READERS in CHINA - EAGLE



Jennifer Kraar

NCTA-ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY SUMMER RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM

JULY 2012

IMPLEMENTATION

INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT:

Readers Across Cultures: Observing in China and at Home

Designed for Grades: 3, 4,5

Subject Area: Library and Social Studies

Essential Questions:

• By observing reading habits of people in China can one gain a deeper understanding of their culture?

• What commonalities can we find between reading habits we observe in the U.S., and reading habits we observe in some cities in China?

• How do Andre Kertesz’s seminal photos “On Reading” help us to understand and interpret the photographs of readers taken in China.

• In Modern China is reading as important an activity as it was in Ancient China?

Objectives:

• Observe the Reading in China photographs and describe apparent reading trends among people in another culture

• Analyze reading trends of the people that are observed in every day life in the United States

• Compare facts about the reading habits in the U.S to facts about reading habits in China

• Respond to specific questions about the Readers in China photo essay.

Procedure:

1. The photo essay that was shot in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing is made available in different formats:

• A bulletin of matted twelve 8 x 10 photos

• A slide show of 54 photos

• The slide show is available on the web page: – (click on Readers in China)

2. The students will see some of the photos from Andre Kerstesz’s exhibit On Reading. Kertesz is teaching us how to use photographs. Answers to open ended questions will be shared.

Link to Kertesz’s photographs:

3. Students will be asked to brainstorm about where, in their environment, they have noticed people reading. A list of these places will be generated. The students will be given homework: a reading inventory that asks the students to observe people reading around them during the week and list the places that they see readers. They will also record where they usually like to read and the place that they wish they could read. (Reading Inventory)

4. Homework will be shared in small groups and the list of places that students saw readers will be compiled.

5. The slide show of readers in China will be shared.

6. A group comparison chart of the places that they observed Chinese readers reading and the places that they observed readers in their worlds will be constructed.

7. A culminating discussion about similarities and differences in these two cultures reading habits will be held.

8. Facts and fictions about reading habits in China and the U.S will be given to small groups. Each group must determine which facts are true and which are false. The students will discuss their answers and explain how they came to their conclusions. (Reading Facts)

9. The bulletin board depicting readers in China will have an interactive component. Students will be invited to respond to a writing prompt or question each week. A “winner” will be randomly chosen from the responses and given a Chinese related token. Some of the thoughtful answers will be shared during our school’s monthly meeting.

10. Example writing prompts:

Do you recognize any of the books the readers are reading?

Where do you think the readers in China are reading?

How can you tell that the readers are in China?

Resources:

• Photographs of Readers in China

• Articles about reading habits in the US and China

Outcomes:

• Students will improve their observational skills, both with photographs and in the world around them.

• Students will have an awareness of similarities and differences of reading habits in the United States and reading habits in China.

• Students will find out some details about daily, contemporary life in a Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

• Students will discover some reading trends in the U.S. and China.

• Students will be introduced to the pictures in the exhibit On Reading by the European photographer Andre Kertesz.

• Students will learn to use their observation skills to ascertain conclusions.

READING INVENTORY

Name: ___________

• Every time you observe someone reading record the appropriate information below with a hash mark.

| |BOOK |E-BOOK |MAGAZINE |NEWSPAPER |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|ADULTS | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|CHILDREN | | | | |

• Where do you usually enjoy reading?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

• What kinds of materials do you like to read? (genre and format)

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

READING REALITIES IN THE U.S. and CHINA

TRUE OR FALSE?

1. Every family in the United States buys at least one book a year. T/F

2. In the U.S. adults, on average spend 107 hours per year reading. T/F

3. In 2011 the average Chinese read only 4.3 books a year. T/F

4. In the U.S. more people are reading now than in 1978. T/F

5. Americans 18 and older read an average of 17 books each year. T/F

6. 25 million people in China only use their cell phones to read books. T/F

7. For 2010 there were over one million eBooks read by Chinese people of ages ranging from 18 to 70. T/F

KEY TO TRUE / FALSE

1. False. Total percentage of U.S. families that did not buy a book this year : 80



2. True:

3. True

4. False..Less.

5. True. Same as above.

6. True. Almost half of Chinese adults read books in different forms and about 25 percent of readers -- some 220 million people read electronic media. Of these, almost 120 million people use their mobile phone to read. And almost 25 million people only use their cell phones to read books.

(The Atlantic 11/27/12)

7. False. For 2010 there were over 613 million eBooks read by Chinese people of ages ranging from 18 to 70.

(Asia-Pacific Business & Technology Report, 8/4/11)

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