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JUNE 2011:
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Helen Keller
Who was Helen Keller?
Who was Helen Keller? She was born 27 June 1880 and died 1 June 1968. In celebration
of her amazing life, Shaw dedicates June to Helen Keller. Take the below quiz to test
your knowledge and then check your answers with the answer key, where you will find
fascinating information about Helen Keller’s inspirational life.
1. Helen Keller was born deaf and blind.
True or False?
2. Which important historical figure examined Helen Keller?
a. James Garfield
b. Nikola Tesla
c. Alexander Graham Bell
d. John Philip Holland
3. Helen Keller’s life was so amazing because she was self-taught.
True or False?
4. After becoming deaf and blind, what was the first word Helen Keller learned?
a. Dad
b. Mom
c. Water
d. Book
5. Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind person to attend college.
True or False?
6. When did Helen Keller publish her first book, The Story of My Life?
a. 12 years old
b. 23 years old c. 64 years old d. Never. She died before it was published
7. Helen received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
True or False?
8. How many languages did Helen Keller learn in Braille?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5
9. Even though she died 1 June 1968, Helen Keller still benefits people with disabilities.
True or False?
10. Helen Keller is best known for:
a. Lobbying for laws that protect people with disabilities from prejudice
b. Being a prominent voice in the suffrage movement
c. Raising money and awareness for people who are blind and deaf-blind
d. All of the above
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Topic of the Month
JUNE 2011:
Helen Keller
Quiz Answers
1. Helen Keller was born deaf and blind. True or False?
False. She was a normal, healthy baby until she fell ill at only nineteen months of age. Helen was afflicted with an
unknown illness that left her deaf and blind.
2. Which important historical figure examined Helen Keller?
b. Alexander Graham Bell, who was not only the inventor of the telephone, but also an expert teacher of the deaf,
examined Helen Keller and referred her to the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind.
3. Helen Keller’s life was so amazing because she was self-taught. True or False?
False. After meeting with a specialist at the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, it was decided
that Helen would need a teacher. That teacher was Anne Sullivan, who was the first person to teach Helen about the
concept of language.
4. What was Helen’s first word in Braille?
c. “Water” was the first word Helen learned. Anne Sullivan pumped water over one of Helen’s hands, and then Anne
spelled “W-A-T-E-R” onto Helen’s other hand. As Helen states, it was that moment when “the mystery of language was
revealed to me.” If not for this revelation, it is possible Helen Keller never would have gone on to become one of the most
important women in history.
5. Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind person to attend college. True or False?
True. In the fall of 1900, Helen enrolled at Radcliff College; this made her the first deaf-blind person ever to enroll at an
institution of higher learning. Helen would also be the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Helen
Keller refused to allow her disabilities to prevent her from gaining an education.
6. When did Helen Keller publish her first book, The Story of My Life?
b. Helen was a 23 year old college student when she published her autobiography. Helen would go on to write six books
and many more essays. Not bad for a woman who could not hear or see.
7. Helen received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. True or False?
True. Because of her incessant will to fight for equality, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Helen Keller with this
highest possible honor for a civilian.
8. How many languages did Helen Keller learn in Braille?
d. While most people cannot master their primary language, Helen Keller mastered five languages: English, French,
German, Greek and Latin.
9. Even though she died 1 June 1968, Helen Keller still benefits people with disabilities. True or False?
True. Helen Keller Services for the Blind (HKSB) is an organization founded in honor of Helen Keller. The HKSB assists
people with disabilities in myriad ways. One of its primary goals is to educate those afflicted with a disability. Much like
Helen Keller herself, the HKSB believes education is the key to liberation.
10. Helen Keller is best known for:
e. All of the above. Helen tirelessly worked to ensure that people who were deaf, blind, or deaf-blind would have rights
in education and their professional careers. She was an avid suffragist who used her words to educate a society. The
impacts she made are felt today, as people with all kinds of disabilities enjoy the equal rights Helen fought for during her
life.
Helen Keller: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
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