Web Quest The Golden ring of Russia

The 11 th form Unit 2 Lesson 3-4 New Millennium English

The Golden Ring of Russia.

Teacher: Sultanova Rimma( Султанова Римма Рафаиловна)

INTRODUCTION

Town and cities of the Golden Ring of Russia are popular tourist destinations. Famous religious centers, churches and convents attract a lot of tourists from all over the world. All the towns of the Golden Ring we can call the architectural jewels of our country.

TASK

You are about to travel around the Golden Ring. Are you ready to visit places of interest in these towns ? Your job is to research some historical facts of the towns? Your presentations will be documentation of your research.

RESOURCES

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Ring

biketours.com/russia/golden-ring-russia

travelallrussia.com/golden-ring/

youtube.com/watch?v=gX0bheS-ho8&list=PL3A85A4BA973E3366

portbaikal.com/en/other_destinations/tours-to-russia-2014/tour-golden-ring-of-russia.php

waytorussia.net/GoldenRing/GoldenRing.html

canstockphoto.com/images-photos/golden-ring-russia.html

nashifotki.com/Tag_the_Golden_ring_of_Russia.htm

russia-travel.ws/photos/124/

PROCESS

I. Read the text « A JEM IN THE GOLDEN RING» by Neal Amis(Ex.1B, p.28 New Millennium English) and answer the questions:

1. What sentences express strong regret, advice, probability?

2. What things make Suzdal attractive for tourists?

II. Read the following information:

One of the most fascinating regions in Russia is the famous 'Golden Ring' of cities to the northeast of Moscow. This ancient heart of Russia with its old whitewashed city walls and venerable onion-domed churches created the world's definition of medieval Rus. In this enchanted region - which has remained relatively untouched by tourist crowds - time stands still. The main currents of history ignored these cities, leaving towns such as Vladimir, Suzdal, Sergiev Posad, Rostov Velikiy, and Yaroslavl as quaint and perfect as when they were first constructed.

Many travelers to Russia find the "Golden Ring" of cities to be one of the most fascinating regions of the country. At one time called Zalesye, or "Beyond the Forests," this historic and important collection of places northeast of Moscow serves as the ancient heart of this great country, where old whitewashed city walls and venerable churches with golden onion-domes define the world's picture of medieval Russia.

Originally conceived by Soviet Culture magazine writer Yuri Bychkov during a 1967 feature assignment, the Golden Ring is an enchanted loop of eight cities set upon a route first envisioned from behind the steering wheel of a Moskvitch driving down the M-8 Yaroslavl Highway. Each city managed to escape Soviet-era architectural "progress," and indeed, time does seem to stand still in many of the destinations along the route. Bychkov was, during this fateful road trip, looking for an interesting drive that would encompass Vladimir the Great's ancient Rus while on his way to Suzdal, where his editor assigned him to write about the development of tourism.

The cities along the route, which includes Sergiyev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalesskiy, Rostov Veliky, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, and Vladimir, are as perfectly quaint as when they were first constructed. Bychkov found enough inspiration in each of these ancient locales to write an article that formed a series he called "The Golden Ring." These stories were published in the magazine "Smena" ("Change") without any fanfare, as the celebrated golden domed churches of these cities were still seen by Communist Party officials as evidence of Russia's decadent Imperial past rather than remnants of its cherished national heritage.

Bychkov, though, recognized the immense value of this heritage, and he helped found the All-Russia Society for the Preservation of Historic Monuments and Culture within a couple years of his road trip to Suzdal. His activism eventually caught the attention of scholars, who were among the first to follow this route in search of Russia's glorious past. By the 1970s, the Golden Ring began to appear in song, catching the public imagination so powerfully that this first great tourism brand of Russia seems today to be almost eternal.

III. Find and name other towns of the Golden Ring.

IV. Use the Internet information linked below specifically related to:

a) Suzdal inyourpocket.com/russia/Suzdal/Sightseeing

b) Sergiev Posad angel-taxi.com/sergiev-posad/ russianlessons.net/russia/moscow-oblast/sergiyev-posad.php

c) Rostov Velikiy lonelyplanet.com/russia/golden-ring/rostov-veliky waytorussia.net/GoldenRing/Rostov/Sightseeing.html

d) Yaroslavl inyourpocket.com/russia/Yaroslavl/Sightseeing gotorussia.ru/Russia_Sightseeing_Yaroslavl/

e) Pereslavl-Zalesskiy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pereslavl-Zalessky tourismpereslavl.ru/content.html?lang=en&page=map

EVALUATION of the presentation

Points

Focus

Organization

Style

Presentation skills

4

The presentation had a clear and consistent focus. I came away knowing exactly what point the presenter was trying to make.

At every point in the presentation, I knew exactly where the presenter was and where we had been, and I had a sense of where we were going. I never lost sight of the presenter's focus.

The text and the visual design were clear, interesting, and appropriate to the purpose and audience of the presentation. Fonts, colors, etc. seemed well chosen to reflect the presenter's purpose and aided in my ability to process the visual content of the presentation.

The presenter gave a clear, thorough, convincing presentation apart from the PowerPoint. The PowerPoint enhanced the presentation and was useful as a reference, but I felt that the presentation would still have been quite good without it. The presenter welcomed questions from the audience and responded thoughtfully.

3

By the time he/she finished, I understood the presenter's point clearly, but I had some doubts along the way.

I generally knew where the presenter was and where he/she was headed, but there were a couple of places where I was a little confused. Some of the slides may not have been clear, and a couple seemed outside the focus of the presentation.

The text and visual design were clear and interesting but somewhat inconsistent in style. Although the design may not have distracted from the content, it also did not enhance my ability to understand the presentation.

The presenter spoke well and with confidence but occasionally read bullet points without sufficient elaboration. In some cases, he/she diverted from the "script" a little too much - I was uncertain of the connection between what he/she was saying and the information on the screen. His/her responses to questions were good but could have been stronger.

2

I am fairly certain what point the presenter was trying to make, but I'd like further clarification.

I was never totally lost during the presentation, but several of the slides were unclear or confusing, and there were several places where I wasn't sure where the presenter was headed. Several of the slides seemed to deviate from the main point, and it was sometimes difficult to tell what was a page title, what was a heading, and what was regular text.

The layout and color choices distracted somewhat from the content of the presentation, and some of the images were purely decorative and seemed out of place. At times I found myself staring at the screen and forgetting what the presenter was talking about. The text of the slides was reasonably clear but uninteresting.

The presenter spoke with some confidence but relied heavily on the text on the screen. This probably would not have been a strong, coherent presentation without the PowerPoint to hold it together.

1

On further reflection, I think I can figure out what the point of this presentation was, but I shouldn't have to work this hard.

By the time the presenter finished, I understood what the focus was, but most of the slides seemed jumbled.

Fonts and colors were inconsistent; text was dull and inappropriate to the presenter's purpose (too informal, for example).

The presenter mostly read the bullet points on the screen, only occasionally elaborating on them. He/she looked at the screen as much as at the audience and faltered when responding to questions from the audience or speaking independently.

0

I have absolutely no idea what this person was talking about.

I was lost during most of the presentation. Few if any of the slides seemed logical when presented.

Colors, fonts, and layout seemed almost random. The design was confusing and made it difficult to understand (or even find) the content of the presentation.

The presenter merely read the bullet points on the screen, then referred back to them in response to questions. It seemed almost as though he/she had never seen the PowerPoint before today

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CONCLUSION

Nice work. You should be proud of yourselves. There is so much more to learn about the Golden Ring towns. There are many books in the library that can help you. You can also ask your teacher for additional information.

Congratulations on a job well done!