Miss Sullivan did not believe in formal class-room teaching. She introduced the play-way method into her teaching making Helen study outdoors. She made Helen actually feel the nature and its creations. She explained Helen all about earth, poles, mountains, valleys, and drifts in such a way that she could actually understand and feel the things around her.

This manner of teaching helped Helen to learn things faster. It became much easier for her to imagine, understand and remember things.

Miss Sullivans had taken Helen by the hand across the fields where men were preparing the earth for the seed, to the banks of the Tennessee River. Sitting on the warm grass, she began the first lessons for Helen in the beneficence of nature. Helen learned how the sun and rain make the ground give life to trees that are not only pleasant to the sight but also good for food, how birds build their nest and thrive from land to land. Also, how every creature finds food and shelter. As Helen's knowledge of these things grew, she felt more and more the delight of the world she lived in. Long before she learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth, Miss Sullivan had taught her to find the beauty in the fragrant woods, in every blade of grass and in the curves and dimples of her baby sister's hand. She linked her earliest thoughts with nature and made her attuned to the beauty that abounds in the world.