sports broadcasts and in the sports section of newspapers. Explore the Sports word cloud.

Any of the categories can be used with our newest activity called Blast Off! In this exciting mini game, learners have to find the missing word in a sentence by flying around the screen. Find the missing word and collect a medal, but watch out for the wrong words – hitting them will slow you down. If you need to hear the sentence again, fly over the speaker icons placed throughout the screen.

See if you can find all the Direction category words in Blast Off!

Be sure to check back frequently as we will be adding new activities and categories throughout the summer. As always, if you like what you see – please tell a friend.

There are many organizations that have been established to help children learn to read. However, not many reading programs have been designed specifically for adults. Mark and Matt explained that our Reading Program is different because it has been tailored to adults. All of the content for the reading program is designed by staff writers and is written to mimic typical conversational English used by adults. People will read text about going to the grocery store, getting help at a pharmacy, an article from the Sports page or filling out a job application. The Reading Program is designed to help adults explore words in real-life context. Adults can use the program from the comfort of their own home and can work at their own pace. To explore the Reading Program, visit http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/.

Watch the Video from WRAL News

In 2010, GCFLearnFree.org launched its new Reading Program. The Reading Program is designed to help struggling adult readers become more proficient with the most common words in the English language. Built upon the 1,000 most popular words, this Reading Program utilizes original texts to help the learner become familiar with conversational English. Learners gain exposure to these words through a number of different interactive learning tools that help them learn to read. Although the content of the website was originally designed for US learners, the curriculum can be used by global audiences.  To date, GCFLearnFree.org has served over 1 million people from over 230 different countries around the world.  We currently serve over 8,000 users from Africa. Mark and Matt will be showcasing how the Reading Program model can be used in African countries to develop similar online learning opportunities. To learn more about the eLearning Africa Conference, visit their website at http://www.elearning-africa.com/conference.php.

The new category, Direction, includes words that are used to give people directions. Words such as north, south, east, west, left, and right are included in this category. These words will help struggling reader’s learn terminology that aids in listening, reading, or giving directions about how to get to a particular destination.

Try the new category, Direction, with the new activity called Sound Match. When you get to the Reading Program page, select the Activity Icon on the left and the new Direction category on the right. Click on the Tape Deck icon, which is outlined in red on the left. This will get you started on the new activity.

A boom box appears on the screen, with three tape decks. Hover over the tape deck to hear a word read aloud. When the reader hears the word that is displayed, simply drag that tape deck to the boom box and insert the tape. If this is not the correct word, the boom box will spit the tape back out. If this is the correct word, then the boom box will accept the tape and play a short song. The activity helps the learner to reinforce the relationship between how a word sounds and how a word is spelled. To start learning, go to http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/.

To access the Video Explorer, click on the Learn to Read link. When the Reading Program launches, you will see 5 icons on the left and 5 icons on the right. The icons on the left represent the different interactive learning tools available.

Click the Video icon. Next, you will need to choose a word category by using the category icons on the right. Each of the 1,000 most popular words has been broken down into a category or common theme. Categories include topics like Action words, Medical, Transportation, and more. Decide which category you would like to explore through video and click on it.

Next, click on the “Play” button and a variety of word videos will appear. Scroll through the video list, like the one shown below, and press the play button to begin.

Each of the word videos are 10-20 seconds long and give the learner a visual definition of the word. Many of the videos define the words with comparisons. For example, the word “natural” is defined by showing items that are natural, such as fruits and vegetables, and compares them to items that are artificial, like a soft drink. These comparisons help to put the words into real-life context. The videos are tailored to an adult audience and use real-life scenarios. The videos are an excellent method for exposing people to a variety of words and how those words would be used conversationally. Additionally, the videos help users to match the image and sound of a word with its written form.

Check out a few of the word videos below and let us know which one is your favorite!

To see all the videos, visit www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/.

How does the Reading Program work?

Learners simply go to http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/ and click “Learn to Read.” Once there, they will see a series of icons on the left and on the right. The icons on the left represent the different learning tools available and the icons on the right represent the different word categories. To begin, the learner chooses a learning tool and a category.

What reading tools are available?

A Letter tool allows the learner to explore the relationship between letters and their sounds in different words. The Word tools are like a virtual dictionary and provide learners with a verbal and visual representation of the words. The Text tools allow the learner to explore a variety of different text formats that are found in everyday life situations such as forms, questionnaires, and newspaper articles. The Video tool represents each word with a short video. Lastly, there is an Activity tool. This contains game-like activities that allow the learner to practice using the words in a variety of ways.

Getting Started

Your learners simply go to http://www.gcflearnfree.org/reading/ to get started learning. Its free and users are not required to create a member account with GCFLearnFree.org. We encourage you to explore the variety of different activities so that you can help your learners gain the skills they need to be proficient readers. There is also an Educator’s page that will provide additional resources for educator’s.

Feedback

The Reading Program has just begun and we would love to hear your feedback. Tell us what you like about the program, how you use it, or what we could do to improve the Reading Program. And, don’t forget to check back often because we will be adding to the program throughout 2010.