One Beautiful Day by Amy Shao (G3)

One Beautiful Day

By Amy Shao

Grade 3

Have you ever met a person who had two disabilities? Helen Keller was one of these people. She was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She was a delightful, healthy baby. Her father, Arthur, worked for a newspaper while her mother, Kate, took care of the home and baby Helen. She grew up on her family’s large farm called Ivy Green. She enjoyed the animals, including the horses, dogs, and chickens. Helen got sick, had a dangerously high fever and a headache for many days when she was one and a half years old. Sadly, this led to her turning blind and losing hearing. This made Helen’s life difficult.

Her parents had a hard time teaching Helen, so they got an excellent teacher named Anne Sullivan to help her. When Anne Sullivan came and started teaching, Helen understood the letters but did not know they formed words. She threw tantrums at home, like a volcano, and it was frustrating for Anne to teach. Helen knew the letters but did not know they spelled words. The text stated, “Anne Sullivan was unsuccessful for many weeks.” Anne did not give up even though it was difficult.

Then, one beautiful day, Anne brought Helen to an old silver water pump and put Helen’s hand under the cool stream. Anne traced the letters that spell W-A-T-E-R on her hand, and Helen’s face lit up. She was very cheerful. Helen knew the letters spelled water.

Later, when Helen became older, she learned how to talk, write, and read. In the text, it says, “With a lot of hard work, Helen Keller learned to write and speak.” When Helen turned sixteen, she attended Radcliffe College for women in Massachusetts. Anne attended school with her and helped to sign the lectures into Helen’s hand. Helen graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 with honors. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. 

Helen always felt grateful to Anne for helping her for 50 years. She accomplished a lot, such as talking, writing, and reading. She learned to read using braille. Braille is a typewriter for the blind. She was best known for accomplishing much despite being both deaf and blind. She helped people with disabilities, but mostly for the blind and deaf, and she became an author. She wrote many books about her life. During World War II, she encouraged the soldiers. She passed away in her sleep on June 1, 1968, in Arcan Ridge, Easton, Connecticut, when she was 87 years old.