Second grade is spending November and December walking in the shoes of people who made a difference in the lives of others. Reading biographies allows students to explore in depth the lives and character traits of people who overcame challenges to create, support, lead and innovate. The life of Helen Keller has been a shared reading experience allowing students to discuss in small groups the qualities that helped this amazing person to lead a life that included learning how to communicate through sign language, to ultimately speak, graduate from Radcliffe College with honors, write numerous books and to travel the world becoming an advocate for people with disabilities, campaigning for women's right to vote, and inspiring others to live their life with meaning.
Helen Keller became blind, deaf and unable to speak after an illness when she was nineteen months. Her family sought advice from Dr. Bell, the inventor of the telephone, who advised them to hire a teacher for Helen. Annie Sullivan became Helen's trusted teacher and companion for more than fifty years. Our second graders have experienced the thrill and sense of relief when Helen Keller connected water running over her hand with the sign for water that Miss Sullivan was trying to teach her and Helen finally realized that she could communicate with other people. As they chart Helen's personality traits, second graders learn how events and accomplishment's from Helen's life coincide with a trait such as kindness, adventurousness and being smart. Learning about Helen and her life serves as a guide post that one can always find a way to meet any challenge with persistence, creativity and faith.
After reading about the life of Helen students will be choosing biographies about other people who have contributed to society read in small groups.
At home reading is connected to this biography study as student's choose a biography from school to bring home and read, talk and write about with their family. Our second graders are certainly walking in the shoes of another and experiencing empathy and inspiration.
The link below is one of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller demonstrating how Helen learned to speak. It is fascinating and illuminating.
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