Opening the Door to Learning
Laura Bridgman was the first deaf and blind person to learn to read and write, opening the door for others like her. Students will read a biography of this remarkable woman and answer questions about main ideas and details, drawing conclusions, making inferences, and cause and effect.
Reading Comprehension Passage
Opening the Door to Learning
Reading Comprehension Questions
Vocabulary List
Vocabulary List
Each of the vocabulary words below are used in the reading passage. As you read the passage, pay attention to context clues that suggest the word’s meaning.
- destroyed
- affected
- tasks
- interacting
- tackle
- initially
- capable
- adjust
- inspired
- tutoring
Context Clues
Context Clues
Using context clues from the sentences in the passage, underline the correct meaning of the word in boldface.
1) "Scarlet fever destroyed both her hearing and her sight"
a. made better, increased b. wrecked, ruined c. avoided d. completed
2) "Only her sense of touch was not affected."
a. changed, altered b. good, excellent c. allowed d. sweet and loving
3) "Young Laura learned to perform tasks such as sewing"
a. tricks b. tests, experiments c. adventures, exciting actions d. jobs, chores
4) "yet she had few ways of expressing her thoughts or interacting with other people"
a. being away from b. associating, being involved c. reading long books d. eating
5) "Dr. Howe wanted to tackle a new challenge"
a. fish for b. escape, run away from c. undertake, attempt d. write about
6) "Initially, Laura struggled to understand the relationship between the item and the word."
a. always b. letter by letter c. curiously d. at the start, in the beginning
7) "she was as intelligent and capable as anyone"
a. beautiful b. tall or large c. able, having fitness to do d. generous, giving
8) "but struggled to adjust to life in rural New Hampshire"
a. adapt to something new, become used to b. travel c. enjoy or relax d. escape
9) "which inspired her to seek help for Helen"
a. instructed b. breathed c. encouraged, caused to take action d. dismayed, saddened
10) "This led to Anne Sullivan, a recent graduate of Perkins, tutoring Helen"
a. becoming friends with b. hiring for work c. scolding or correcting d. teaching