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Helen’s Big World Resource Set
Lesson Plans • Resources • Activities
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Helen’s Big World by Doreen Rappaport
Children will learn about developing a growth mindset through the many lessons in perseverance and hard work modeled by Helen Keller while reading this book. Students will learn that Helen lived in her own quiet, dark world until an extraordinary teacher by the name of Annie Sullivan taught her how to communicate. It took a great deal of work and practice, but Helen eventually learned the power of communication. Through reflecting on Helen’s accomplishments students will practice questioning, making inferences, and summarizing.
Listen to an audiobook of Helen’s Big World on Epic here.
Teach with Helen’s Big World by Doreen Rappaport
Get everything you need to deliver meaningful reading instruction using Helen’s Big World by Doreen Rappaport
- Comprehension Strategy Lesson Plans
- Page by Page Guided Think Sheets
- Text Based Reader’s Notebook Prompts
- Word Work Lesson Plan and Activities for Suffix -ing
- Interactive Vocabulary Games and Activities
- Running Record Assessment
- Common Core Aligned Comprehension Assessment
- Extension Activities for Early Finishers
- Answer Keys
- Complete Common Core Alignment
- and More!
CCSS Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Helen’s Big World Resource Set
Asking Questions with Helen's Big World
Helen Keller’s story will generate many questions as children wonder about how she was able to accomplish so much without the ability to see or hear. Their questions will lead them to understand that hard work and practice can lead to great achievements.
Common Core Alignment:
L.5.6 RF.5.3 RF.5.4 RI.5.10 RI.5.7 SL.5.1c SL.5.1d SL.5.2 W.5.8 W.5.9
TEKS Alignment:
5.13A 5.13C 5.13E 5.13H 5.1A 5.1C 5.6A 5.6B 5.6I 5.7B 5.7C 5.7D 5.7E 5.7F 5.7G 5.9D(i) 5.9D(ii) 5.9D(iii)
Identifying the Author's Purpose with Helen's Big World
Children will have many opportunities to consider the author’s purpose in telling Helen’s story. Taking the time to understand what the author wants the reader to know about Helen’s character will help children better understand why Helen worked so hard at learning new things throughout her life.
Common Core Alignment:
L.5.6 RF.5.3 RF.5.4 RI.5.1 RI.5.10 RI.5.8 SL.5.1c SL.5.1d SL.5.2 W.5.8 W.5.9
TEKS Alignment:
5.10B 5.10C 5.10D 5.13C 5.13E 5.13H 5.1A 5.1C 5.6A 5.6B 5.6E 5.6I 5.7A 5.7B 5.7C 5.7D 5.7E 5.7F 5.7G 5.8A 5.9D(i) 5.9D(ii) 5.9D(iii)
Making Connections with Helen's Big World
Making connections with a story helps readers understand what is happening in the story. Children will connect with Helen as she struggles to read and write. Their connections will help them understand Helen Keller as a remarkable person. Students will be inspired to work through their tough subjects in school knowing the accomplishments Helen made with reading and writing.
Common Core Alignment:
L.5.6 RF.5.3 RF.5.4 RI.5.10 RI.5.2 RI.5.8 SL.5.1c SL.5.1d SL.5.2 W.5.8 W.5.9
TEKS Alignment:
5.13C 5.13E 5.13H 5.1A 5.1C 5.6A 5.6B 5.6E 5.6I 5.7A 5.7B 5.7C 5.7D 5.7E 5.7F 5.7G 5.9D(i) 5.9D(ii) 5.9D(iii)
Making Inferences with Helen's Big World
Children will be drawn to making inferences about Helen Keller’s life. Because of her willingness to work, she made her world a bigger place, and children are given many opportunities to infer what life must have been like for Helen as she persevered.
Common Core Alignment:
L.5.6 RF.5.3 RF.5.4 RI.5.10 RI.5.3 RI.5.8 SL.5.1c SL.5.1d SL.5.2 W.5.8 W.5.9
TEKS Alignment:
5.13C 5.13E 5.13H 5.1A 5.1C 5.6A 5.6B 5.6E 5.6F 5.6I 5.7A 5.7B 5.7C 5.7D 5.7E 5.7F 5.7G 5.9D(i) 5.9D(ii) 5.9D(iii)
Retelling and Summarizing with Helen's Big World
Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller is the perfect book for practicing retelling and summarizing. Major events in Helen’s life are described beautifully in sequential order with a clear beginning and ending. Gorgeous double page spreads help support students as they retell the story.
Common Core Alignment:
L.5.6 RF.5.3 RF.5.4 RI.5.10 RI.5.2 RI.5.8 SL.5.1c SL.5.1d SL.5.2 W.5.8 W.5.9
TEKS Alignment:
4.13C 4.13E 5.13H 5.1A 5.1C 5.6A 5.6G 5.6I 5.7B 5.7C 5.7D 5.7E 5.7F 5.7G 5.9D(i) 5.9D(ii) 5.9D(iii)
Helen's Big World Extension Activity
The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.
Helen's Big World Running Record
Use this "done for you" Running Record to assess oral reading fluency of Helen's Big World. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.
Helen's Big World Common Core Aligned Comprehension Assessment
Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Helen's Big World.
Student Resources in Spanish
This set of Spanish student facing resources includes comprehension strategy practice pages, reader's notebook prompts (complete with Spanish Common Core "I Can" statements), and extension activities for use with Helen's Big World by Doreen Rappaport. These resources are intended to be used with the lesson plans included in the Super Pack for this book.
Helen's Big World Word Work - Suffix -ing
Helen's Big World offers students the opportunity to name and notice several words with suffix -ing within the context of the book. Either download the Helen's Big World Super Pack or this individual Word Work lesson plan and activity package to access lesson plans, interactive games, and fun worksheets that directly tie word study to your classroom reading.
Common Core Alignment:
RF.5.3 RF.5.4
TEKS Alignment:
5.2A (i) 5.2A (ii) 5.2A (iii) 5.2A (iv) 5.2A (v) 5.2B (i) 5.2B (ii) 5.2B (iii) 5.2B (iv) 5.2B (v) 5.2B (vi)
Helen's Big World Vocabulary Connections
Before your students can fully comprehend and enjoy Helen's Big World, it’s helpful to introduce words that might be new to readers. Either download the Helen's Big World Super Pack or this individual Vocabulary Builder for resources and activities that support Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary growth through fun and productive interactions with new words.
Common Core Alignment:
L.5.4a L.5.5 L.5.6
TEKS Alignment:
5.3A 5.3B 5.7E 5.7F
TEKS Alignment
Complete TEKS alignment for all of the mini lessons, resources, and activities in the Helen's Big World Resource Set.
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