Reading & Speaking

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched but are felt in the heart.”

Helen Keller was one of the most famous American writers in the twentieth century. When she was 19 months old, she survived a fever but she found she could no longer see or hear. And she also found it very difficult to speak. However, she grew up and become a world-famous public speaker . While she was still at college she wrote the famous book ---- “The Story of My Life” .

famous American writers

world-famous public speaker

What success did she achieve in her life?

“The Story of My Life”

Learning Objectives• In this period, you will be able to

1. Learn to use some useful reading strategies:

• to predict the general idea

• to guess unknown words from the context.

2. Find out detailed information in the text.

couldn’t see

couldn’t hear

• blind

• deaf= (severe ) restrictions

What were her problems?

couldn’t speak; readcouldn’t communicate

Pre-reading

Reading strategy: prediction

• Before reading, look at the title, pictures.

• Read the first two or three lines of the text.

• Try to guess what the text is going to be about.

a. Look at the title----

b. look at the pictures

c. Read the first couple of lines:

Helen Keller was a very special girl who needed

a superb teacher. By the time she was seven

years old, she still couldn’t speak, read or write.

Prediction

Helen Keller

Can you guess what the passage is about?

The passage may talk about how

Helen Keller learned something with

the help of her teacher.

Read fast to find out which of the following is mentioned in the

text. A. how Helen Keller

learned to play games.

B. how Helen Keller communicated with her teacher.

C. how Helen Keller learned the words.

While-reading

Read and find out the examples of words Helen learned.

water; doll; think; love

While-reading

• What’s the difference among the four words “water; doll; think; love”

doll; water

Group 1:

sth. you can touch

think; love

Group 2:

hard to show;

While-reading

(object words) (complex words)

Table (doll; water):

Word:

doll

Where

How she learnedHow she feltWhat happene

d in the

end

At home

Ann spelt … into … … play with …

a game;

could spell the word in ________ _____

While-reading

monkey-like imitation

Table (doll; water)

Word:

water

WhereHow she learned How she feltWhat happened in the end

by the wellby feeling the flowing of the waterhopeful and joyful

had _________ understanding; the world of words was _________ to her.

While-reading

a burst of

opening up

“ ” or “ ”1.The word “love” was a complex

word for Helen. 2.Helen didn’t find it difficult to

understand the word “love”.3.The understanding of “think”

helped her understand “love”.4.Helen got to know the meaning

of “love” through touching.

While-reading

Summary --- “love” For Helen Keller, trying to learn the

word “love” was an 1.__________ for her. When she asked the 2. ________ of it for the first time, she didn’t know many words and she did not understand anything 3. ________she touched it. She wondered whether it meant the 4. _________ of flowers or the 5. ______ of the sun shining. Luckily, the understanding of the word “think” gave her a 6. __________ in learning words. After she understood the 7. ______ word “think”, her mind 8. ________ “love”. In a 9. ______ moment, Helen finally understood the beautiful truth of the word: It is something that one cannot 10. ______, but without it, one would not be happy or want to play.

experience meaning

unless sweetness

warmth

breakthroughcomplex

returned tovivid

touch

Post-reading

1. What problems did Helen have as a child?

2. Who helped her learn language? And how? (one example )

3. What helped her learn the word “love”? (detailed information)

4. What can you learn from her?

Never give up!

Never be

discouraged by difficulties!

You are what you want to be!

• Task 1: Helen Keller once wrote an article hoping to have three days to see. Suppose you were Helen, what would you do if you were given three days….. and give reasons.

• Task 2: Xiao Ming, 15 years old, recently had an accident and lost his left arm. He was in low spirit. Talk with him and try to encourage him to cheer up using Helen as an example.

1. Underline some useful expressions in the text.

2. Read the article “Three Days to see” and write about your feelings using at least 200 words.