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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (Poem) & Helen Keller

A reassuring poem that teaches children not to fear darkness, paired with the inspiring TRUE STORY of Helen Keller — a girl who was deaf and blind but learnt to read, write, and speak. CBSE Class 4 English (Marigold) Unit 5.

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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark & Helen Keller

Part 1 — Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (Poem by Ruskin Bond)

"Don't be afraid of the dark, little one, / The earth must rest when the day is done."

About the Poem

Ruskin Bond gently tells a child: there is NOTHING to fear in the dark. The sun must go down so the earth can REST. The darkness is just the earth's way of sleeping — and soon, the sun will rise again. The night is for REST. The day is for PLAY.

What the Poem Teaches

Darkness is NATURAL — not scary
Everything needs rest — even the sun
The sun ALWAYS comes back in the morning

New Words

Word	Meaning
Rest	To sleep or relax
Rise	To come up (the sun rises)
Afraid	Scared, fearful

Part 2 — Helen Keller (A True Story)

The Story

HELEN KELLER was born in 1880 in America. When she was just 19 months old, she became very ILL. The illness took away her SIGHT and HEARING. She was now DEAF and BLIND.

Her Struggle:

Helen could not SEE. She could not HEAR. And because she couldn't hear, she also couldn't learn to SPEAK.
She lived in a DARK and SILENT world. She was FRUSTRATED. She broke things. She threw tantrums.
Her parents loved her but didn't know how to HELP her.

Anne Sullivan — The Miracle Teacher:

When Helen was 7, a teacher named ANNE SULLIVAN came to live with her. Anne herself had once been blind.
Anne taught Helen the ALPHABET by SPELLING letters into her HAND. W-A-T-E-R. D-O-L-L. T-R-E-E.
At first, Helen didn't understand. Then one day, Anne held Helen's hand under RUNNING WATER and spelled W-A-T-E-R into her other hand. Helen UNDERSTOOD! Everything had a NAME.
From that moment, Helen LEARNT RAPIDLY. She learnt to READ (Braille). She learnt to WRITE. She learnt to SPEAK. She went to COLLEGE.

What Helen Achieved

She graduated from Radcliffe College (Harvard) — the FIRST deaf-blind person ever to earn a college degree
She wrote books about her life — including 'The Story of My Life'
She travelled the world, giving speeches and inspiring millions
She became the most famous person with disabilities in the world

What We Learn

Never give up — no matter how HARD things seem
With the right HELP and HARD WORK, you can overcome anything
EVERY person has potential — sometimes they just need someone to believe in them

Fun Activity

Close your eyes and cover your ears for two minutes. Try to understand what's happening around you. How does it FEEL? Write or draw your experience.

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