The GCFLearnFree.org Everyday Life project uses interactive, situation-based scenarios to teach functional literacy skills. This new approach to learning allows learners to apply their basic literacy skills to real-world situations so they can gain the confidence and skills to be successful.

The lack of literacy in the United States is a very real problem. 22% of people tested in the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) scored at the Basic level in document literacy, representing 44 million Americans that do not know how to apply their basic literacy skills to everyday life.

NAAL uses four performance levels -- Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient -- to classify participants’ literacy skills. Individuals at the Basic level can read the texts they encounter; however, they may struggle to integrate and synthesize information, and perform quantitative tasks with multiple steps.

Our goal is to help these 44 million people reach the Intermediate level, which is the standard identified by the National Governors Association as a minimum for workplace success.

Our functional, or competency-based, approach teaches literacy skills through the application of common tasks. Through interactive, situation-based scenarios, learners experience daily challenges without real-world consequences. By helping the characters in the lessons reach their goals, learners in turn, will gain relevant skills without the fear of failure. This enables learners to complete similar activities in their daily lives.

Each scenario is composed of prose, document, or quantitative literacy tasks that stem from the conceptual definition of adult literacy that the NAAL tasks are based on. NAAL defines literacy as both task-based and skills-based. According to the NAAL, the task-based definition of literacy “focuses on the everyday literacy tasks an adult can and cannot perform” and is “the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential.” It is on this definition that our Everyday Life project is developed.

We are developing the first phase of the Everyday Life project to help learners at the Basic level acquire the skills they need to perform at an Intermediate level. Findings from the 2003 NAAL indicate that learners who are classified in the Basic level often do not recognize that they lack literacy skills, and are not likely to seek help from traditional literacy centers. By first targeting learners at the Basic level, we are serving an underserved population.

In the future, we will implement new lessons to address the needs of learners in the Below Basic category.

The GCFLearnFree.org development team is comprised of individuals from a variety of backgrounds including education, instructional design, gaming, technology, and art design. This diversity helps us approach literacy in a unique way.

Interviews with literacy providers reinforced what we found from our own review of existing resources – there is a lack of engaging, adult-themed literacy resources.

With this in mind, we deviated from the traditional educational lesson and in Everyday Life we deliver a resource that meets the needs of adult literacy learners both in content and in style. We feel that our art style captures the realism of life and that sound plays a significant role in the expression of the everyday chaos that we experience daily.

Literacy tutors, administrators, and adult basic education providers can all use our Everyday Life lessons. You can refer learners to our site to work independently, or use the lessons as a resource to supplement your teaching. Our site provides the ability for learners to track their progress through the lessons, and to repeat lessons as often as they wish.