Amazing Women (Level 1) English Readers Helen Keller Classroom Activities , the activity type is reusable 2 Discuss with the class the ways in which we can help people with disabilities – and what people with disabilities can do to help and teach others. Before reading 5 Language 1 Speaking 1 Tell students that they are going to read a biography of Helen Keller. Ask students if they have heard of Helen Keller. Explain that Helen Keller became deaf and blind when she was only 19 months old. With the help of other people, she learned to read and write, and eventually she taught people around the world about blindness. 2 Divide students into groups of three or four.Tell them to imagine and discuss what it is like to be deaf and / or blind. • What would it feel like and what would they miss? • How would their lives change? • Would their other senses become more important? • Would they become more dependent on other people? TIP Where you see this symbol with any story in this book. While reading 2 Comprehension Tell students to read the introduction to Helen Keller’s story (the section in bold on page 33). Then ask these questions: 1 Helen Keller learned to communicate with the help of several special people. Who could these people be? How can someone who is deaf and blind communicate? 2 She used her communication skills to teach people about blindness. Why was it important for Keller to teach other people about blindness? While reading TIP 3 Comprehension You can use this activity for other stories, but you should adapt the handout as needed. Tell students that they are going to find out how people helped Helen Keller in her life, and how she helped other people. Give them a copy of the Helen Keller handout at the end of this document and ask them to make notes under each heading in the grid as they read the story and the timeline. After reading 4 Comprehension 1 Put students into groups of three or four and let them compare the notes they made in the grid for activity 3. Then draw the grid on the board and ask each group to contribute a way in which people helped Helen Keller and how she helped others. You can use this activity for other stories but you will need to divide up the story into new sections. Put students into groups of three or four. Write the following sections of the story on the board: 1 Pages 33–34: from the Introduction down to Her name was Anne Sullivan. 2 Pages 34–35: from At first, I was to understand me when I spoke. 3 Pages 35–36: from I studied hard to I never forgot her. 4 Page 36: from With the help of to the end. Assign each group a section of the story above and give them a sheet of paper. Tell them to reread the relevant part of the story, and write a list of key names, dates, verbs, nouns, adjectives and short phrases which are useful for retelling that section of the story. The groups then practise retelling their section of the story using their key words and without referring back to the story text. Then ask each group in turn to retell their section of the story, using only their notes. 6 Speaking In the same groups as for the previous activity, ask students to discuss the following questions: 1 Who was the most important ‘helper’ for Helen Keller? 2 What was Helen Keller’s most important achievement? 3 What can we learn from the life of Helen Keller? 7 Video Watch the video of Helen Keller telling her story on www. collinselt.com/readers. Students already know the story well, so they should be able to concentrate on the pictures behind the story. Ask students to comment on the pictures they saw. Which pictures were particularly interesting? Were they surprised by anything they saw? 8 Research Ask students to use the websites listed in the ‘Further Research’ document to find further interesting information about Helen Keller, e.g. about the organization she set up to help educate people about blindness, her books and her inspirational quotations. They could also find out information about Braille, its inventor (Louis Braille) and how important this system is for blind people. © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable. 1 Amazing Women (Level 1) English Readers Helen Keller Answer Key (Classroom Activities) 1 Speaking Answers will vary. Students may say that if they were blind and / or deaf, they might feel lonely. They would need other people to help them with everyday things. It would be more difficult to learn about the world. If they were blind, they wouldn’t be able to see shapes and colours. They wouldn’t be able to enjoy art or films, or fashion. They wouldn’t be able to recognize people’s faces, etc. They would need to learn Braille to be able to read. They would need a guide dog to help them go from place to place. If they were deaf, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy the sound of music. They wouldn’t be able to hear what others are saying. They would need to learn to lip-read, understand sign language, etc. The problems would be even more serious for a person who was deaf and blind. In both cases they would rely more on their other senses and other people to help them. Who helped Helen Keller? 2 Comprehension Answers will vary. 1 Students may say that the ‘special people’ may be her family, friends of the family, or perhaps a doctor or nurse, or someone who has studied the problems of deaf-blind children. They may suggest that someone who is deaf and blind may communicate only by using gestures, touch, showing their feelings by crying, shouting, etc. 2 Students may say that Helen wanted to teach others about blindness because she wanted other blind people to learn from her experiences. She wanted to show the world that it was possible for blind or deaf-blind people to learn and make a difference in the world. 3 and 4 Comprehension Answers will vary. Suggested answers are given in the grid below. How did this person / these people help her? • Martha Washington, daughter of the Keller family’s cook • She played with Helen and they created their own sign language. • Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone • He told Helen’s mother about the Perkins School for the blind. • Anne Sullivan, a teacher from the Perkins School • She taught Helen to ‘read’ signs written on her hand. Helped Helen to read Braille. Helped Helen at school and university. Spoke for Helen in her talks around the world. • The teachers and students at the school • They taught Helen and the students also learned from each other. • Polly Thomson • She became Helen’s guide when Anne Sullivan became ill and died. • Winnie Corbally • She became Helen’s guide when Polly Thomson became ill. Who did Helen Keller help? How did she help them? •Women • After getting her degree, she worked for organizations that fought for women’s rights. •Workers • In 1912, she started to work with workers’ organizations. She discovered that some work can make people blind. She wrote a book about this so that other people would know about it. • Blind people • She started her own organization, Helen Keller International, to teach people about blindness and how it can be prevented. She also gave talks around the world about her beliefs, and wrote 12 books. © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable. 5 Language Answer will vary. Some useful words, names, dates, and phrases for each section of the story: 1 meningitis, disease, deaf, blind, communicate, difficult time, Martha Washington, sign language, professional help, 1886, Alexander Graham Bell, Perkins School, Anne Sullivan 2 difficult student, Anne Sullivan – kind, drew signs, water, read, communicate, 8 years old, Perkins School, children, teachers, Braille, 1894, New York, different schools, speak, voice, understand 3 1900, university, Anne, words on hand, 1904, degree, use communication skills, organizations, women’s rights, 1912, workers’ organizations, book in Braille, 1915, own organization, Helen Keller International, blindness, prevented, travelled, talks, popular, Anne ill, Polly Thomson, guide 4 12 books, famous, 1957,Winnie Corbally, guide, travel, theatre play,The Miracle Worker, popular film, 1964, award from President of USA, Women’s Hall of Fame, 1968, end of life, proud 6 Speaking Answers will vary. Students may say: 1 Anne Sullivan: because she did the most to help Helen in her life – teaching her to read, helping her to get her degree, acting as her guide and speaking for her during her talks. (Other possible answers may be: Helen herself, Helen’s mother for bringing Anne Sullivan to their home, Helen’s teachers.) 2 Helen Keller International: because this organization still exists today and teaches people around the world about blindness. (Other possible answers may be: her 12 books which explain her ideas, her talks because they reached so many people at a time when people knew very little about preventing blindness.) 3 We can learn not to give up even when things seem impossible in our lives. We can be happy and thankful for the abilities we do have. We can learn the importance of helping others, etc. 7 Video Answers will vary. 8 Research Answers will vary. 2 Helen Keller Who helped Helen Keller? How did this person / these people help her? Who did Helen Keller help? How did she help them? © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2014. This page is photocopiable.