ClassX Video Lessons Who Is Helen Keller for Kids | Learn about the life and accomplishments of Helen Keller
Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you couldn’t see or hear? It might be really hard to talk to people and understand what’s happening around you. Today, let’s learn about an amazing woman named Helen Keller, who couldn’t see or hear but still did incredible things!
Helen Keller was born in Alabama on June 27, 1880. When she was a baby, she could see and hear just like everyone else. But when she was only 19 months old, she got very sick with a high fever. After that, she couldn’t see or hear anymore. This made it really hard for her to talk to people, and she often felt upset because she couldn’t express herself.
Helen’s parents knew she needed help, so they found a special teacher named Anne Sullivan. Anne had been blind too, but she got her sight back after surgery. She understood what Helen was going through and wanted to help her. Anne became Helen’s teacher and friend for over 50 years! People called Anne “The Miracle Worker” because she was so good at teaching Helen.
Anne taught Helen to communicate by using her sense of touch. She would trace letters on Helen’s hand, and Helen would copy the movements. Helen also learned to read using Braille, a special system with raised bumps that blind people can feel with their fingers. By the time she was 10, Helen could read and even use a typewriter!
Another teacher, Sarah Fuller, helped Helen learn to talk. Sarah showed Helen how to feel the vibrations of words on her lips and taught her how to move her own lips to make sounds. Isn’t that amazing?
When Helen was 16, she went to college at Radcliffe College for Women in Massachusetts. Anne Sullivan went with her to help by signing the teacher’s words into Helen’s hands. In 1904, Helen graduated with honors, becoming the first deaf and blind person to finish college!
While in college, Helen wrote about her life, and her stories were published in magazines and books. She wanted to help others like her, so she joined the American Foundation for the Blind and traveled to give speeches and raise money. She even visited soldiers during World War II to encourage them.
Throughout her life, Helen met many important people, like American Presidents Grover Cleveland and Lyndon Johnson, the author Mark Twain, and Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. She also wrote a book called “Teacher” to honor Anne Sullivan.
Helen Keller passed away in 1968, just before her 88th birthday. She showed the world that even when things are really tough, we can still do great things with the help of friends and teachers.
Great job! Remember, like Helen Keller, we can overcome challenges and achieve amazing things with determination and support from others.
Touch and Feel Alphabet: Create a tactile alphabet using materials like sandpaper, felt, or foam. Cut out letters and let the children feel each one with their fingers. Encourage them to trace the letters with their hands, just like Anne Sullivan taught Helen Keller. Ask them to spell simple words using the tactile letters and see if they can guess the word by touch alone.
Braille Name Tags: Introduce the children to the Braille alphabet. Provide them with a Braille chart and some paper with raised dots or stickers. Have them create name tags in Braille by placing the dots in the correct pattern for each letter of their name. Once completed, let them exchange name tags with a friend and try to read each other’s names using touch.
Sound and Vibration Experiment: Explore how sound can be felt through vibrations. Give each child a balloon and have them hold it against their cheek while you play music or make sounds. Ask them to describe what they feel. Discuss how Helen Keller learned to speak by feeling vibrations and how this experiment helps us understand her experience.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Who was Helen Keller? Can you imagine what it would be like to not be able to see or hear? It would be super frustrating to try to communicate. Today, we are going to talk about the remarkable life of a woman named Helen Keller and how she became one of the most inspirational people in history.
Helen Keller was born in Alabama on June 27, 1880, with full sight and hearing. However, when she was just 19 months old, she got sick with a terrible fever that left her deaf and blind. As a young child, Helen had trouble communicating with others and would often become angry and frustrated. She had not learned to speak before she got sick, so she would use special motions to show what she wanted. Her parents knew that she needed special help, which is how Anne Sullivan came into Helen’s life.
Anne was once blind herself, but her sight returned after surgery. Having lived through her own experience, she knew that she would be able to help Helen live a full life. Here is an interesting fact: Anne Sullivan was Helen’s helper and companion for over 50 years, starting when Helen was just six years old. One of Anne Sullivan’s nicknames was “The Miracle Worker” because of the success of her teaching.
So how did Anne Sullivan help Helen Keller learn to communicate? First, she started by teaching Helen words using her sense of touch, tracing one letter at a time. Helen would repeat the tracing movement in Anne’s hand. Helen learned how to read using a special reading system for the blind called Braille, which uses letters made from little bumps. You may have seen Braille letters before in schools or public places. By the age of 10, Helen was not only able to read, but she could also use a typewriter.
Helen had another teacher, a woman named Sarah Fuller, who helped her learn how to talk. Sarah used the vibrations of words on her own lips to teach Helen how to speak. Helen learned how to feel sound vibrations and also how to move her lips to make her own sounds. Pretty amazing, right?
By the time she was 16 years old, Helen Keller was already in college. She attended Radcliffe College for Women in Massachusetts, and Anne Sullivan went with her, helping Helen to listen to her college lectures by signing the teacher’s words into Helen’s hands. In 1904, Helen graduated college with honors, becoming the first deaf and blind person to do so.
While in college, Helen began writing about her experiences being deaf and blind, and these stories were published in magazines and eventually in books. Many people read these stories and became interested in her remarkable life. When Helen got older, she wanted to help others like herself. She joined an organization called the American Foundation for the Blind and traveled around to give speeches and raise money for the foundation. She also volunteered to visit wounded soldiers during World War II, encouraging them to never give up.
Throughout her life, Helen Keller was an advocate for others living with disabilities, especially those who were deaf and blind. During her travels, she met American Presidents like Grover Cleveland and Lyndon Johnson, as well as the author Mark Twain and Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. She also wrote a book called “Teacher” in honor of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Helen Keller died in 1968, just a month before her 88th birthday.
Now that we have learned about the amazing and remarkable life of Helen Keller, let’s see what you remember:
– True or False: Helen Keller was born deaf and blind. (False; she did not become deaf and blind until she was 19 months old.)
– Fill in the blank: ___ was Helen Keller’s teacher and companion for over 50 years. (Sullivan)
– What is the name of the special reading system for the blind that uses raised bumps in place of letters? (Braille)
– True or False: Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind person to graduate from college. (True)
Great job, friends! Helen Keller led a unique life filled with challenges, yet through the help of teachers and friends like Anne Sullivan, she was able to lead not only a good life but an extraordinary one. The next time you face a challenge that seems overwhelming, remember Helen Keller and that even under the most difficult circumstances, we are capable of great things.
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This version maintains the essence of the original transcript while ensuring clarity and appropriateness.
