Transcript
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller An Inspiring Life
Guided Reading Level J
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Written by Carol Ghiglieri Illustrated by Antonio Castro Designed by Maria Lilja ISBN-13: 978-0-439-77417-8 ISBN-10: 0-439-77417-9 Copyright © 2007 by Scholastic Inc. Published by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in China. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen Keller lived from 1880 to 1968. She was a hero to many people.
Helen Keller was deaf and blind. But that did not stop her. She wrote books and traveled around the world. Read on to learn about her inspiring life! Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen’s parents worried about Helen while she was sick.
Helen was born in Alabama in 1880. She was a happy baby. But when she was almost two, she got very sick. For days she had a high fever. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen could not see spring f lowers or hear birds sing.
After the fever passed, Helen was not the same as before. Her parents realized that she couldn’t hear or see. The illness had left her deaf and blind. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Sometimes Helen got so angry she would kick and scream.
Helen could not hear words, so she could not learn to speak. It made her angry that she couldn’t communicate. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen made different movements to show what she wanted.
Helen found ways to let her parents know what she wanted. When she wanted ice cream, she pretended she was cold. When she wanted her father, she pretended to put on glasses. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Annie brought Helen a doll.
When Helen was six, a teacher named Annie Sullivan came to live with her family. Annie wanted to teach Helen to communicate with words. But how? Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Annie tried to teach Helen about words. She tried to teach her that everything has a name.
Annie spelled letters with her fingers in the palm of Helen’s hand. Annie spelled the letters D-O-L-L. Then she handed Helen a doll. But Helen didn’t understand that the letters spelled doll. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
For many weeks, Annie tried to teach Helen about words. It was a very difficult job.
One day, Annie had an idea. She led Helen to the water pump. Annie let the cold water run over Helen’s hand. Then she wrote the letters W-A-T-E-R in Helen’s palm again and again. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Mother, father, sister, and teacher were some of the new words Helen learned that day.
Suddenly Helen understood! The letters spelled water! Now she knew that everything had a name! “I learned a great many new words that day,” Helen later wrote. Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen loved books. She read one after another.
Helen later learned to read books in Braille. These books had raised dots that stood for letters. Helen could feel the dots with her fingertips. She also learned to write and speak, too. 10 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen used a special typewriter to write. Her first book was called The Story of My Life.
When Helen was 20, she went to college. She also wrote a book about her life. Now people all over the world could read Helen’s amazing story. 11 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
The leaders of many countries wanted to meet Helen.
Over the years, Helen visited more than 30 countries. She met many deaf and blind people on her travels. Everywhere she went, she gave people hope. 12 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
“We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough,” Helen said.
For the rest of her life, Helen worked to help deaf and blind people. She showed them that they could do many things. Today people remember Helen Keller as a true hero. 13 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
This timeline shows some of the important events in Helen Keller’s life. 1880
Helen Keller is born.
1880
1887
Annie Sullivan comes to live with Helen.
1885
1890 1887
Helen learns her first words.
1882
Helen gets sick. She becomes deaf and blind.
14 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
1895
1913 1904
Helen finishes college.
1900
Helen begins making speeches to help deaf and blind people.
1905
1910
1902
Helen writes a book about her life.
15 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
1915
Glossary Braille (noun) A kind of writing for blind people. It uses raised dots that can be felt with the fingertips. communicate (verb) to share information, ideas, or feelings with others hope (noun) a good feeling about the future inspiring (adjective) encouraging; giving confidence or support to someone palm (noun) the inside of the hand realized (verb) understood; knew timeline (noun) a line with marks and words that shows when important events happened
16 Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Helen Keller An Inspiring Life Guided Reading Level: J Word Count: 666 Average Words Per Page: 42 Spotlight Nonfiction Feature: Timeline
H
elen Keller (1880–1968) was born a healthy child. But at the age of two, tragedy struck: A severe illness left her both deaf and blind. She spent her early years frustrated and unable to communicate. But with perseverance and the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller grew up to be a highly educated and accomplished woman—showing the world that virtually any obstacle can be overcome.
Introducing the Book Invite children to talk about their personal heroes. What special things have these people accomplished? You might make a list on the board of qualities children admire in their heroes, such as bravery, perseverance, and hard work.
Tell children that today they will read about a person who could neither see nor hear. Explain that although she had many obstacles, this amazing woman overcame them all to reach her goals.
Spotlight Nonfiction Feature: Timeline Tell children that many biographies are told in chronological order. Then explain that the events in a person’s life can also be shown in a timeline. A timeline includes a short description of each event and tells when it happened. Have children turn to pages 14–15. Tell children that most timelines have an introduction or caption—explain that they should read this first so they will know what the timeline will show them. Then ask: What does the first point in the timeline show? Why do you think so? (It shows the year Helen Keller was born; the timeline starts at the beginning of her life.)
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Give children practice reading the timeline by asking questions such as: How can you use the first two dates to figure out Helen’s age at the time she got sick? (Subtract 1880 from 1882; she was two years old.) Why do two labels show the same year? (Because two important events happened that year.) Which event came first? (Annie Sullivan’s arrival came first.)
A
Using the Reproducible
Book Links
Invite children to think about the many things Helen Keller accomplished during her lifetime. Distribute copies of the graphic organizer on page 33. Have students fill in each star with one of her accomplishments.
For more information on Helen Keller, try these titles:
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
◆
A Girl Named Helen Keller by Margo Lundell (Scholastic, 1995)
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A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David A. Adler (Holiday House, 1991)
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Helen Keller and the Big Storm by Patricia Lakin (Simon & Schuster, 2002)
Name ________________________________
Date _______________________
Shining Stars
Scholastic Teaching Resources, page 33
Helen Keller accomplished many things in her life. In each star, write something she accomplished.
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
Important Events in ___________________________________’s Life
Write the person’s name on the line. Then write important events in the order in which they happened.
Sequencing Timeline
Name ____________________________________________
Name ________________________________
Date _______________________
Vocabulary Chart Record new words on the chart. First, write the vocabulary word. Next, write what it means. Then, use the word in your own sentence. Word
What It Means
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Sentence Using Word
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
What the Person Was Like:
Important Events in the Person’s Life:
Name:
How I Feel About the Person:
His or Her Accomplishments:
Write the person’s name in the center box. Then fill in the other boxes.
Character Map
Name ____________________________________________
Easy Reader Biographies: Helen Keller © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Date _______________________________
Name _____________________ Both
Name _____________________
Write one person’s name over each circle. Write facts about this person in that circle. In the center, write what the two people had in common.
Venn Diagram
Name ____________________________________________
