Helen Keller, author and advocate for the deaf and blind, was born in 1880.

Although born with normal hearing and vision, Helen Keller lost both when she was less than two years old. Despite attempts to teach her at a school for the blind, Helen Keller remained unable to communicate with words of any kind until age seven when Anne Sullivan became her teacher. At the time Sullivan entered her life, Helen Keller was old enough to know that she was missing something. Her frustrations were vented in kicking and screaming tantrums, and she could do little more than simple tasks. Working with Anne Sullivan, whom she called Teacher, Helen made a language breakthrough. She learned to speak, to sign, to read Braille and to type. She went on to graduate from Radcliffe College with honors in 1904 and to write numerous books. In her first book, The Story of My Life, Keller described her struggles with multiple disabilities. Helen Keller’s example helped to pave the way for many changes in the way society viewed and treated people with disabilities. Despite her challenges, Keller lived an independent life outside of any institution. She wrote, lectured and even performed for several years in Vaudeville shows. She became an advocate not only for the rights of those with disabilities, but for racial and sexual equality as well. She wrote, “My work for the blind has never occupied a center in my personality. My sympathies are with all who struggle for justice.”

ARTSEDGE
Helen Keller is considered a hero and an inspiration to many people. In Heroes (5–8), students learn to recognize the positive character traits of heroes through the use of music, art, creative writing and literature.

In What Makes a Hero? (9–12), students write a working definition of a hero and present it creatively to the class. They then choose a work of art that depicts a hero to research as a topic for an expository essay.

EDSITEment
Students explore the traits of heroes and examine their own beliefs about heroes in Portrait of a Hero (K–2) and What Makes a Hero? (3–5).

Science NetLinks
In Extending Human Ability Through Technology (6–8), students explore how technology, including assistive technologies for those with disabilities, has been used to enhance human abilities.

ReadWriteThink
Helen Keller’s autobiography The Story of My Life brought her national attention and has inspired countless individuals. Graphic Life Map (6–8) features a prewriting activity to help prepare students for writing their own personal memoir or autobiography.

In Exploring Disability Using Multimedia and the B-D-A Reading Strategy (9–12), students apply the B-D-A (before-during-after) reading comprehension strategy as they explore varied aspects of disability by investigating rich, interactive multimedia resources.

EconEdLink
Gender equality was an important issue to Helen Keller. In A Fair Wage? (6–12), students examine several resources that address gender equity to determine whether these disparities in pay for men and women are indeed discrimination or whether they are justified.