Alabama Bicentennial Learning Activity #291 Activity Title * What was life like when Helen Keller was a little girl? Author * Anne Russell School * Brooks Elementary School School System * Lauderdale Online Resource Title * Helen Keller at age 7. Online Resource URL * http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/ref/collection/photo/id/3167 Online Resource Description * Helen Keller is age 7. She is holding a small dog in her lap. Content Standard * 11. Interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs. • Comparing maps of the past to maps of the present E G H CG 12. Explain the significance of representations of American v Description * 11. Interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs. • Comparing maps of the past to maps of the present Students will look at primary sources from the past and compare and contrast ways of life from the past to today. We will look at a picture of Helen Keller when she was 7 years old . Students will answer the following questions: 1. What are some things in the picture that you can see that lets us know that Helen Keller lived a long time ago? 2. What are some things in the picture that you could find in your house today? 3. Looking at some more documents and letters from the time that Helen Keller lived, how are things different today? We will look at other primary sources such as a letter written by Helen Keller to Mrs. Burton. Content Standard Description Content Standard Description Phase * Opening Activity Description * Today boys and girls, we are going to look at the life of a famous Alabamian who lived very close to us. We are going to compare her life story to ours , to find the differences and the things that are the same. We are going to use actual pictures of Helen Keller and a letter that she wrote to another lady. But first , let's read a story about Helen Keller and find out who she was and what about her made her so famous. The story I am about to read is titled "A Picture Book of Helen Keller. Bloom's Taxonomy * Remembering Understanding Applying Assessment Strategies * We will do hands on activities that will help students to gain a better understanding of Helen Keller's life and the way she lived. Students will go through stations and experience first hand what people in Helen Keller's life time had to do to survive. Station 1 - Students will follow a recipe and make flapjacks. Station 2 - Students will follow a recipe and make butter; Students will also use a washboard and soap to wash clothes. Station 3 - Students will compare a map of Tuscumbia in the 1890's and a map of today and answer questions such as *Can you spot the property belonging to the Kellers? * Find Helen Keller's birthplace *How does Tuscumbia now compare to Tuscumbia then? * What looks the same? What looks different? Have students draw a replica of the map. Station 4 - Have different examples of Braille books as well as other books about Helen Keller for students to read. Advanced Preparation * Have ingredients , measuring cups, recipes set out at specific stations. Have maps of Tuscumbia then and now for students to compare. Find books about Helen Keller, Annie Sullivan, and Braille books. Variation Tips (Optional) Notes/Recommendations (Optional) Attach a File lesson_plans__helen_keller.pdf 9.34 MB · PDF Attach a File Attach a File Created 18 Jul 2018 99.111.94.201 11:35:11 PM IP Address PUBLIC Helen Keller Birthplace Educator Resource Packet Helen Keller Birthplace 300 North Commons Street, West Tuscumbia, Alabama 35674 888.329.2124 256.383.4066 helenkellerbirthplace.org Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area University of North Alabama One Harrison Place, UNA Box 5231 Florence, AL 35632-0001 msnha.una.edu 256.765.5028 [email protected] Like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Journey to Tuscumbia, 1887 3. Anne Sullivan and the Manual Alphabet 4. Investigating Ivy Green 5. Helen Keller’s Life After “Water”: Analyzing Primary Sources 6. Helen Keller’s Legacy 7. Curriculum Standards Addressed by these Activities Helen Keller Birthplace Educator Resource Packet Page 2 Introduction This curriculum packet is designed to provide resources and suggest activities for 4th grade classes studying the life of Helen Keller. In particular, it is de- signed to supplement a visit to Ivy Green: The Helen Keller Birthplace. Howev- er, many of the activities may be adapted for use with younger or older stu- dents, and to be used individually. Teachers should feel free to pick and choose those parts of this packet which best suit their classroom needs. Helen Keller Birthplace Educator Resource Packet Page 3 Journey to Tuscumbia, 1887 Summary: This activity is based on maps and discussion questions related to Anne Sullivan’s journey from the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston to the Keller home in Tuscumbia. Materials: Ideally, students should have access to computers to view online maps. However, maps or portions of maps may be downloaded and/or printed, and a printed atlas may be used. Activity: In 1887, Anne Sullivan arrived in Tuscumbia after a train ride of several days. Travelling from the Per- kins School for the Blind in Boston to Tuscumbia was grueling for the prospective teacher. Her train ticket took her from Boston, to Philadelphia, to Baltimore and then to Washington, D.C.. In D.C. she missed her next train and had to spend the night in an uncomfortable hotel. After D.C., her route went through Lynchburg and Roanoke, Virginia, then Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN and then finally Tuscum- bia. Have students trace Anne’s route using this railroad map of the United States created by G.W. and C.B. Colton & Co. in 1882: http://www.loc.gov/item/gm71000840. The Library of Congress website allows students to view both the entire map and to zoom in on details. As another option, you may wish to download and print out key portions of the map. Suggested discussion questions: How many cities did Anne pass through on her trip? How many miles of track? Does anything about her route surprise you? Did Anne take the most direct path from Boston to Tuscumbia? Using an atlas or Google maps, have students plan a trip from Boston to Tuscumbia on interstates and major highways. How does their route differ from Anne’s? How many miles and how long would their trip take by car? Using an online trip planning site, plan an airline itinerary from Boston to Tuscumbia. Where and how many times would you have to change planes? How long would that trip take? Helen Keller Birthplace Educator Resource Packet Page 4 The following map shows Tuscumbia in the 1890s. Can your students spot the property belonging to the Kellers? Find the Helen Keller Birthplace on a current map. How does Tuscumbia now compare to Tuscumbia then? What looks the same? What looks different? Can students estimate about where the Kellers’ house was on the 1896 map? Excerpted from: Bacon, Delhos H.. Map of Colbert County, Alabama. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co. Engravers, 1896, c1895. American Memory. Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/ item/2011590022. References: Nielsen, Kim E. Beyond the Miracle Worker: The Remarkable Life of Anne Sullivan Macy and Her Extraor- dinary Friendship with Helen Keller. Boston: Beacon Press, 2009: 76-77. Helen Keller Birthplace Educator Resource Packet Page 5 Anne Sullivan and the Manual Alphabet Summary: Students will use a primary source to examine Anne Sullivan’s method of communicating with Helen Keller. Materials: South Carolina Institution For The Education of the Deaf And The Blind (n.d.) (page 2). http://memory.loc.gov/cgi- bin/query/h?ammem/eaa:@field%28NUMBER+@band% 28ncdeaa+B0312)) This primary source can be downloaded through the Library of Congress website and printed for classroom use. Helen Keller reading a woman's fingers as an- Activity: other woman watches. (c1914) How do you communicate with someone who cannot see or hear? At the Perkins School for the Blind, Anne Sullivan learned to use the manual alphabet to communicate with Laura Bridgman, the first deafblind person to be successfully educated in the United States. Later, Anne studied the records of Laura’s time at the school in order to prepare to teach Helen. When Anne arrived at Ivy Green, she immediately began to speak to Helen using the alphabet. By forming the letters against Helen’s hand as Helen felt the position of Anne’s fingers, Anne was able to teach Helen these signs. The back of this broadside (see Materials) from the South Carolina Institution for the Education of the Deaf and the Blind uses illustrations to demonstrate the letters of the manual alphabet. As a class, practice the letters as they are shown on the broadside. The most famous word Anne spelled to Helen is “water.” Divide the class into pairs. Have each student practice spelling “water” to their partner. Then let students try to spell their names. Finally, let each stu- dent secretly choose a word of six letters or less to spell to their partners. Are the partners able to un- derstand one another? How hard would it be to learn to speak this way? Helen Keller Birthplace Educator Resource Packet Page 6 Investigating Ivy Green Summary: Students will use cards with photographs and questions to guide their investigation of Ivy Green. After returning to school, students will use the cards to create a class exhibit.