Name

Date

Class

Literary Element (page 342)

Anecdote

from The Story of My Life

HELEN KELLER

An anecdote is a little storya brief account of an interesting event or episode. In

this selection from The Story of My Life, Keller pieces together several anecdotes so
that the reader can understand how her learning progressed and how she experienced breakthroughs in understanding.
Like other stories, anecdotes have characters and one or more events. They may
also include or imply a setting. They always serve a larger purpose, which is often
to reveal character or illustrate a theme.

A CTI V I TY
Directions Supply the missing information for each of the following anecdotes. If you cannot
identify the precise time when an event occurred, identify it in relation to other events in the
selection.

2. Anecdote: Anne Gives Helen a Doll

When:

When:

Who:

Who:

What happens:

What happens:

Purpose of anecdote:

Purpose of anecdote:

3. Anecdote: Helen and Water

4. Anecdote: Helen and Love

When:

When:

Who:

Who:

What happens:

What happens:

Purpose of anecdote:

Purpose of anecdote:

Unit 2 Nonfiction

The Story of My Life

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

1. Anecdote: Anne Sullivan Arrives

27

Name

Date

Class

Reading Strategy (page 342)

Connecting to Personal Experience

from The Story of My Life

HELEN KELLER

Connecting to personal experience means thinking back to events and experiences in

your own life that relate in some way to those that the characters or people are experiencing in a literary work. By connecting to personal experience, you can also better
understand a persons feelings, role in an outcome, motivation, or reflections.

A CTI V I TY
Directions For each of the following experiences in the selection, relate a similar experience
or feeling of your own. Then explain how this helps you better understand the characters,
events, or theme of this selection.

My Experience

How My Experience Relates

to the Selection

feeling different from or cut

off from other people

1.

2.

awaiting the arrival of a

stranger

3.

4.

failing to understand a
concept

5.

6.

being frustrated and throwing something or otherwise

acting out

7.

8.

having one special person get

through when others cant

9.

10.

finally reaching understanding after a long struggle

11.

12.

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Story of My Life

Selection Event/Experience

Active Reading Graphic Organizer

You may relate multiple associations or feelings with any one of the events listed
in the chart. To explore the relationship between your experiences and story events
more fully, cluster around one or more story events. For this activity, ask your
teacher for a copy of the Cluster Graphic Organizer.

28

Unit 2 Nonfiction

Name

Date

Class

Selection Vocabulary Practice (page 341)

from The Story of My Life HELEN KELLER
VOCABULARY
traverse v. to pass across or through
symmetrical adj. exactly agreeing in size, form, and arrangement
on both sides of something
verbatim adv. word for word; in exactly the same words
augment v. to become greater; increase; grow

E X E R C I S E A Practice with Context Clues

Use context clues to determine the meaning of the boldfaced word in each sentence.
1. It takes roughly six hours for a passenger jet to traverse the Atlantic Ocean.
A. sail

B. cross

C. locate

2. Rephrase the passage in your own words. Dont quote it verbatim.

A. exactly as written

B. directly from the source

C. too many times

3. She did extensive research to augment her knowledge of asteroids.

A. add to

B. diminish

C. contradict

4. Identical windows are on each side of the door. The design is symmetrical.
B. unpredictable

C. balanced

E X E R C I S E B Applying Meanings
Write the best ending for each open-ended sentence below.
1. To traverse a flooded valley, you might use a
A. boat

B. pail

C. hose or watering can

2. To give a verbatim oral presentation of a poem by Frost, you would need to

A. paraphrase it

B. copyright it

3. To augment your earnings from babysitting, you might

A. spend them

B. take another job

at the mall

C. memorize or read it

.
C. make friends with

the children

4. To make the new picture symmetrical with the square, draw a

A. circle

.
The Story of My Life

Copyright by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

A. original

B. triangle

C. square

E X E R C I S E C Responding to the Selection

Write a paragraph summarizing this selection from The Story of My Life. Use at least THREE
vocabulary words.
Unit 2 Nonfiction

29