Helen Keller: Raising the Bar for the Disabled.

B y: C h a n d a D e e n a d a y a l a n

Individual Website Junior Division

Helen Keller has always been an inspiration to me because she stood up for disabled people for, but I never knew the real effect she had on people until I became temporarily disabled myself. Ms.Keller became a real inspiration to me, the way she never quit, even at a very young age. When I read the theme, I searched day and night for the perfect person to write about. When I remembered about Helen Keller, I knew the theme would fit perfectly her with story. To start of my research I simply searched Helen Kellers name, many websites with biographies showed up and there were some websites by the American Association for the Blind. I then looked for some videos about Helen Keller online, and surprisingly, I found videos with Helen Keller in them! The Eastside Public library also had many materials on Helen Keller, along with her autobiography. I also looked for material on people who had and lived in similar conditions to Helen Keller. I decided that I did not want to do a exhibit because I did one last year, I thought about doing a documentary, but I ultimately ended up choosing a website. I wanted to make a website because it is an extremely easy way to show, and present, I also knew it is easy for other people to access and to

learn about Helen Keller. I used Weebly, a tool for creating websites to help

me accomplish this task. I asked people about what user friendly websites would be like to them, and what they like to learn about when reading about somebody on the internet. I used pictures and information from my research to help me write about Helen Kellers life, accomplishments, and ultimate goal. I organized Helen Kellers life in chronological order and stated important parts. I also included video clips of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan together. This topic relates to the theme: Turning Points in History, People, Ideas, Events, because Helen Keller made a difference in the world and called to our attention disabilities, a neglected part of every day life. A part that people like to ignore or laugh at. A part that will not give the disabled a inferior shot at making it in this world. Helen Keller made this clear by standing up for the disabled, helping them and other people understand that there are no limits to what they can do. She turned her life into a message for all people and generations to come.

Bibliography Secondary Sources Ask Keller. Helen Keller Kids Museum. American Foundation For The Blind, 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. <http://www.braillebug.org/hkmuseum.asp>. This website gave me a crash course on Helen Kellers life and how she established herself. The site was chronologically ordered, and labeled what was accomplished or what happened during that time period. The website had a lot of information summed up into a paragraph or two. (which made it easy to read). Since this website was made by the American Foundation For The Blind it included different colors of text and backgrounds so people who have a with a hard time with seeing and reading dont have to worry about the color contrast of the original website. I will use this website to help me order my facts chronologically. bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, LLC., 1996-2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller9361967>. This website was like one big collection of information. Its a biography of Helen Kellers life so It has many descriptions of all the things shes accomplished. I will use this website to help me understand Helen Kellers life and to confirm my facts.

BrainPOP Jr. N.p., 1999-2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/biographies/helenkeller/grownups.weml >. Brainpop is a pretty frequently used website, they gave me an article on Helen Keller and her life story in a nutshell. It talked about how she first understood something in her life. It was very brief but informational. I will use this life to help me write about a certain part of Helen Kellers life.

AFB (American Foundation for the Blind). Helen Keller: An Introduction. Helen Keller- American Foundation for the Blind. American Foundation For the Blind, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.afb.org/section.aspx? FolderID=1&SectionID=1>. This website organizes everything by Helen Kellers achievements and the time period. It has many pictures and has a brief description of what she did. You can easily find information on whatever time in Helen Kellers life you need. I will use this website to help me organize my information,and to write about Helen Keller. Helen KelleR biography. Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation, 2004. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.helenkellerbirthplace.org/>. This site was made for Helen Kellers birthplace, now museum, for visitors to learn about Helen Kellers amazing life and about the positive impact shes left behind. This website provides a history about Helen Keller and the place she was born in and lived. The place where she first found the light that lead

her to communicate to the outside world, the moment that gave her hope. I would really like to visit her birthplace and home. The website provides pictures of the plays of when Helen Keller was taught by Anne Sullivan and that historic moment when Anne Sullivan placed Helen Kellers hand under cold running water and spelled water out on her other hand. The website also shows pictures of actual things that were in Helen Kellers house when she lived there. I will use this website to help me understand the place where Helen Keller spent part of her life.

McGinnity, Seymour-Ford, and Andries. Helen Keller. Perkins. Perkins School For the Blind, 2004. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. <http://www.perkins.org/vision-loss/helen-keller/>. This website describes Helen Kellers achievements. The website has paragraphs from Helen Keller's autobiography that helps me better understand what she was going through. This will help me understand what Helen Keller thought compared to what the author thinks. RNIB - www.rnib.org.uk. Helen Keller. RNIB- Suporting Blind and Partiallly Sighted People. Royal National Institute of Blind People, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. <http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/aboutsightloss/famous/Pages/he

lenkeller.aspx>. This website had organized every part of Helen Keller's life from when she was born up until her legacy and beyond. The had links to articles on the page about important parts of Helen Kellers life.The writing conveys the point very clearly. At the end they even had a paragraph on who to credit for the author for school projects, that part made it a lot easier for me. This website will help me understand the impact Helen Keller has on other people. Simkin, John. Helen Keller. Spartacus Education. Spartacus Educational Publishers, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkeller.htm#source>. This site was very long but descriptive. The author ran through Helen Keller's life achievements, and what caused them. The author had credited excerpts from various articles and paragraphs from newspapers and autobiographies. This website will help me understand why Helen Keller was so determined.

Stevens, Patsy. Helen Keller. Garden of Praise. Patsy Stevens, 2001. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. <http://www.gardenofpraise.com/ibdkell.htm>. This site was short but informative. The facts brought you straight to the point. The words were large and bold which made it easy to read. The website had some pictures to correspond with the time frame or to help you visualize something. I will use this website to help me better understand parts of Helen Kellers life.

Primary Sources IamHelenKeller. Helen Keller Speaks Out. YouTube. N.p., 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=8ch_H8pt9M8>. This video shows how one of Helen Kellers close friend communicates with Helen, and the video also shows how Helen Keller understands what Anne Sullivan is saying. It so cool to not only read an article on how Helen Keller speaks, communicates, and understands things, but to actually see it happening. This clip while help me understand how Helen Keller communicates. Keller, Helen. Helen Kellers Speech at 1925 International Convention. International Convention. Cedar Point, Ohio. 30 June 1925. Speech. This speech not only lets you read what people interpret of Helen Keller but what she herself thinks and knows and has been through. Its the best inormation and probably the most accurate information of all for a project. Helen Keller talks about the American Foundation for the Blind and she talks about how tough her life and communication has been. This speech will help me understand what Helen Keller thought about.

TransformingArt. (Rare!) Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan (1930 Newsreel Footage). YouTube. N.p., 27 June 2009. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv1uLfF35Uw>. This Video Shows Helen Keller Speaking with the help of her friend Anne Sullivan. Helen Keller is able to hear Anne Sullivans words by touching Anne Sullivan's throat and lips and feeling the vibrations made by that. The video is rare and lets you actually see how Helen Keller responded to things and shows you that she is still very happy and fighting. This video clip helps me see how Helen Keller is able to communicate with people and understand the world as we would.