Helen Keller: NCERT Class 4 English Story (Marigold Unit 5)

etmantra21 Sept 20217 min read

This true story shows how a patient teacher opened the world for a little girl who could not see or hear. Children will be moved by Helen’s struggle and thrilled by the moment she finally understands her first word.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 4, unit 5. NCERT’s newer Class 4 book is Santoor, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Helen Keller

Play the video three or four times. The first time, just listen. Then point at the pictures, and from the third time, say the lines along with the video. Short, repeated listening is how CALP builds a child’s English.

What your child learns

Words about health: healthy, ill, fever
Spelling words letter by letter
Joining two ideas with "but"
Patience, and never giving up on learning

What the story is about

In the summer of 1880, a healthy baby girl named Helen Keller was born in a small town in Alabama. One day she became very ill with a high fever. She lived, but after the illness she could not see or hear. Helen was a bright girl, and her mother believed she was smart, but no one knew how to reach her. Helen grew wild and angry. She would not let anyone comb her hair, and she sometimes lay on the floor kicking her feet.

Her parents found a young teacher, Miss Sullivan. She gave Helen a doll and spelt the word d-o-l-l into Helen’s hand with special finger signs. Helen copied her but did not understand. Miss Sullivan, strict but kind, kept spelling words day and night. One day she put Helen’s hand under running water and spelt w-a-t-e-r. Suddenly Helen understood that the word meant the wet thing running over her hand. She learnt that words could tell her everything she wanted to know.

New words, with Hindi meanings

healthy: strong and well, not ill (हिंदी: स्वस्थ)
fever: when your body becomes too hot because you are ill (हिंदी: बुखार)
bright: clever and quick to learn (हिंदी: होशियार)
wild: hard to control; not calm (हिंदी: बेकाबू)
strict: making sure rules are followed (हिंदी: सख़्त)
copied: did the same thing as someone else (हिंदी: नक़ल की)
understood: knew what something meant (हिंदी: समझ गई)
important: of great value; mattering a lot (हिंदी: ज़रूरी)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

What happened to Helen after her illness?
How did Miss Sullivan spell words for Helen?
Which word did Helen understand first, and how?
Who is a teacher who has helped you learn something new? What did they teach you?

Answers for parents

She could not see or hear.
She made the letters with special finger signs into Helen's hand.
Water. Miss Sullivan put Helen's hand into running water and spelt w-a-t-e-r into her hand, and Helen understood that the word meant the wet thing.
For example: My Class 2 teacher helped me learn to read. She was very patient with me.

Grammar corner: Joining ideas with "but"

"But" joins two ideas that are different or surprising together. The second part tells us something we may not expect after the first part.

The lesson was hard, but Helen kept trying.
Helen was ill for many days, but she lived.
My teacher is strict, but she always helps me.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: Miss Sullivan was strict ___ kind. (but / so)
Spell aloud, one letter at a time, the two words Miss Sullivan spelt in Helen's hand.
Make a sentence with the word "important".

Answers: 1. but · 2. d-o-l-l and w-a-t-e-r · 3. For example: It is important to drink clean water.

Try this

Try spelling into the hand. Close your child’s eyes and slowly trace the letters of a short word, like c-u-p or b-a-l-l, on their palm with your finger. Then put the real object in their hand. Let them guess the word, then swap roles. Talk about how hard and how wonderful it must have been for Helen to learn this way.

Tip for parents

Tell Helen's story in Hindi first so your child really feels it: वह न देख सकती थी, न सुन सकती थी. Then trace a word on your child's palm, say it in Hindi (पानी) and then in English (water). Praise your child's patience, just as Miss Sullivan was patient with Helen.

Questions parents ask

Who was Helen Keller?

Helen Keller was born in 1880 in a small town in Alabama. After a high fever as a baby she could not see or hear, but with her teacher's help she learnt words.

Who was Helen Keller's teacher, and how did she teach her?

Her teacher was Miss Sullivan. She spelt words into Helen's hand with special finger signs, day and night, until Helen understood the word water.

Which book and class is the Helen Keller chapter from?

It is Unit 5 of Marigold, NCERT's older English book for Class 4. The newer NCERT English books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

Learn every Class 4 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Santoor, NCERT’s new book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, grammar, speaking and writing practice. ₹1,299 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →