Helen Keller
helen keller
Helen Keller was an American writer and speaker. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880. When she was nineteen months old she became sick and lost her eyesight and hearing. The doctor didn't know what it was, so he called it a"congestion of the stomach and brain." Some people say that it was scarlet fever or meningitis.
When Helen was seven years old, her family decided to find a teacher for her. They wrote to Michael Anagnos, who was the director of the Perkins Institute and Asylum for the Blind. They asked him to help them find a teacher for their daughter. He wrote to them and told them that he knew a young teacher and her name was Anne Sullivan. She had been blind, but a series of operations helped restored her eyesight. Anne traveled to Alabama to live with Helen’s family and to teach her. Anne went to live with the Keller family in March, 1887.
Anne helped Helen to learn how to communicate with other people. She taught her the names of things by writing the words on Helen’s hand. Helen's first word was "water". She learned this word when Anne put Helen's hand under some water and wrote W,A,T,E,R on her hand. Then she learnt the words with this method.After Helen Keller learned what the letters W-A-T-E-R stood for, how did Anne Sullivan go about teaching her other words?
To understand a new word, Helen would place her hand lightly on one of Annie's hands and she would feel Annie's finger positions change as Annie spelled individual letters to Helen using the finger spelling method. Annie could spell the letters very fast. So, constant practice made Helen so proficient at interpreting what Annie was spelling, she did not need to feel each letter of a word, she simply could guess what the word was by picking up the meaning of the first few letters. Annie treated Helen just like a hearing child acquiring language. She would finger spell complete sentences into Helen's hand, and then filled in the meaning with gestures and descriptive
Helen Keller was an American writer and speaker. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880. When she was nineteen months old she became sick and lost her eyesight and hearing. The doctor didn't know what it was, so he called it a"congestion of the stomach and brain." Some people say that it was scarlet fever or meningitis.
When Helen was seven years old, her family decided to find a teacher for her. They wrote to Michael Anagnos, who was the director of the Perkins Institute and Asylum for the Blind. They asked him to help them find a teacher for their daughter. He wrote to them and told them that he knew a young teacher and her name was Anne Sullivan. She had been blind, but a series of operations helped restored her eyesight. Anne traveled to Alabama to live with Helen’s family and to teach her. Anne went to live with the Keller family in March, 1887.
Anne helped Helen to learn how to communicate with other people. She taught her the names of things by writing the words on Helen’s hand. Helen's first word was "water". She learned this word when Anne put Helen's hand under some water and wrote W,A,T,E,R on her hand. Then she learnt the words with this method.After Helen Keller learned what the letters W-A-T-E-R stood for, how did Anne Sullivan go about teaching her other words?
To understand a new word, Helen would place her hand lightly on one of Annie's hands and she would feel Annie's finger positions change as Annie spelled individual letters to Helen using the finger spelling method. Annie could spell the letters very fast. So, constant practice made Helen so proficient at interpreting what Annie was spelling, she did not need to feel each letter of a word, she simply could guess what the word was by picking up the meaning of the first few letters. Annie treated Helen just like a hearing child acquiring language. She would finger spell complete sentences into Helen's hand, and then filled in the meaning with gestures and descriptive