If We Were Helen & Anne - Free Download!!

 
Hello teacher friends! Hope your weekend has been treating you nicely :)

For my second official post, I wanted to spotlight one of my favorite items from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

We've been working on a "Heroes" unit for the past few weeks in second grade. We've studied everyone from Thomas Edison and MLK to Harriet Tubman and Abraham Lincoln. When it came time to learn about the great Helen Keller, I hit the internet (a.k.a. Pinterest) to find some great activities for the kids to do. 

FYI- If you've ever tried to explain to a class of kids what it really feels like to be deaf and blind...good luck. So anyways, I did not find much out there. I wanted my kids to really get why Helen was such an incredible hero! I found this idea  and decided to take it to the next level...mostly with cuteness ;)

For this game, the students are divided into pairs. One student gets a blindfold, and the other gets a prompt. In the amount of time given, one group member has to get their blindfolded partner to perform the task from their prompt (like kick their feet, shake their hand, etc.) without talking. Then the partners switch places so that both students have a turn to be "Helen" and "Anne".

In this *freebie* I include directions for the game, a list of materials needed (blindfolds, etc.), tips, and over 20 original prompts/tasks for your littles to try! 

This activity is classroom-tested by my second graders! They loved it. We did this game after reading a biography about Helen and I really think it helped them understand a little bit about what life was like for her and her teacher, Anne. Afterwards, we had the students respond in their journals about what it felt like and how hard it was to do anything without seeing or talking. Trust me, you will love their responses and the connections they make. 

So if you're looking for a fun activity to help your students connect with Helen Keller or incorporate in your lesson on handicaps/disabilities, I hope you'll check out this free download from my store :)

Click here to get it. Enjoy!

hannah