Проектная работа "Чтение"

Municipal Education Establishment

                                     Secondary School № 12

Novocheboksarsk. Chuvashiya.

«Reading problems in the course of time»

       The investigation has been

       carried out by a pupil

       of the 10th «A» form

       Dmitrieva Anastasiya

                                                                   Scientific adviser

                                                                   is a teacher of school № 12

                                                                            Kuznetsova V. V.

                                                Novocheboksarsk.

                                                           2011

                     Contents:

1. Introduction .. . . . . . ………………………………………….... 4

    2. The survey of reviewed………………………………………… 5

     3. Main part………………...............................................................7      

         A) My research……………………………..................................7

B)  Popularity of reading in our country…………………………8

        C) Richness of Russian literature…………………………………11

D)  How reading changes human's brain………………………. .13

E) The major advantages of reading more books………..............14

F)  The problem needs to be solved……………………………..18

   3.Conclusion………………………………………………………...20

   4.Bibliography and references……………………………………....21

  Introduction.

There are a lot of information sources nowadays. And one can use as many as possible while preparing for his classes. To my mind reading books, reference books, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias is the most reliable information source. While some of my classmates can’t agree with me. Very often it is possible to hear from them phrases like   ”reading is a waste of time, just watch the movie!” or “I don’t have enough time for reading” or “I am not interested in classical literature“. And that’ s where the problem starts.

 I got interested in it and decided to clear it up. Thus the aim of my investigation is to analyze the attitude of different people to reading and find possible solutions of the existent problems.

     Besides I am to solve the following tasks:

-to find out if it is true that people have started to read less

-to disclose the reasons of reading decrease

-to understand why books are not so popular nowadays

-to learn what we should do not to allow the further deterioration

-to study how to find a way out of this situation

   I plan to make a sociological research among pupils of the 2, 6 and 10 form. I also want to ask their parents some questions .

   In my research I need to consider such important aspects like:

-  Popularity of reading in our country.

 - Richness of Russian literature.

 - How reading changes human's brain.

-The major advantages of reading more books.

Appearance of new model of reading in our country

Possible solutions of the existent problems

                The survey of reviewed.

   Firstly, I have made up  some questions to get answers from pupils and to understand the current situation.

   These are my questions:

How often do you read? (How much do you read?)

Do you like to read books?

How many books did you read during the last three months?

How much time a day do you spend staying at the computer?

How much time do you spend in front of TV?

What is reading for you? Is it an effort or a good entertainment?

What literature do you prefer? (Modern or  classical)

Do you visit our school or  our town library?

What is your favourite book?

Who is your favourite writer?

Do you discuss books you read with your parents, your friends?

What kind of books do you prefer more ( books of school program, fantasy books, detective stories, books  about nature, books about animals, scientific books)

-How do you choose books ( Do you follow your teacher’s, friends’ advice).

These  are my questions for parents:

How often do you read? (How much do you read?)

How often do you buy new books for yourselves, for your children?

How many books did you read during the last three month?

Do you collect books at  home?

Do you read to your children? (if your children are not more

than ten years old)

My research is based on the received answers.

                                  The research.

   All the information I offer is based on the results of my sociological research.

  According to all available data the most part of children and teenagers read books in their spare time. Only the fifth part of pupils read less than 30 minutes a day. About 37 % read more than for one hour a day. 24 % read for one hour a day. 20 % of children and teenagers read for half an hour or about one hour.

 But, as a rule, those who like to read are mainly young children.

The senior pupils very often answer that they don’t like to read. So they read less and less in their spare time. The students who answer “for me it is pleasant to read or I read much” are 51 % among 2-d form’ students, 39% among 6-th form’ students and the amount of adult 11-th form students leaves much to be desired, only 14 %.

 To detect the students’ level of reading is important.  It shows that senior pupils  like to read but unfortunately they are able to read books only according to  school program, as they are too busy with school things and don’t have enough time to read for  pleasure. And to our happiness the amount of children who read much, at least, according to school program, is increasing.  

 As far as I understand, children and teenagers prefer various books: school curriculum books come first.  Fairy tales are popular with children of younger age, but fantasies are chosen by older students. Adventures and "horror stories", detectives (teenagers), books about the nature and animals are read with great interest. It is necessary to mention that choosing children, they will share their friends’ opinion about books choice a book to read for pleasure, a teenager will follow his teacher’s advice, but as for younger.

                Popularity of reading in our country.

    Literature is the most complete and expressive manifestation of the Russian creative genius. It conveys not only esthetic, moral and spiritual values and beliefs; literature is also our philosophy, the way to get insight into life, as leading Russian philosophers note. Great Russian poets and writers have always been the voice of this people's conscience and soul, and had to suffer for it.

    The priority of literature in the cultural life of the Russian people can be explained by its origin and the meaning it got from the moment of its appearance. Written language and literature were introduced to Russia from the outside, along with Christianity. Book appeared in Russia in the form of a sacred scripture, thus determining the place and role of literature in the history of Russian culture. The language and spirit of folk poetry in the form of songs, fairy tales, epics, etc. introduced genuine life and imagery to Russian literature. Thus, literature in our country developed as a blending of folk art and church scriptures.

   In 20 century reading in our country was especially popular. Our country was the most reading country in the world. However now we take only the seventh place.

First ten the most reading countries by quantity of hours per week:

1. India - 10,7 hours per week.

2. Thailand - 9,4 hours per week.

3. China - 8,0 hours per week.

4. Philippines -7,6 hours per week.

5. Egypt - 7,5 hours per week.

6. Creece - 7,4 hours per week.

7. Russia - 7,1 hours per week.

8. Sweden - 6,9 hours per week.

9. France - 6,9 hours per week.

10. Hungary - 6,8 hours per week.

 In our country earlier there was an old model of reading. Let's designate lines which characterize the old model of reading:

-"Love to reading" (prestige in a society "the person reading", compulsion of regular reading);

- Prevalence of reading of books, instead of magazines;

- Various repertoire of reading in which books of various kinds and genres are presented;

- Presence of house library.

For  children, and especially for  teenagers:

 - Discussion of the read books

 - Presence of "literary heroes";

-The positive relation to library (existence of the "good" librarian).

These days the popularity of  books has sharply decreased and there is a formation of new model of reading.

                        Richness of Russian literature.

   Literature is the greatest human property. Russia is the world famous for its literature. It is generally known that Russian literature is one of the most voluminous in the world. A. Pushkin, I. Turgenev, I. Goncharov, L. Tolstoy, F. Dostoevsky, A. Chekhov are the leaders of the world classical literature. They set a pattern for language, subject matter, and narrative techniques of Russian and world literature. Their works attract readers even today, because everybody can find something special there.

   Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.
He wrote more than 700 lyrical poems and also the volumes of dramatic works, short stories, made adaptations of Russian fairy-tales.

   Ivan Turgenev successfully linked social problems with true literary art. His "Hunter's Sketches" and "Fathers and Sons" depict Russia's life with realism and with artistry which make these works classics. The problem of the generation gap discussed in his "Fathers and Sons" is very acute today. The everyday life of the Russian provincial gentry is perfectly described by Goncharov in his famous novel "Oblomov". The writer shows how the best and the brightest men can degenerate if they do not see how to use and develop their talents.

   Leo Tolstoy and Feodor Dostoevsky are recognized as the best Russian writers. They give a realistic picture of the Russian society of the 19-th century. Their research in a person's inner world is unique. Their characters do not always know what they really want, and when they think they do know, the fate breaks their illusions. Moral issues are raised in Tolstoy's and Dostoevsky's works. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" as well as Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brother Karamazov" focus on serious human problems.

   The end of the 19-th century was dominated by Anton Chekhov. He contributed to two genres: short stories and drama. His short stories are really short, but powerful. They make people laugh and cry at the same time. Some of his stories may seem very cruel, but Chekhov simply reflected the Russian life in his prose. His plays are not numerous, but they are really outstanding. "The Cherry Orchard" is his best known play. It is an emotional drama of the decline of a Russian noble family, which shares the fate of the Russian nation.

   In the Twentieth Century leading figures of Russian literature included internationally recognized poets such as Alexander Blok, Sergei Yesenin, Anna Achmatova, Marina Tsvetayeva, Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak, Joseph Brodsky, Vladimir Mayakovsky and prose writers Maxim Gorky, Ivan Bunin, Vladimir Nabokov, Mikhail Sholokhov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Andrei Platonov, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The development of Russian literature in the 20th century speaks of its imperishable meaning.

   Russian literature has become an integral part of the world culture and has been appreciated by people all over the world.  So it goes without saying that young generation of Russian should not forget masterpieces of the Russian classical literature.

                 How reading changes human's brain.

     People were never born to read. Human beings invented reading only a few thousand years ago. And with this invention, we rearranged the organization of our brain, which in turn expanded the ways we were able to think.  Reading made the intellectual evolution of people.

     Reading is one of the most remarkable inventions in history. This invention could come only because of the human brain's extraordinary ability to make new connections among its structures. It's important to understand the complexity of the human brain. The human brain weighs only three pounds but has about 100 billion cells.

     It is not a secret that reading develops your memory, imagination, speech, literary tastes and makes people better informed and more educated. Reading is an active mental process – unlike TV, books make you to use your brain. By reading, you think more and become smarter. This very difficult process reconstructs even appearance of a brain. Scientists have found out that the process of reading changes quantity of grey and white substance in brain.

   Scientists  also  have discovered that any kind of reading prevents many illnesses and ageing. Moreover, reading of fiction, long texts develops ability of long concentration.

   So what kind of books we should read? The western scientists consider that for a brain it does not matter, the main thing that we should not stop reading books.

                  The major advantages of reading more books.

 According to my research I have found out that people began to read less. If you are one of the non-book readers who feels you “don’t need  books”, here are great reasons to start the habit…before you are left behind!

1. Reading is a fundamental  source of information - Every good course on the planet has a matching book to go with it. Why? Because books help clarify difficult subjects. Books provide information that goes deeper than just classroom discussion.

2. Reading is an active mental process –by reading, you think more and become smarter.

3. Reading improves your vocabulary – you get a benefit from book reading. While reading books, especially  difficult ones, you will find yourself exposed to many new words you wouldn’t  do  otherwise.

4. Improves concentration and focus – Like I pointed out before, reading books takes brain power. It requires you to focus on what you are reading for long periods. Unlike magazines, Internet posts or e-Mails that might contain small chunks of information books tell the whole story. Since you must concentrate in order to read you will get better at concentration.

 5. New mental associations –As you read more books the depth of your knowledge expands and your ability to form new associations increases. Reading a book to discover the solution to one problem, you find the solution to others you may not have considered.

6. Improves memory – Many studies show if you don’t use your memory, you lose it. Reading requires remembering details, facts and figures, plot lines, themes and characters.

7. Improves creativity – by reading more books and exposing yourself to new and more complete information, you will also be able to come up with more creative ideas. When people read many books and when they are stumped with a problem they can come up with a creative  solution that isn’t written anywhere. But the reason they can do that is because they have read so many books on the subject, so they can combine lessons from all of them into new solutions.

8. Improves your reasoning skills – You will be able to reason better with the knowledge you get from books. In hot discussions   you  will be able to argue against. You’ll be reasoning better.

9. Decreased boredom –if I am feeling bored, I will pick up a book and start reading. What I’ve found is that I become interested in the book’s subject and stop being bored. If you’re bored anyway, you might as well be reading a good book.

10. Books are inexpensive entertainment – What’s the average price of a movie ticket these days? 150-200 rubles? You can buy a paperback for that price and be entertained for many hours more.

11. Reduces stress - Many people relax when they read. Compared with the person who gets home from work and immediately turns on the TV news, you are going from work stress to crime stress. But it’s not just news. TV as a source of relaxation is too full of loud commercials and fast moving (often violent) images. If relaxation is something you want, turn off the TV or computer and pick up a book.

12. Gives you a look into other cultures and places –Books can expand your horizons by letting you see what other cities and countries have to offer before you visit them.

13. Gives you something to talk about – Have you ever run out of stuff to talk about with your best friend? This can be uncomfortable. However, if you read a lot of books, you’ll always have something to talk about. You can discuss various plots in the novels you read. 

14. Improves your discipline – Obviously, if people don’t read books, then there is a discipline issue. There may be many causes for people not reading books such as excuses that you can get information from the Internet. TV is also a major distracter. Making time to read is something we all know we should do, but who reads books every day? Very few…That’s why adding book reading to your daily duty list improves discipline. 

15. Builds self-esteem – By reading more books, you become better informed and more of an expert on the topics you read about. This expertise translates into higher self esteem. Since you are so well read, people look at you for answers. Your feelings about yourself can only get better.

16. Gets you away from digital distractions –When you find some good books, you’ll find yourself drawn into the subject matter. You’ll want to spend more time reading. By spending more time reading books, you’ll have less time for the digital gadgets begging for our attention.

17. You’ll be able to make more money - If you make a serious effort to read in your chosen career, your expertise in that specialty will increase. As you become more specialized and learned, you join a smaller group of more qualified people. By being part of the small few with the highest level knowledge your pay will increase. 

 18. Books can change your life – How many times have you heard of a book changing someone’s life? Books can open your eyes to a whole new way of thinking. 

                           The problem needs to be solved.

   So the question is what is to be done to improve the situation. It is rather a difficult question.

  There is no denying the fact that children are always curious. And I’m sure it is worth introducing them to the art of reading from the very childhood. Parents’ task in this case is not to miss the very moment when their children are anxious to learn everything. They should do their utmost to carry the children away by books. It is also their relatives’ task to help the children to organize their activity in the right way to stir the imagination, to broaden the outlook.

  It is quite clear that TV, a video, a computer, a mobile phone can’t substitute a book. Moreover, they are damaging for health. Very often it is a big problem to convince young people to read a book because it is easier for them to watch a screen version of it. Certainly, it takes a good deal of reserve, patience, diplomacy on the part of parents to reason with their children.

  I think it also works to attend reading parties and contests which are organized by our school and town libraries. There grown-ups and children have a good opportunity to speak about their favourite writers, discuss their books, to take part in literary contests, recite poems.

  I believe family reading is an effective way of getting children interested in books. In this case adults should provide their children with an opportunity to speak out the opinion concerning the book, the characters’ behaviour.

  Al school teachers should use their imagination, knowledge to encourage the pupils’ interest in reading. They use various methods, unusual types of conducting a lesson in order to imbue the pupils with reading books.

  To my mind it works to use an individual way of approach. It is more interesting for pupils to work with individual books, tasks according to their level, interests. In this case the pupils’ interest in reading doesn’t  flag too much. But nevertheless the situation is really distressing to teachers, children’s parents. I’m sure it is not right to let matters stand as they are. It is necessary to look for other effective ways of solving this very problem.

                             Conclusion.

     Today the quantity of the problems connected with children's  reading is growing. We live within old literary tradition. But now the situation is changing, that is especially evident according to children’s and teenagers’ wish to read.  Teachers are full of alarm. Pupils have no interest in classical literature. That’s why they become less educated and their speech is more poor.  To our regret, literature is not much important for modern youngsters, sometimes it so happens that some of them don’t know famous classical literature heroes. One of the reasons of  it is the influence of "electronic culture”.

 Many parents, teachers, librarians are still focused on old literary model whereas the majority of today's children and teenagers have another books preferences. It is also important to mention that modern children don’t enjoy, admire books or to be more exact their language, significance, ideas. Books don’t inspire them, don’t influence or change them for the better. As for me I know for sure that reading books is not only fun; it helps us to improve some negative features of our character. Once Maxim Gorgy said that all positive features of his character were due to books. I share his point of view and want my friends, classmates who are not willing to read to understand that it is the most accessible source of knowledge and inspiration.

 So, children are the future of our country. And adults should do everything to make them good. They face a lot of difficulties while bringing  them up. And “reading problem” is one of  the most important.  It’s high time. Think it over…

                              Bibliography and references.

Кашкаров А. Как привить ребёнку любовь к чтению./Андрей Кашкаров//Семейное чтение.-2009.-№1-С.12-15

Лякишева С. О пользе чтения в семье./Светлана Лякишева.//Семейное чтение.-2009-№1ю-Сю16-18.

Московская М.Интерес: чтение. Опыт работы клуба по интересам для читателей-родителей/ Мария Московская//Семейное чтениею-2009-№2-3ю-С.13-17

Research Article “Does literacy improve brain function?” (Published 11 November 2010  in  magazine
Science )

http://www.rhythmology.se/artikel_lasa.html

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/01/steve-jobs-peop

http://nosleepingdogs.wordpress.com/2009/

Reading in the Brain by Stanislaus Deane  (A book published by Penguin Viking, November 16th 2009 )

http://russia-ic.com/culture_art/literature/169/