ANNIE MANSFIELD SULLIVAN

Annie Mansfield Sullivan was a woman who accomplished a great deal. She is sometimes overlooked, however,
as people only remember her student, Helen Keller.

Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Massachusetts, to a poor family. Her father had a bad temper and her
mother was dying. She had two younger siblings--Mary, a healthy baby, and Jimmie, who had a tubercular hip.
Sadly, when her mother died, the two children were sent to the poorhouse. There, her brother Jimmie died.
This loss would linger with Sullivan until she met Helen Keller.

Sullivan had contracted a disease in childhood which impaired her eyesight. She received many operations to
treat her disease. Her sight improved and she became a model student and graduated valedictorian of her
class.

In order to help other blind children, Annie learned the manual alphabet and worked closely with a blind and
deaf students.

Annie's most famous student was the blind, deaf, and mute Helen Keller. Annie taught Helen Keller how to
speak, write, read and continued to teach and mentor Helen until Annie's death on October 20, 1936.

Helen Keller said that Annie “brought the light into my life, she was both a friend and a lifelong teacher.” Helen
Keller went on to become a world famous author, human rights activist, and hero to many.

Vocabulary

1. I Hero a) to damage something or make it not as good as it should be.

2. C A great deal b) cutting into someone's body to repair/remove a part that is damaged.
3. F Overlook c) a lot.
4. H Temper d) to continue something for longer than is usual or desirable
5. L Siblings e) the student who has received the best grades all the way through school
6. N Poorhouse f) to not notice something or not see the importance in it.
7. D Linger g) sign-language, using your hands and fingers to make an alphabet
8. J Contract h) the way you are feeling at a particular time
9. A Impair i) a person who is admired for being brave
10. B Operation j) to get an illness
11. E Valedictorian k) an experienced person who advises and helps a less experienced person
12. G Manual alphabet l) brothers and sisters
13. M Mute m) no sound; unable to speak
14. K Mentor n) a building where very poor people in the past could live and be fed
15. O Model o) someone or something that has a lot of a good qualities