Orientation/Opening

    Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 27, 1880. She was a happy healthy baby. Her father, Arthur, worked for a newspaper while her mother, Kate, took care of the home and baby Helen. She grew up on her family's large farm called Ivy Green.

A Service of Events

    When Hellen was around one and a half years old, she became very sick. She had a high fever and bad headache for several days. Although Helen survived, her parents soon realized that she had lost both her sight and hearing.

    Helen tried to communicate with the people around her. She had special motions she would use to indicate that she wanted her mom or her dad. However, she would also get frustrated. She realized that she was different and it was extremely difficult to let others know what she needed. She would sometimes throw tantrums, kicking and hitting other people in anger.

    Soon Helen's parents contacted the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. The director suggested a former student named Anne Sullivan. Anne had been blind, but had her eyesight restored by surgery. Perhaps her unique experience would allow her to help Helen. Anne came to work with Helen on March 3, 1887 and would be her helper and companion for the next 50 years.

    Anne began to teach Helen words and then how to read. Helen was very bright and Anne an amazing teacher. Soon Helen could read entire books in Braille. After that, Helen Keller learned how to talk from Sarah Fuller. She started off learning a few letters and sounds. Then, she advanced to words and, finally, sentences. Helen was so happy that she could say words.

    Then, at sixteen years old Helen attended Radcliffe College for women in Massachusetts. Anne attended school with her and helped to sign the lectures into Helen's hand. Helen graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 with honors.

    During college Helen began to write about her experiences being deaf and blind. She first wrote a number of articles for a magazine called the Ladies' Home Journal. These articles were later published together in a book called The Story of My Life. A few years later, in 1908, she published another book called The World I Live In.

    As Helen grew older, she wanted to help other people like herself. She joined the American Foundation for the Blind and traveled the country giving speeches and raising money for the foundation. Later, during World War II, she visited with wounded army soldiers encouraging them not to give up. Helen spent much of her life working to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities, especially the deaf and the blind.

    Keller died on June 1, 1968, just a few weeks before her 88th birthday.

Reorientation

    During her remarkable life, Keller stood as a powerful example of how determination, hard work, and imagination can allow an individual to triumph over adversity.

Adopted from: https://www.ducksters.com/biography/women_leaders/helen_keller.php (July 26, 2019)

Work in pairs.
Discuss the answers of the following questions.

Why was Anne Sullivan the best person to teach Helen Keller?