Learning about Hellen Keller

Enunciat

Have you heard about Helen Keller? 
 
1- Read the text and answer the questions 

The Story of Helen Keller, The Girl Who Could Not See, Hear or Speak 

I’d like you to know the story of Helen Keller, who could neither see nor hear from the time she was a baby. Yet the brilliant girl was able to overcome all those handicaps, to graduate from a college with honors and become a useful citizen. I must say there was nothing wrong with Helen Keller when she was born. Her father and mother were very proud of their pretty baby, who tried to say “pa-pa” and “ma-ma”. For nineteen months Helen grew bigger and stronger. She was able to walk when she was a year old; she could say a few words. But one day the child fell ill. For days she was laid up with a high fever and soon the parents learned that their darling would never be able to see and hear. The little child was now doomed to a life of silence and darkness. She could not hear what was said to her and did not know how to talk, she was unable to play with other children. 
When Helen was 6 years old her parents took her to Baltimore and then to Washington to famous doctors to find out if they could do something to make her hear and see again, but the doctors could do nothing. The child was hopelessly deaf. Dr. Bell said the Kellers should address the Perkins Institution for the blind in Boston and ask if they could send someone to help the child. It was a wonderful day for Helen Keller when Ann Sullivan arrived in March 1887 to take charge of the child who could neither hear nor speak. Helen was nearly seven, Ann Sullivan was past twenty. Ann Sullivan found a way to make herself understood. She gave the child a doll, and taking Helen Keller’s hand she slowly spelled out "d-o-l".  
When Miss Sullivan later spelled into the little girl’s hand the word “w-a-t-e-r” and then let the water from the pumps run over her hand, a new light seemed to brighten the face of the child. During the next 3 months, she learned 300 words and could even put some of them into sentences. Miss Sullivan loved her pupil who was so quick to learn. She lived with Helen, played with her and worked with her every hour of the day. By means of the hand language, Helen and her teacher were able to talk to each other. Helen learned to read books that were printed for the blind with raised letters, called braille. She also learned to use the typewriter to write what she wanted to say. 
When Helen was 10 she was determined that she would learn to speak. At first, she learned only the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, but soon she was able to say words and sentences. In the story of her life Helen Keller writes, “I shall never forget the surprise and delight I felt when I uttered my first connected sentence: “It is warm.” Helen practised speaking day after day until at last she developed a clear voice. Later she was able to speak before large crowds which came to hear her whenever she lectured. 
At the age of 20 Helen Keller passed all the difficult entrance examinations to Radcliffe College. Helen did extremely well in her classes and was able to keep up with the other students. Helen wrote “The Story of My Life” while she was in college. In her writings and lectures Helen did everything she could to help and encourage others who were blind. 
(From "Short Stories of Famous Women")

- Match the words on the left to their equivalent on the right :

to overcome              shine or glow 
doomed                     equal 
brighten                     pronounce  
determined                to conquer  
utter                           in what way or manner  
to keep up                 persistent  
by means of              hopeless 

- Say if the following statements are true or false. Justify your response with quotes from the text.  

Helen was blind from birth       True  False 
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She could not go to school with the other children.     True  False 
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Ann Sullivan was 18 years old      True  False 
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Helen found her time in college very difficult     True  False 
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When Helen said her first full sentence, she felt very disappointed  True  False 
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 - Answer the following questions:

 What could Helen NOT do after her illness? 
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How did Anne Sullivan change Helen's life?

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Outline Helen's progression from the time when she couldn't see or hear to when she was able to communicate with others. 
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- Choose one of these activities: 

a. Write a letter to Helen Keller including three questions about her life. Tell her how important she is to you and how much you admire her. Read the letter to your classmates.

b. Write a magazine article about Helen Keller. Include an interview about what she did every day and what she thought.

Observacions i context

Comprehension of the text can be done in pairs or in groups.  
  
Among other deafblind people of the time we note:  
  
-Laura Bridgman (1829-1889), was not as famous as Helen Keller, but is recognised as the first American deafblind person to learn to read and write, 50 years before Helen. Launched to fame by the writer Charles Dickens, some people consider her to have been even more intelligent than Helen.  
  
-Marie Heurtin (1885-1921), who was born deafblind in France, learned to read and write in French when her educator Sister Sainte-Marguerite taught her sign language. Her life was made into a film in The Story of Marie Heurtin  with good reviews.  
  
-Yvonne Pitrois, (1880-1937) French deaf journalist and writer. She was the European correspondent for The Silent Worker for many years.   
  
-Clara Maria Victoria Pechuan, received the "PREMIOS ASOCIDE CV 2012" award for her efforts and dedication to women with visual and hearing impairment. In addition to being the first totally deafblind woman founder of ASOCIDE in the Valencian Community in 1999, she graduated as a physiotherapist.   
  
-Gennet Corcuera (1984-), abandoned in an African orphanage and adopted by a family in Madrid, has completed her university studies, being the first deafblind from birth in Europe to do so, and is now working in a special education school with deafblind people.     

Descripció

In order to improve the comprehension of written texts, a text about Helen Keller's life will be read and different activities will be carried out.   
Contextual models and commonly used discourse genres. 

Resposta

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