the miracle worker by william gibson and the story of … keller...and the story of my life by helen...

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Copyright © 2013 National Math + Science Initiative, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.nms.org.

EnglishNATIONALMATH + SCIENCEINITIATIVE

OBJECTIVESStudents will

● compare and contrast a drama with textual and filmed versions of the same scene.

● compare and contrast how and why two or more authors shape the presentation of the same information.

● analyze how particular elements of the texts affect meaning.

● cite textual evidence to support analysis.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSHelen Keller. The Story of My Life. Parts I & II; Part III from the letters and reports of Anne Mansfield Sullivan. Ed. John Albert Macy. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1905.

William Gibson. The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988. Used by permission of Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Digital image. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aslfingerspellalpha.png. May 2008.

Integration of Texts— The Miracle Worker by William Gibson and The Story of My Life by Helen KellerGrade 7

ABOUT THIS LESSON

To become college and career ready, students must gain proficiency in reading and evaluating literary and informational texts

as well as visual formats. They should be able to compare and contrast different texts, different genres, and different authors’ points of view and presentations of information.

This lesson creates a connection among texts based on the life of Helen Keller. The sources vary in structure and format and provide students the opportunity to integrate knowledge and ideas across the texts. In addition, students will compare and contrast the written dramatic and informational texts to a filmed version of the play.

TEXT COMPLEXITY Passages for National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) English lessons are selected to challenge students, while lessons and activities make texts accessible. The readability measure for the autobiographical excerpt places it approximately in the middle of the grades 6–8 text complexity band, which makes it appropriate for a grade 7 lesson. Qualitative measures reveal the drama excerpt to be readily accessible to middle grade students.

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English—Integration of Texts—The Miracle Worker and The Story of My Life

COGNITIVE RIGOREnglish lessons for NMSI are designed to guide students through a continuum of increasingly complex thinking skills, including those outlined in taxonomies such as the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Levels (DOK). Activities in this lesson require students to move from summarizing and identifying main ideas (DOK Level 2) to analyzing multiple sources and determining the effect of multiple authors’ presentations (DOK Level 4).

This lesson is included in Module 4: Moving Beyond the Literary Text.

CONNECTION TO COMMON CORE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTSThe activities in this lesson allow teachers to address the following Common Core Standards:

Explicitly addressed in this lessonRL.7.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis

of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.7.5: Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.

RL.7.9: Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.

RI.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.7.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.

RI.7.9: Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.

W.7.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.a. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to

literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history”).

b. Apply grade 7 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims”).

L.7.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.c. Distinguish among the connotations

(associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic condescending).

Explicitly addressed if the extension activity is includedRL.7.7: Compare and contrast a written story,

drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).

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RI.7.7: Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).

W.7.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.

Implicitly addressed in this lessonRL.7.10: By the end of the year, read and

comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

RI.7.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

W.7.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.a. Introduce a topic clearly, previewing

what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts and tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.

c. Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

e. Establish and maintain a formal style.f. Provide a concluding statement

or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.

W.7.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

W.7.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

SL7.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.a. Come to discussions prepared,

having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

b. Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

c. Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.

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L.7.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.7.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

L.7.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.a. Choose language that expresses ideas

precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.

CONNECTIONS TO AP*For college and career readiness, students must be able to read closely and make connections across texts, often to compare and contrast and to synthesize information from a variety of informational texts. The AP Literature and Composition and AP Language and Composition exams, along with other college credit exams, require students to analyze how authors present their ideas and how they create meaning. To be successful, students need experience with these types of writing tasks.

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board. The College Board was not involved in the production of this material.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES● copies of Student Activity● access to technology resources to view The

Miracle Worker film clip(s)● access to technology resources to conduct

short research tasks ● sentence strips or butcher paper (optional)

ASSESSMENTS● guided questions● graphic organizers● frame statements● analysis paragraphs/essays

SCORING GUIDELINESSuggestions for student responses are provided in the example answers for the activities. Successful student responses on written activities will

● provide common and contrasting elements of the texts.

● provide textual evidence of elements described.

● draw conclusions about connotation of language.

● support assertions about reliability of authors’ presentations.

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*Advanced Placement is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board.

The College Board was not involved in the production of this product.



TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

This lesson is best used in conjunction with reading the full play, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson; however, with background

information provided, you could use the lesson without the full play. The activities included in the lesson are based on the final scene of Act 3 of the play and two nonfiction accounts of the same event: a letter written by Anne Sullivan and an excerpt from Helen Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life. The extension activity for this lesson includes the same scene from the 1962 movie version of The Miracle Worker, the screenplay for which was also written by William Gibson. If you complete the extension activity, students will examine how different authors present the same scene in fiction, nonfiction, and video.

This lesson provides background information for students rather than having them do a “cold read” of the excerpts. While the “cold read” strategy works well for some texts, the focus for this lesson is best achieved by giving students the background of the passages. Important details in the introductions contribute to understanding of the original manuscripts. Students should develop the habit early on of reading any footnote, citation, or glossed words. Often on tests such as the Advanced Placement* Language and Literature tests, this information is crucial to understanding and correctly answering questions.

As students begin reading each passage, they will be directed to highlight or mark certain aspects of the language in that specific passage. You may want to clarify the word dumbness, which appears in line 38 of The Miracle Worker.

An overarching focus for all three texts and the film clip is to note how authors present the same scene from Helen Keller’s life and how slight differences contribute to the portrayal of the action and the characterization. Students will be asked to consider

how the author’s perspective is affected by when the event was recorded and why differences exist in the content.

Because the form of the dramatic passage has extensive stage direction with much less actual dialogue, it is beneficial to mark the actual words of the characters. It is important to make the point to students that the words of the playwright in the stage directions are important to interpretation and meaning and can be used as textual evidence.

Activity One: Reading Dialogue and Stage Directions 1. After students highlight the words of the

characters, ask them to make an observation about what they have marked just by looking at the highlighting. They will see that there is very little dialogue, so the author’s directions are extremely important in this excerpt.

4. Ask students at this point why a mother might react in this manner. Why might the author include these directions? Discuss with students what the reader can predict will happen in the Keller family as a result of this scene.

Activity Two: Excerpt from an Autobiography1. After students have read the passage for details

that are alike, ask them what is not described in the autobiography. Ask them why they think William Gibson chose to add the actions of the parents to the play while Helen Keller did not mention them at all. What does this addition add to a play or movie version?

2. You may want to create a manipulative activity to accompany this question. Put the headings Positive and Negative at the top of chart paper or butcher paper or on the board and list sources down the side. Have students write their words on short sentence strips or on the butcher paper or chart paper. Students will place words in the proper column and row and justify why they chose and placed words as they did.

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In Paragraph 4, Helen Keller uses the Biblical allusion to Aaron. According to the Bible, the rod/staff put forth buds as evidence of the exclusive right to the priesthood of the tribe of Levi. The staff produced blossoms and bore ripe almonds. You may want to define allusion for students and explain what the Biblical allusion reveals about Helen’s character. While it is not necessary for students to know everything about Aaron and the Biblical story, what does the use of the allusion tell the reader about Helen and her upbringing? Students will recognize that Helen has a religious background and knowledge of the Bible.

The autobiography was first published in 1903, sixteen years after the experience, so Helen Keller is reflecting on this event as an adult who has gone through many educational experiences. Ask students to think logically about how the details of the memory might have been altered by time.

Activity Three: A Letter 3. Ask students why Anne Sullivan might not use

the same level of emotional diction as Helen Keller.

4. Ask students at this point why the information in Question 4 is significant when assessing the accuracy of Anne Sullivan’s description of the scene as compared to the other two descriptions.

Activity Four: Integrating Information from Multiple TextsThe writing tasks in Activity Four allow you to determine the length of the response. You may want to assign a paragraph or a multi-paragraph response; in addition, you can determine whether the writing task would best be accomplished using an in-class timed writing or an outside essay with first drafts and revisions. The paragraph frame included at the end of the Teacher Overview may be useful to some students.

Extension ActivitiesAdding a Film ClipYou may want to add as one of the sources the 1962 movie version of the same scene, starring Anne Bancroft as Anne Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen Keller. The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUV65sV8nu0

Use the questions and activities from the other passages to guide discussion and examine how the movie clip differs from and/or reinforces the same elements of the scene.

Other film versions exist, including a 1972 version with Melissa Gilbert playing Helen and Patty Duke now cast as Anne Sullivan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dLJxqd2s6E

The movie clips can be used in a variety of ways. You may want to pair the scene from the play with the movie scene to use only two sources. With the four sources available, a variety of combinations will meet educational standards for comparing and contrasting different genres and different authors’ views and techniques.

Research ExtensionsYou may want to have students

● research Perkins Institute and its programs for the blind in the 21st century as compared to those used in the days of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller.

● research the modern technology available for the visually and hearing impaired.

● research the medical advancements, particularly surgeries, to improve sight and hearing.

● research the process of producing Braille books.

● research the increasing use of sign language as a language class in schools.

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Additional Scaffolding StrategiesA. You may want to use a graphic organizer to help students lay out their evidence for the future writing tasks of comparing and contrasting the passages. The following chart is one strategy for scaffolding.

Consider the information and description from the three authors. In the organizer below, record specific elements the sources have in common and elements that are different. Provide textual evidence for your observation. Across the bottom of the organizer, record what you think is the effect of each author’s perspective on this event.

Observations About the Content from the

Passages

Textual Evidence from the Play by

William Gibson

Textual Evidence from the Autobiography by

Helen Keller

Textual Evidence from the Letter by Anne Sullivan

List What Is Included in All Three Texts

List What Is Different in the Three Texts

What is the effect of the author’s perspective on this historical event?

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B. Another strategy for organizing the textual evidence is to use sentence strips or put the chart on butcher paper and have students in groups record the textual evidence and post it on the board or wall. Put the three passage titles or descriptions across the top. Have students suggest what is alike and what is different in the accounts. Put those elements on the left side and have students place their textual evidence where it belongs and explain to the class why the group chose the evidence and what the effect is of including or not including the information. Students can then copy down or mark evidence they may want to use in their written responses. The activity creates a visual for students and helps them organize textual evidence for each source.

Elements Alike/Different The Play The Autobiography The Letter

Helen’s Discovery Evidence Strips Evidence Strips Evidence Strips

Inclusion of Family Evidence Strips Evidence Strips Evidence Strips

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C. Paragraph Frame: Write a paragraph to explain the differences in the treatment of the same scene in Helen Keller’s life. In your conclusion sentence, tell which you feel is the most reliable and why. Be sure to include textual evidence in your explanations.

1. Topic Sentence: Three authors differ in their description of an important scene in the life of Helen Keller.

2. Subtopic: William Gibson creates 3. Support and Commentary: 4. Support and Commentary:

5. Subtopic: Helen Keller reveals 6. Support and Commentary: 7. Support and Commentary:

8. Subtopic: Anne Sullivan, Helen’s teacher, reports 9. Support and Commentary: 10. Support and Commentary:

11. Concluding Sentence: The three authors provide accounts of the same scene, but perhaps the most reliable is

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ANSWERS Answers for this lesson are subjective and will vary. The key to an effective response is that students support their assertions with appropriate textual evidence.

The Play2. Because of the negative connotation of many of

the stage directions (wearily, glare, savagely, grimly, painfully, frantically), the characters are tense and agitated in the beginning, but the scene shifts to a poignant reconciliation at the end.

3. Glee indicates joy. Helen acts out on purpose and takes joy in her obstinate behavior.

4. There is great emotion in this final scene. Kate has just experienced with Helen “their first act of verbal communication” and is overwhelmed. She also realizes at this moment that Helen will no longer depend on her. Helen turns to her teacher and “kisses her on the cheek.” Kate experiences complex emotions as a result.

5 and 6. Answers will vary, but students will probably note that Helen is aggressive and headstrong in the beginning of the scene but becomes appreciative, enthusiastic, and even loving toward the end.

The Autobiography2. Students will notice many emotionally

connotative words in Helen Keller’s autobiography. Words like despair, confounding, impatient and discomfort begin the passage. Later as she discovers words, the language changes to thrill, eager, awakened, hope, and joy.

3. One of the main points about Helen Keller’s depiction is that she admits that she felt repentance and sorrow about some of her previous actions. Answers will vary depending on the textual evidence chosen.

4. Helen describes herself as “keenly delighted,” with a “sense of satisfaction” when she breaks the doll. She states that she feels no remorse and has “no strong sentiment of tenderness.”

5. She uses words like persisted, confounding, despair, impatient, and discomfort. In the second and third paragraphs, the diction shifts to thrill, awakened, hope, joy, and eager. The change is from negative to positive connotation as Helen Keller discovers “the mystery of language.”

The Letter1 and 2. The language of the letter contrasts

with the language in the other passages. Anne Sullivan uses very little emotional diction compared to the excerpts from the play and the autobiography.

3. Anne Sullivan’s language is less emotional. She is the teacher from the Perkins Institution and has a more professional connection with the Kellers. Also, she is writing to a matron at Perkins. Mrs. Hopkins has no connection with the Keller family, so she is not emotionally involved at all. Anne Sullivan seems to be reporting the facts to her.

4. The event described happened on the day she wrote the letter, seemingly only a few hours earlier. She started the letter but did not mail it that day. She added a postscript to indicate Helen’s demeanor the next morning. She must have mailed it later that day.

5. Students will see that Anne Sullivan did not describe the obstinate and aggressive behavior but focused on Helen as enthusiastic, cheerful, and even loving. As a teacher, Anne Sullivan concentrates on the positive achievement of the moment rather than on negative behaviors.


English

NATIONALMATH + SCIENCEINITIATIVE

Integration of Texts— The Miracle Worker by William Gibson and

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

Activity One: Dialogue and Stage Directions

1. Read through the scene and highlight the words of the characters. Be careful not to highlight the author’s stage directions.

Annie. If she was a seeing child, none of you would tolerate one—

Keller. Well, she’s not, I think some compromise is called for. Bring her plate, please.(ANNIE’S jaw sets, but she restores the plate, while KELLER fastens the napkin around HELEN’S neck; she permits it.) There. It’s not unnatural, most of us take some aversion to our

5 teachers, and occasionally another hand can smooth things out. (He puts a fork in HELEN’S hand; HELEN takes it. Genially.) Now. Shall we start all over?

(He goes back around the table and sits. ANNIE stands watching. HELEN is motionless, thinking things through, until with a wicked glee she deliberately flings the fork on the floor. After another moment she plunges her hand into her food and crams a fistful into her mouth.)

10 James [wearily]. I think we’ve started all over—

Stage Directions are the playwright’s instructions in the script to the actors and director about how he/she wants the play to look on the stage. The stage directions might include information about how the stage should look, how the actors should move, or how the actors should portray emotions.

Dialogue describes the words in the script that the actors are supposed to speak.

It is important to remember that if stage directions are used as textual evidence, the quote or direct reference must be cited correctly in a formal composition.

Example: The title of the play is revealed when Gibson states in his directions, “And now the miracle happens” (3.3.33).

The following excerpt is from The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, first a TV play in 1957 and then a Broadway play produced in 1959. The play is based on Helen Keller’s autobiography and the letters of Anne Sullivan.

In the beginning of the scene, the Keller family gathers: Keller (father), Kate (mother), James (half-brother), and Aunt Ev (aunt). They discuss the idea that Helen’s teacher, Anne Sullivan (Annie), is using strategies to teach Helen that are not working. Annie insists that the parents should allow her to continue with her strict method of teaching and enforcing rules.

Act 3, scene 3



(KELLER shoots a glare at him, as HELEN plunges her other hand into ANNIE’S plate. ANNIE at once moves in to grasp her wrist, and HELEN, flinging out a hand, encounters the pitcher; she swings with it at ANNIE; ANNIE, falling back blocks it with an elbow, but the water flies over her dress. ANNIE gets her breath, then snatches the pitcher away in one hand,

15 hoists HELEN up bodily under the other arm, and starts to carry her out, kicking. KELLER stands.)

Annie. [savagely polite] Don’t get up!

Keller. Where are you going?

Annie. Don’t smooth anything else out for me, don’t interfere in any way! I treat her like a 20 seeing child because I ask her to see, I expect her to see, don’t undo what I do!

Keller. Where are you taking her?

Annie. To make her fill this pitcher again!

( . . . ANNIE has pulled HELEN downstairs again by one hand, the pitcher in her other hand, down the porch steps, and across the yard to the pump. She puts HELEN’S hand on the pump 25 handle, grimly.)

Annie. All right. Pump. (HELEN touches her cheek, waits uncertainly.) No, she (KATE) is not here. Pump! (She forces HELEN’S hand to work the handle, then lets go. And HELEN obeys. She pumps till the water comes, then ANNIE puts the pitcher in her other hand and guides it

under the spout, and the water, tumbling half into and half around the pitcher, douses HELEN’S 30 hand. ANNIE takes over the handle to keep water coming, and does automatically what she has

done so many times before, spells into HELEN’S free palm.Water. W, a, t, e, r. Water. It has a—name—

(And now the miracle happens. HELEN drops the pitcher on the slab under the spout; it shatters. She stands transfixed. ANNIE freezes on the pump handle: There is a change in the sundown 35 light, and with it a change in HELEN’S face, some light coming into it we have never seen there,

some struggle in the depths behind it; and her lips tremble, trying to remember something the muscles around them once knew, till at last it finds its way out, painfully, a baby sound buried under the debris of years of dumbness.)

Helen. Wah. Wah. (And again, with great effort) Wah. Wah.

40 (Helen plunges her hand into the dwindling water, spells into her own palm. Then she gropes frantically; Annie reaches for her hand, and HELEN spells into ANNIE’S hand.)

Annie (whispering). Yes. (HELEN spells into it again.) Yes. (HELEN grabs at the handle,



pumps for more water, plunges her hand into its spurt, and grabs ANNIE’S to spell it again.) Yes! Oh, my dear— (She falls to her knees to clasp HELEN’S hand, but HELEN pulls it free, 45 stands almost bewildered, then drops to the ground, pats it swiftly, holds up her palm, imperious.

ANNIE spells into it.) Ground. (HELEN spells it back.) Yes! (HELEN whirls to the pump, pats it, holds up her palm, and ANNIE spells into it.) Pump. (HELEN spells it back.) Yes! Yes! (Now HELEN is in such an excitement she is possessed, wild, trembling, cannot be still, turns, runs,falls on the porch step, claps it, reaches out her palm, and ANNIE is at it instantly to spell.)

50 Step. (HELEN has no time to spell back now, she whirls groping, to touch anything, encounters the trellis, shakes it, thrusts out her palm, and ANNIE, while spelling to her, cries wildly at the house.) Trellis. Mrs. Keller! Mrs. Keller! (Inside, KATE starts to her feet. HELEN scrambles back onto the porch, groping, and finds the bell string, tugs it; the bell rings, the distant chimes begin tolling the hour, all the bells in town seem to break into speech while

55 HELEN reaches out and ANNIE spells feverishly into her hand. KATE hurries out, with KELLER after her . . . . HELEN ringing the bell, with her other hand encounters her mother’s skirt; when she throws a hand out, ANNIE spells into it.) Mother. (KELLER now seizes HELEN’S hand, she touches him, gestures a hand, and ANNIE spells.) Papa—She knows! (KATE and KELLER go to their knees, stammering, clutching HELEN to them,

60 and ANNIE steps unsteadily back to watch the threesome, HELEN spelling wildly into KATE’S hand, then into KELLER’S, KATE spelling back into HELEN’S; they cannot keep their hands off her, and rock her in their clasp. Then HELEN gropes, feels nothing, turns all around, pulls free, and comes with both hands groping, to find ANNIE. She encounters

ANNIE’S thighs, ANNIE kneels to her, HELEN’S hand pats ANNIE’S cheek impatiently, points 65 a finger, and waits; and ANNIE spells into it.) Teacher. (HELEN spells it back, slowly; ANNIE

nods.) Teacher.

(She holds HELEN’S hand to her cheek. Presently HELEN withdraws it, not jerkily, only with reserve, and retreats a step. She stands thinking it over, then turns again and stumbles back to

her parents. They try to embrace her, but she has something else in mind. It is to get the keys, 70 and she hits KATE’S pocket until KATE digs them out for her.

ANNIE with her own load of emotion, has retreated, her back turned, toward the pump, to sit; KATE moves to HELEN, touches her hand questioningly, and HELEN spells a word to her. KATE comprehends it, their first act of verbal communication, and she can hardly utter the

word aloud, in wonder, gratitude, and deprivation; it is a moment in which she simultaneously 75 finds and loses a child.)

Kate. Teacher?(ANNIE turns; and KATE, facing HELEN in her direction by the shoulders, holds her back, holds her back, and then relinquishes her. HELEN feels her way across the yard, rather shyly,

and when her moving hands touch ANNIE’S skirt she stops. Then she holds out the keys and 80 places them in ANNIE’S hand. For a moment neither of them moves. Then HELEN slides into

ANNIE’S arms, and lifting away her smoked glasses, kisses her on the cheek. ANNIE gathers her in.



KATE, torn both ways, turns from this, gestures the servants off, and makes her way into the house on KELLER’S arm. The servants go, in separate directions.

85 The lights are half down now, except over the pump. ANNIE and HELEN are here, alone in the yard. ANNIE has found HELEN’S hand, almost without knowing it, and she spells slowly into it, her voice unsteady, whispering:)

Annie. I, love, Helen. (She clutches the child to her, tight this time, not spelling, whispering into her hair.) Forever, and— (She stops. The lights over the pump are taking on the color of the past 90 and it brings ANNIE’S head up, her eyes opening in fear; and as slowly as though drawn she

rises to listen with her hand on HELEN’S shoulder. She waits, waits, listening with ears and eyes both, slowly here, slowly there, and hears only silence. There are no voices. The color passes on, and when her eyes come back to HELEN she can breathe the end of her phrase

without fear:)–ever.

95 (In the family room KATE has stood over the table, staring at HELEN’S plate, with CAPTAIN KELLER at her shoulder; now JAMES takes a step to move her chair in, and KATE sits, with head erect, and KELLER inclines his head to JAMES; so it is AUNT EV, hesitant and rather humble, who moves to the door.

Outside HELEN tugs at ANNIE’S hand, and ANNIE comes with it. HELEN pulls her toward 100 the house, and hand in hand, they cross the yard and ascend the porch steps, in the rising lights,

to where AUNT EV is holding the door open for them. The curtain ends the play.)

2. In a different color, highlight the words or phrases in the stage directions that indicate how the characters should react emotionally in the situation.

3. In line 8, Helen thinks, and then “with a wicked glee,” throws her fork and grabs a handful of food and stuffs it in her mouth. What does this stage direction tell us about the character of young Helen?

4. Examine lines 79–84. William Gibson states that Kate, Helen’s mother, is “torn both ways” as she experiences Helen’s “first act of verbal communication” (line 73). She sees Helen’s excitement and emotional response to Annie. She also observes how Helen responds to Annie and ultimately how Helen “kisses [Annie] on the cheek” (line 81). Describe what emotions a mother might feel in this situation.



5. Based on Gibson’s account of this scene, select words from the following character traits list to describe Helen Keller. Circle words to describe her at the beginning of the scene and underline words to describe Helen at the end of the scene. Not all words will be used.

aggressive gentle shy sensitive rebelliousangelic polite cheerful discourteous stubborncharming lively spirited sickly religiousenthusiastic remorseful headstrong loving impatient rude grateful appreciative angry shy

6. Select one character trait word that best describes Helen at the beginning of the scene and one word to describe her at the end. Provide textual evidence to support your choice.

Character trait Textual support

Character trait Textual support



Activity Two: Excerpt from an Autobiography

1. Read the passage and highlight the details of Helen Keller’s version of the story that are the same as details in the play. You may find words and phrases in both dialogue and stage directions.

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was 19 months old, a serious illness left her blind and deaf. The following passage is from The Story of My Life, the autobiography of Helen Keller, first published in 1903. In it, she recounts important impressions and episodes in her life. One such scene occurred April 5, 1887, the day that Helen discovered the “mystery of language.” The excerpt describes the same scene as depicted at the end of the play.

(1) One day, while I was playing with my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap also, spelled “d-o-l-l” and tried to make me understand that “d-o-l-l” applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle over the words “m-u-g” and “w-a-t-e-r.” Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it upon me that “m-u-g” is mug and that “w-a-t-e-r” is water, but I persisted in confounding the two. In despair she had dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts and, seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I was keenly delighted when I felt the fragments of the broken doll at my feet. Neither sorrow nor regret followed my passionate outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still, dark world in which I lived there was no strong sentiment of tenderness. I felt my teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort was removed. She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going out into the warm sunshine. This thought, if a wordless sensation may be called a thought, made me hop and skip with pleasure.

(2) We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Someone was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten—a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away.

(3) I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we returned to the house, every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. I tried vainly to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow.

(4) I learned a great many new words that day. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them—words that were to make the



2. Read the passage a second time and, with a different color, circle or highlight the words that have emotional connotations (diction). In the graphic organizer below, group words according to positive or negative connotation.

3. Based on your responses to the diction organizer in Question 2, write two sentences that describe Helen Keller’s feelings about this experience. Use evidence from the text to support your assertion.

Helen Keller uses diction to describe her feelings at the

(positive or negative)

beginning of the scene, using words like .

(textual evidence)

Later in her description, she uses the words

(textual evidence)

to relate how she felt after she experienced her realization about language.

4. In the scene from the play, William Gibson describes Helen as “thinking things through” and then acting out “with a wicked glee.” In the autobiography, Helen remembers acting out and breaking a doll. What textual evidence in Paragraph 1 of the autobiography is similar to Gibson’s stage directions about Helen’s actions?

world blossom for me, “like Aaron’s rod, with flowers.” It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of the eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come.

Positive NegativeParagraph 1 Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2 Paragraph 2





5. Helen experiences a change in emotions between Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 3. Provide textual evidence for your answers to the following questions.

Describe Helen’s feelings in Paragraph 1.

Describe Helen’s feelings at the end of Paragraph 3.

What is the change in her feelings and why do you think it occurrs?



Activity Three: A Letter

1. Anne Sullivan wrote the following letter April 5, 1887. Read the letter carefully and highlight the action or description that is the same as the other two accounts of this scene. Some of the wording may also be the same.

Anne Sullivan became Helen Keller’s teacher in March 1887. While working with Helen, she wrote letters to Mrs. Sophia C. Hopkins, a matron at Perkins Institution, a school for the blind where Anne had lived and studied. Anne Sullivan suffered a childhood disease which left her almost totally blind, but surgery at Perkins restored partial sight. She knew well the multiple challenges Helen faced but remained steadfast in her efforts to educate Helen.

(1) I must write you a line this morning because something very important has happened. Helen has taken the second great step in her education. She has learned that everything has a name, and that the manual alphabet is the key to everything she wants to know.

(2) In a previous letter I think I wrote you that “mug” and “milk” had given Helen more trouble than all the rest. She confused the nouns with the verb “drink.” She didn’t know the word for “drink,” but went through the pantomime of drinking whenever she spelled “mug” or “milk.” This morning, while she was washing, she wanted to know the name for “water.” When she wants to know the name of anything, she points to it and pats my hand. I spelled “w-a-t-e-r” and thought no more about it until after breakfast. Then it occurred to me that with the help of this new word I might succeed in straightening out the “mug-milk” difficulty. We went out to the pump-house, and I made Helen hold her mug under the spout while I pumped. As the cold water gushed forth, filling the mug, I spelled “w-a-t-e-r” in Helen’s free hand. The word coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over hand seemed to startle her. She dropped the mug and stood as one transfixed. A new light came into her face. She spelled “water” several times. Then she dropped on the ground and asked for its name and pointed to the pump and the trellis, and suddenly turning round, she asked for my name. I spelled “Teacher.” Just then the nurse brought Helen’s little sister into the pump-house, and Helen spelled “baby” and pointed to the nurse. All the way back to the house she was highly excited, and learned the name of every object she touched, so that in a few hours she had added thirty new words to her vocabulary. Here are some of them: door, open, shut, give, go, come, and a great many more.

(3) P.S.—I didn’t finish my letter in time to get it posted last night; so I shall add a line. Helen got up this morning like a radiant fairy. She has flitted from object to object, asking the name of everything and kissing me for very gladness. Last night when I got in bed, she stole into my arms of her own accord and kissed me for the first time, and I thought my heart would burst, so full was it of joy.



2. In a different color, highlight the emotionally connotative words (diction) used by Anne Sullivan.

3. Look again at the emotionally connotative words you marked earlier for the passages from the play, the autobiography, and the letter. Write these words in the appropriate columns in the graphic organizer below. Some words have been provided for you.

Look carefully at the words in the chart. Why do you think Anne Sullivan’s use of language is different from William Gibson’s and Helen Keller’s? Consider Anne Sullivan’s perspective as Helen’s teacher. Also consider the person who will receive the letter. (The receiver of the letter is described in the information box before the letter.)

4. Answer the following questions based on the evidence from Anne Sullivan’s letter. When did the event occur? When was the letter started? When was the postscript (P.S.) added and the letter completed? How does writing the letter immediately after the event affect the accuracy of her description?

The Play Helen Keller’s Autobiography Anne Sullivan’s Letterwickedwearily

impatientdiscomfort

excited



5. Refer to the character trait words below. Select two words to describe how Anne Sullivan characterizes Helen Keller. Support your choice with a quote from the text.

aggressive gentle shy sensitive rebelliousangelic polite cheerful discourteous stubborncharming lively spirited sickly religiousenthusiastic remorseful headstrong loving impatient rude grateful appreciative angry shy

Anne Sullivan characterizes Helen Keller as and

(character trait word) (character trait word)

when she reports that Helen

(textual evidence)

Activity Four: Integrating Information from Multiple TextsComplete the following writing tasks based on your teacher’s instructions.

1. Based on the information from previous activities, write a response to explain the differences in the treatment by different authors of the same scene in Helen Keller’s life. In your conclusion sentence, tell which you feel is the most reliable and why. Be sure to include textual evidence.

2. In each description of the scene, Helen Keller experiences an epiphany (a sudden realization and moment of insight). Revisit each passage and locate the evidence revealing Helen’s epiphany. Using support from the texts, explain how each of the authors describes Helen’s epiphany. Which account do you find more convincing and why?

3. Each of the writers had a different purpose in describing the same scene. Think about each writer’s purpose. Then write a response that explains how the writer’s diction reflects his or her purpose.

4. Read the excerpts from William Gibson and Anne Sullivan. In a well-written response, explain how the authors characterize Helen Keller. Use evidence from the texts to support your reasoning.

the miracle worker by william gibson and the story of … keller...and the story of my life by helen...

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