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HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY

September 12, 2013

Critical History Lesson


Helen Keller: A voice against poverty and war

Constance Thomsen Illinois State University School of Teaching and Learning C&I 258.10 Social Studies Methods

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY

Helen Keller: A voice against poverty and war Part I: Research Throughout the unit I learned so much about Helen Keller as a person and political advocate. She was more than just someone who helped the visually impaired, she was a woman with many ideals. These ideals stressed equality for all. She took a stand against poverty and was not afraid to speak her mind, even if what she had to say was not always the nicest. I learned the impact of using primary sources as well. These sources are more effective because the information is not interpreted already for you. Instead, by looking at these sources we are able to make our judgments. Of course, using only one source would not be effective because we would not have gained an overall understanding that encompasses as much information as we can. Collective Memory I remember Helen Keller as a historical figure that became blind and deaf after a childhood illness. With the help of her mentor Anne Sullivan she was able to overcome the loss of her sight and hearing. Her mentor helped her in the infamous well scene, in which Anne signed the word water into Helens hands. After this breakthrough, Helens sign language developed rapidly. Helen attended school, and even graduated from Ratcliff College. After graduating college Helen wrote her own book and became a political activist. She later wrote a poem to Alexander Graham Bell and was very important in the special education movement. Katie Obrien, a member of my generation, remembered some of the common known facts about Helen Keller. She recollected that Helen Keller was blind, deaf, and had a famous well scene where she learned the word water. Even though Katie remembered that Helens aid was female, she could not remember her name. Katie stated that most of what she knew was based off of the movie about Helen Keller that she saw when she was young, including the fact that she was from Alabama. (Katie OBrien, personal communication, Aug. 25, 2013)

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


Sean Craig, another member of my generation, remembered the commonly known facts about Helen Keller, as well as, some points that are not mentioned as often. He began by stating that despite being blind and deaf, Helen learned sign language. Sean also knew about some of her later accomplishments in life such as graduating from college, writing a book, and getting married. He even mentioned that she lived a rough life. (Sean Craig, personal communication, Aug. 25, 2013) Janice Thomsen, my mother, shared a similar knowledge as Katie. She remembered that Helen was blind, deaf, and had a teacher named Sullivan that taught her how to read and write. (Janice Thomsen, personal communication, Aug. 25, 2013) The most surprising interview I had came from my grandma, Barbara Jordan. Her recollection of Helen Keller was different than every other interview I conducted. Most of what Barb knows about Helen Keller comes from her childhood and coping with the loss of her hearing and sight. Some of the things that she remembers about this time period include Helens loss of sight and hearing at the age of 2 due to a childhood illness and Helens ability to identify her mother based on her smell. During the interview Barb told me that she gained most of her knowledge about Helen Keller from the movie, The Miracle Worker. This movie was something that she watched when she was in school. Barb also stated commonly known facts about Helen, like how her mentor Anne Sullivan helped her cope with her hearing and vision loss. Barb also knew some things about Helens life as an adult. For instance, Barb remembered that Helen graduated from college, spoke out for people with disabilities, and talked to presidents and statesman. Although Barb did not know what the presidents talked about with Helen, she knew the most about Helens adults life of anyone I interviewed. (Barb Jordan, personal communication, Aug. 25, 2013) Jackie Ford, a current fifth grade student, did not know much about Helen Keller. She merely recognized the name and stated that they would be learning about her this year. (Jackie Ford, personal communication, Aug. 25, 2013) There was not much of a difference in the knowledge that Bennett

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


Schenamen, a sixth grade student, knew about Helen Keller. He stated that he knew she was blind and deaf. (Bennett Schenamen, Aug. 25, 2013) Overall, I saw within these interviews that few people knew about Helens role as a political advocate. Most people knew about her childhood, but not the impact that she made later in life including her role in poverty and war. Research Findings and Primary Sources Helen Keller was a key advocate for the poor, especially during the war times. She shows her strong opinions within her writing quite often. I noticed this primarily within the book Helen Keller : Her Socialist Years, A collection compiled by Philp S. Forner. One quote in particular from this finding that stood out to me was We are driven into the war for liberty, democracy and humanity. Behold what is happening all over the world today! It is the complacency of madness to call such acts preserving law and order. Law and order! What oceans of blood and tears are shed in their name! I have come to loathe traditions and institutions that take away the rights of the poor and protect the wicked against judgment. (Forner, 1967, p. 89). This quote contrasts with the common recollection of Helen Keller, since most people didnt know her strong opposition to the war. In fact, most people are stuck in the childhood of Helen Keller. Childrens books are some of the worst offenders on this, since they rarely devote more than a few pages to Helens adult life. Instead, the texts are used to make Helen an idol that overcame obstacles, instead of a real person with ideals. This is due to the safe history that many teachers teach according to Lowen (Loewen, 2007,p.27). Helens writings show the woman that is not afraid to take a stand. She made this especially evident when addressing John D. Rockefeller following the Ludlow Massacre. According to article The Truth About Helen Keller by Ruth Shagoury, Keller made the following statement after Rockefeller refused to publish her articles. This was due to his close connections with the national guard, who was responsible for shooting 13 people and burning 11 children and 2 women alive (Shagoury, 2009, p.3). Keller stated Mr. Rockefeller is a

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


monster of capitalism. He gives charity in the same breath he permits the helpless workmen, their wives, and children to be shot down(Shagoury, 2009, p.3). Typically I noticed from my other research that people remembered Keller for her role in the deaf community and helping create schools for the blind, but too often we look over the role she played in advocating for the poor. She used her connections, not in a way to better only her own life but to advocate for those whose voices could not always be heard. She did this through the membership in labor unions, giving speeches, and writing articles about the side of things that some people may have been too scared to report. She held a particular soft spot for Russia during this time. We can see this once again from the compilation of her writings in the Socialist book by Fosner. In the following quote we see her compassion for the people of another nation struck by the struggles of war, while America did nothing. Her (Russia) women and children have been starved and murdered. She has been harassed and persecuted. She has been denied medicine and industrial machinery. And America has stood by silently while these atrocities were being perpetrated (Fosner, 1967,p. 105). This was the first time in my research that I heard of the connection between Keller and Russia and found it interesting that no one else was talking about this since, Fosners book devoted 11 pages just to writings that Keller had produced about Russia. Fosners compilation also holds the speech Social Causes of Blindness written by Keller. In this speech, Keller addresses the connection that poverty has to blindness. According to her, we do not understand the essential relation between poverty and disease (Fosner, 1967, p.30). She believed in a connection between blindness and poverty and that this blindness was sometimes caused by the employers failure to safe guard his machinery because... (it)would diminish the employers profits (Fosner, 1967, p.29). Overall, within my research I discovered not only the eloquent writings of Helen Keller, but the impact that her writings made on others. In particular, her friend Alexander Graham Bell showed his respect for her opinions. In a letter that he wrote to Keller he states, I am very glad to have the opportunity of entering the world in which you live hand in hand with you. I read most

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


of the articles as they came out in the Century Magazine They are beautiful articles that give us all a great deal to think of ( Bell, 1908).

Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Keller (1908)

Current history textbooks. In order to get an overall view of Helen Kellers representation in third grade textbooks, I used two different publishers. These publishers were Houghton Mifflin and Macmillan/ McGraw- Hill. These textbooks had very different accounts of Keller. The first text mentioned, Social Studies Communities by Houghton Mifflin, displayed only a surface understanding of Keller. The text talked about how Helen learned to read and write despite being blind and deaf with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan. The only details that it included from her adult life were that she believed in education for the deaf and blind and spread this idea and her experiences in the places that she traveled to across the country (Viola, Jennings, Bednarz, Schug, Cortes, & White, 2005). The next textbook, also titled Social Studies Communities, by Mcmillian / McGraw- Hill gives students a better description of Keller. This textbook used multiple formats to describe Keller within a two page biography spread

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


labeled Focus on Justice. Starting off with the thought provoking quote Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it was a stronger attention getter than the first text. This textbook also included a simple timeline of events in Kellers life, such as her birth year, working with Anne Sullivan, writing Story of My Life, attending Ratcliff College, and becoming a spokeswoman for American Foundation for the blind. (Banks, Boehm, Colleary, Contreras, Goodwin, & McFarland, 2005) The most interesting thing I noticed within this textbook was that it did not begin by stating that Helen Keller was blind and deaf like most texts do. Instead it began by talking about how Keller gave speeches, wrote books, raised money for people in need, and met world leaders. Another important point that the textbook touched on was Helens role in helping raise money for the blind with the American Foundation for the Blind since many that are poor cant afford the treatment. Lastly it addresses Helens belief in justice for all, including African Americans, women, factory workers, and the poor. Although the second textbook does a better job of explaining Helens adult life and not focusing solely on her handicap, it does not touch on the war and barely reaches the surface on Kellers desire to help the poor through her writing and activist work. Our textbook, Lies My Teacher Told Me, stresses how Helen Keller is seen in this heroic light in the history textbooks that seem to focus more on her role as an inspiration for our youth than what she really did in society. (Lowen,2007, p.27). One quote in particular that stuck out to me in our text was that in Helen Kellers study of blindness the poor health is not distributed randomly about the social structure but concentrated in the lower class (Lowen,2007, p.208). This quote stuck out to me in particular because of the connection that Keller had with for the poor.

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


Children's literature. The vast majority of the information that I found on Helen Keller within childrens books was not particularly relevant to her role in war and poverty. In fact most books stressed her early years and barely even touched on the things she did late in life. One book in particular did talk about her role later in life. However, it barely touched the surface on her viewpoints in her adult life. The book Hellen Keller (A Discovery Book) , by Stewart and Polly Anne Graff does just that. It talks about Helen writing books and journal entries later in life, as well as, her speeches and role in the American Foundation for the Blind. However, the only viewpoint that is gives us on her ideals with the war is that she was there for the soldiers that were injured because President Roosevelt asked her to visit them for support. (Graff & Graff, 1965) A picture book of Helen Keller by David A . Adler does the same by focusing primarily on her childhood and then barely addressing the hope that she provides for the soldiers of WWII that lost their sight or hearing. This book once again gives off the impression of her as a hero, through her work for the American Foundation for the Blind and receiving the medal of Freedom from Lydon Johnson in 1964 (Adler, 1992). The one childrens text that I came across that gave a broader idea of the role that Helen Keller truly played with war and poverty was Rebellious Spirit by Laurie Lawlor. On page 127 Helen shows her distaste for the war after Wilson signed the war resolution There is little to tell little that is bright or good. All happiness has left us with the departure of peace from our land, She stated this three days after Wilson declared war. Conclusion Overall , from my research I discovered Helens role an advocate for the poor and her distaste for the war. She was vocal about her opposition to cruelties that were happening around the world within her speeches, books, and letters. Helen made a lasting impact on the people that she met and stood up for what was right. Her battle cry from her speech Social Causes of Blindness in 1911,

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


states it best No preventable disease, no unnecessary poverty, no blinding ignorance amoung mankind ( Fosner, 1967, p.30).

Part II: Lesson Plan What Would You Change? Overview of the lesson This lesson talks about Helen Keller as more than just a person that is known for her role in overcoming the obstacles of being blind and deaf, but also her role as an advocate for change. In this lesson students will gain an overall understanding of Helen Keller and the role that she played in speaking out for change in society. Students will then be able to speak out for their own chance to make a change in their community, state, or country. They will address these ideas through independent, partner, and small group work, as well as, whole class discussions. The essential questions within this lesson will be Who was Helen Keller and what did she stand for?, What kind of social change can you do within your community?, What lasting impact will you make?. This topic is essential for students to learn, because they need to understand that they can make a difference in society. They also should learn that Helen Keller is known for more than just what she did to help those with disabilities. Students will also be covering many language arts skills in an inquiry based lesson. This lesson will challenge the students to think outside the box and then support their ideas with research. They will also use many visual aids and visual representations to help them organize and understand the material better. On the last day students will present the change they proposed to their fellow classmates and complete the learned column in their KWL chart. Grade Level: 3 Time - This lesson will take place over the span of a week. The attention getter and beginning part of the lesson should take roughly 20 minutes. The middle section will take at least 35 minutes. The research will take the bulk of the time for this unit. This will span over 3 days with a 45 minute time allotment at least on each day, in order to give groups time to gather quality information and find

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


an issue that really stands out to them. The final part of the unit will take at least 30 minutes to write their letters. Then group presentations should take roughly 45 minutes. Finally the KWL chart could take from 5 to 10 minutes depending on how much information the students grasped in the lesson. Common Core State Standards

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1- Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.7- Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.1- Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly

Lesson Objective(s) 1) At the end of the unit, students will be able to think critically on an important issue by providing at least two pieces of evidence from primary sources. 2)At the end of the unit, students will be able to communicate their viewpoint with evidence through at least three meaningful comments with a partner, group, or whole class discussion. 3) At the end of the unit, students will be able to interpret the literal and actual meaning of a critical text 80 percent of the time. Academic language -Poverty- according to Merriam Webster is the state of being poor.

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


-War- according to Merriam Webster is a situation in which people or groups compete with or fight against each other. -Communication- according to Merriam Webster is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone -Understanding- according to Merriam Webster is a mental grasp, comprehension. -Equality - according to Merriam Webster the quality or state of being equal -Justice- the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals Materials and Resources -Anchor charts from the text The Common Core Writing Book by Grechen Owocki (Owocki, 2013, pp. 46-47) Pages : 46, 47, ( one copy of each per student) -Access to computers for students to do research -Access to the library for students to use informational books for research about their issue. -Access to informational books about different issues that affect the students community, state, and the nation -Individual writing journals and pencils for each student to write their reactions -Anchor chart with the components of a letter and an example of a letter - Classroom dictionaries- 1 per pair/ small group - Teachers knowledge of basic Spanish phrases - Large chart paper for KWL chart of Helen Keller that is created as a class. - Focus on Social Justice biography from McGraw- Hill 3rd grade Social Studies Communities textbook pages 256 and 257 (one copy per student) - Teacher copy of the article : (Shagoury, 2009)

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Students background According to the interactive report card the population of students at my school for clinicals is not very diverse when it comes to ethnicity. Particularly, there is not a high percentage of ELL students. Due to this, my attention getter activity in which I would speak Spanish may work better than if I was at a school in which many students knew Spanish. From the webpage that my teacher created, I can see that parents are typically informed of what is going on , on a regular basis. As a result, I may want to incorporate the parents as well by encouraging them to have children think outside of the box about an issue that is either directly or indirectly affecting them. Procedure Beginning: 1) Anticipatory set/ Attention Getter: In order to grab the students attention, the teacher will begin class with an activity that will push the students out of their comfort zone. The teacher will do this by speaking in a language that is unfamiliar to the children in the classroom. This will be used to show the struggle that Helen Keller faced after losing her hearing and sight since it limited her ability to communicate with others at a young age. The teacher should be familiar with Spanish and will state the following sentences in Spanish. Good morning class. How is everyone today? Today we are going to get started right away with a writing activity, so please put away your belongings and take out your writing journals and pens. I would like you to write about what you did this weekend. Also please reflect on what we learned in class last week. Was there anything that confused you, if so what confused you? The teacher will then call on a few of the students asking for a response. The teacher will still be speaking Spanish at this point. Students will most likely be confused, and will not know what to respond to the teacher. The teacher should stay in character for the duration of the speech in order to make the full effect on the students. (4-5 minutes) 2) Now the teacher will switch back to English and ask one of the students to share what they wrote before they all hand in their papers, for a grade. The teacher should expect to receive

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some confused looks from the students and some students may even state that it is not fair. The teacher should then say, Why is this not fair? I told you what to write?. The teacher will then anticipate the students to say how they didnt know what the teacher wanted them to do. (1-2 minutes) 3) The teacher will then allow the students to talk with their peers about whether or not it is fair for the teacher to give them a grade for their journal writing that morning. After one or two minutes of discussion the teacher will bring the class back together as a group and have a spokesperson from each group state whether or not it is fair and provide reasoning behind their answer. The teacher will be looking for the students to say how they could not understand what she was saying. (5 minutes) 4) Next the teacher will ask the students how they would feel if they could not understand what was going on around them. The teacher will have the students write a reflection in their writing journals about how they felt when they could not understand the teacher. (Hint: Talk about emotions). The teacher will also ask them to reflect on what they could do to help them understand. After their self reflection the teacher will bring the class back together as a whole and ask the students if they know any famous people who may have struggled with communication or understanding at one point in their life. If the students do not provide the name Helen Keller, the teacher will ask the students if they have heard her name before. (5-7 minutes) 5) The teacher will then have the students fill out the K column in a KWL chart as a class about what they know about Helen Keller. (5 minutes) Middle: 6) The teacher will then provide the students with some background knowledge on Helen Keller. The teacher will give the students a printed out copy of the Focus on Social Justice two page biography spread on Helen Keller from the McGraw- Hill textbook and have the students read independently. This can be found on page 256 and 257 in the Social Studies Communities textbook. .

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The students will take notes from the article in the information maps on pages 46 and 47 of the Common Core Writing Book by Gretchen Owocki as an informal assessment of the text. ( 10 minutes) 7) The students will then discuss what they learned with a partner and compare notes. (1-2 minutes). The teacher will then bring the class back together as a whole and discuss what they learned about Helen Keller. The teacher will ask the students if there is any more information that they could add to the KWL chart. This will be used another type informal assessment. The teacher will then ask the students to talk with a partner about what they WANT to learn about Helen Keller or the other ideas addressed in the informational text, such as, the American Foundation for the Blind, poverty, equality, or justice. The teacher will record the ideas in the anchor chart. (10 minutes) 8) The teacher will then write the following quote on the board from page 3 of the article The Truth About Helen Keller by Ruth Shagoury, Why in this land of great wealth is there great poverty? Why [do] children toil in the mills while thousands of men cannot get work, why [do] women who do nothing have thousands of dollars a year to spend? (Shagoury, 2009,p.3). The teacher will ask the students if there are any words that they do not know from this quote. The teacher will record the unknown words on the board. Then students will work with a partner seated next to them and use dictionaries located in the class to find a definition. Then the pair will reword the definition into something that makes more sense to them. The teacher will then have the students share their definitions with the class. (5 minutes) 9)Students will then take 5 minutes to reflect individually on what the quote means to them in their writing journals. Students should try to make connections to previous knowledge. ( 5 minutes) 10) Students will then share with a partner what they think the quote is saying. The students should also discuss what this quote says about Helen Keller as a person and her beliefs. The teacher will

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prompt them by asking questions such as Do you think that Keller supports child labor? Why or why not? Support your evidence. ( 2 minutes) 11) Next the teacher will introduce the main activity: Creating your own social change. For this activity students will need to spend time in class researching something that they would like to change in their community, state, or county. Students can work independently or with a partner. The teacher will encourage partner collaboration. The teacher will remind students that this ties back to Helen Keller since she was an advocate for change in society, especially with the poor and his desire for peace instead of war. In the first part of this activity the students will research Helen Keller, and her role in advocating against the war. They will write a summary of their information on Keller. In the second part of this activity, students will talk about their own change. They will need to be able to explain what they would change, why they would change this, and how they would go about it. The teacher can scaffold them with ideas like Would you provide them with money?, Would you create a new program for an organization that could assist them in a better way?, What would this organization do?, What would this organization stand for? Why?. The students can help an already established charity or organization, or create their own. The teacher will allow the students 45 minutes to an hour for research a day for the next few days to give the students time to brainstorm ideas of what to do. The students will use anchor charts to help them organize their research. The teacher will help scaffold the students by helping them identify if they are using credible sources. The teacher will briefly review research tips that they learned previously before having students begin their research. The teacher will also talk about the differences between a primary and secondary sources. The teacher should stress the use of primary sources when available. End : 13) To conclude the lesson, the students will use the research they gathered about their organization and Helen Keller to create a letter. In this letter they will take on the role of a concerned

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citizen who wants to impact a change in their society. They will write about how they want to help and what they would do to help if money and resources were not an issue. The teacher will help scaffold the students by giving examples of types of organizations they could write to. If the students chose to create their own organization they will write a letter to a community leader or the teacher explaining who they are, what they stand for, and what kind of change they would like to see, and why. The teacher will assess the students based on the evidence that they use to support their findings. The teacher will be looking for students ability to provide credible sources and give two to three arguments about why this change should occur. The teacher will be looking for proper letter writing format, including a header addressed to the person they would send it to, an introduction, body paragraphs with their arguments and support for each argument, a concluding statement, and a signature of their name on the bottom. The teacher can scaffold the students by having an example of the components of a letter on an overhead for the students to see. (30 45 minutes a day over the course of 2-3 days) 14) Students will present their change to the class. The teacher will assess the students based on ability to display their argument to the class and provide it with support. The teacher will collect the letters after the presentation to formally asses the students on their writing skills and ability to develop an argument and support it within the correct letter format. (35- 45 minutes) 15) Finally the class will complete the KWL chart by discussing what they learned. The teacher will review any concepts the students did not understand and ask if anyone needs clarification. ( 5-10 minutes) Anticipation of possible complications Some problems that may arise during the lesson may be complications with technology, students using non-credible sources, and students not being able to find relevant information for their topic. If we were to experience any trouble with technology students would have the opportunity to use some of the class books to research. Also we could take a field trip to the library

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to find book resources that may help the students as well. In order to help students find credible sources, the teacher will review what a credible source is and provide the students with a handout of possible search engines like library of congress that have more credible sources. If the students are unable to find relevant information, the teacher can help the students brainstorm other possible issues. Attention to Diversity/Exceptionality If ELL students are present in the classroom the teacher may want to use a different language than Spanish in the anticipatory set. Instead the teacher could have Chinese written on an entrance ticket and ask the students to answer questions about what it is on the entrance ticket. For advanced learners, the teacher could have students try to incorporate some Helen Keller quotes into their letters, or have students write a letter from the perspective of Helen Keller.

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Assessment: During this lesson the teacher will use both formal and informal assessment. The informal assessment will occur during the duration of the lesson through inquiry style questions. The teacher will check for student understanding by reading their journal entries. The teacher will look at the anchor charts for their research, and their reading of the Helen Keller biography. She will asses their understanding by making sure they found the key points in the article. The teacher will use the KWL chart to check for the classes understanding as a whole. The teacher will have final assessment of their understanding with the letter they are writing for change. The teacher will give them the choice of creating their own organization or writing to one that already exists . If the students chose to create their own organization they will write a letter to a community leader or the teacher explaining who they are, what they stand for, and what kind of change they would like to see, and why. The teacher will assess the students based on the evidence that they use to support their findings. The teacher will be looking for students ability to provide credible sources and give two to

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


three arguments about why this change should occur. The teacher will be looking for proper letter writing format, including a header addressed to the person they would send it to, an introduction, body paragraphs with their arguments and support for each argument, a concluding statement, and a signature of their name on the bottom. *Rubric the teacher will use for assessing the final project* Grammar 2- Made 3 or few mistakes such as capitalization, punctuation, or misuse of commas 1- Made 5 or more mistakes such as capitalization, punctuation, or misuse of commas

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Content 10-8 points- Students provide the following information in their letter: who they are, what they stand for, and what kind of change they would like to see, and why. The student gave 2- 3

arguments that they supported with evidence. 7- 5 points- Students are missing 1 of the components listed above. Students gave 1 argument that they supported with evidence. 4-0 points- Students are missing 2 or more components listed above. Students gave 1-0 arguments and they did not support them with evidence. Format3- Used the correct letter format, including a header, introduction, body paragraph, conclusion, and signature 2- Incomplete introduction or conclusion, forgot header or signature. 1- Did not include a introduction, conclusion, or body paragraph. Research 3- Used 3 primary sources, sources were credible.

HELEN KELLER: A VOICE AGAINST WAR AND POVERTY


2- Used 2 primary sources, most sources were credible sources. 1- Used 1 primary source and a few sources were credible. Collaboration 2- Worked well with their partner. Split the work evenly 0- Did not communicate with their partner. Refused to do any work together.

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Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all of the people who have stood up for change in society and believed that they could make a difference. Also I would like to acknowledge Helen Keller for her ability to stand fearless in her belief of a better society in which the poor are helped and peace reigns supreme.

References Adler, D. A. (1992). A Picture Book of Helen Keller. Holiday House. Banks, J. A., Boehm, R. G., Colleary, K. P., Contreras, G., Goodwin, A. L., & McFarland, M. A. (2005). Social Studies Our Communities. New York, NY: Macmillian / McGraw- Hill. Bell, A. G. (1908). Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Helen Keller, November 20, 1908. Wrethem. Forner, P. S. (1967). Helen Keller : Her Socialist Years. New York, NY: Internations Publishers. Graff, S., & Graff, P. A. (1965). Heln Keller ( A Discovery Book). Garrard Publishing Company. Lawlor, L. (2001). Helen Keller Rebellious Spirit. New York, NY: Holiday House. Loewen, J. (2007). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York, NY: Touchstone. Owocki, G. (2013). The Common Core Writing Book. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Shagoury, R. (2009). The Truth About Helen Keller . Portland: Zinn Education Project.

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Viola, D. H., Jennings, D. C., Bednarz, D. S., Schug, D. M., Cortes, D. C., & White, D. C. (2005). Social Studies Communities. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

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