Helen Keller

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an inspiration to many. Although she was born with normal sight and hearing, she lost both at a very young age after a serious illness. Through hard work and devotion, along with the help of her parents and teachers, Helen Keller would learn to communicate and read. She attended college and became a well-known author, lecturer, and activist. This reading set includes passages from her autobiography “The Story of My Life,” as well as a biography of Laura Bridgeman. Born fifty years before Keller, Bridgeman was the first American deaf and blind child to learn reading and writing. She is mentioned in several of the Keller passages.

Helen Learns Words

Helen Keller was a remarkable woman. She was born in Alabama in 1880. When she was just a small child, she became very ill. She recovered, but lost her sense of sight and hearing. She was so very young that she had not learned to talk much. She could communicate…

Helen and Boating

Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama. As a small child, she became seriously ill. She recovered, but she lost her sight and her hearing. Because she was so young when she became ill, she never learned to speak. Helen’s parents knew she was very bright and found a…

Little Helen

Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama. She had normal hearing and seeing abilities when she was born. However, when she was just 19 months old, she became very sick. After she recovered she could no longer hear or see. In this passage from her autobiography, Helen remembers what…

Helen Speaks

Helen Keller was born in 1880. She was a healthy and happy child until she became seriously ill before her second birthday. While she did get well, she lost both her hearing and her sight after the illness. Opportunities for those with a disability were few in the 19th century.…

Helen Learns About Love

As a small child, Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing after an illness. She was born in 1880, and at that time, there were few resources for people with a disability. Helen’s parents, however, found a teacher for her, and Miss Sullivan taught Helen sign language. It opened a…

Helen Prepares for College

Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880. She suffered an illness when she was very young which left her without hearing or sight. Her family found Anne Sullivan, a teacher of blind students at the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston. Sullivan traveled to Alabama to teach Helen…

Opening the Door to Learning

Today, people who are deaf and blind can receive a standard education. Schools and organizations help them make the necessary adaptations. However, this was not always the case. At one time, educators had few ideas about how to teach children who were both deaf and blind. Laura Dewey Bridgman may…

Helen Goes to School

Born in 1880 in Alabama, Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing after an illness she was just 19 months old. At that time, people who suffered from a disability had very few opportunities. However, Helen’s parents found a teacher, Miss Sullivan, who came from the Perkins Institution for the…