Great Speeches:
Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King
I. Introduction:
1. Grade/Subject/State Learning Standards: This lesson plan is designed for 8th grade English/Language Arts. The lesson plan refers to the following textbook: Holt Literature and Language Arts Textbook (Second Course) published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. The lesson plan is specifically designed to be used for studying the following California state standards for English 8 English/Language Arts and Chapter Four of the textbook:
- Standard 3.5--Identify and analyze recurring themes (for example, good vs. evil) across traditional and contemporary works.
- Standard 3.6--Identify significant literary devices (i.e. metaphor, symbolism, dialect, irony) that define a writer’s style and use those elements to interpret the work
- Scope and content to be covered:
- This lesson plan involves students studying three excerpts of Winston Churchill’s speeches delivered in 1940, and comparing to/contrasting them with President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech.
- After analyzing Lincoln’s and King’s speeches on pages 329-335 of the Holt Textbook, students will identify which literary devices each author used. Students will then read and analyze Churchill’s speeches to identify his use of literary devices. Students will compare/contrast Churchill’s use of literary devices (specifically refrain and allusion) with Lincoln’s and King’s.
(1)“Refrain” is defined as the use of repeated words, sentences or phrases to build rhythm or emphasize important themes or messages, or create a special effect.
(2)“Allusion” is defined as the reference to familiar religious, historical or cultural terms that people share.
- Students will then reexamine the following themes previously studied while reading “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Camp Harmony” (the story of young Japanese-American girl who writes of being interred in a relocation camp during World War II):
(1)Innocent people often bear the burden of blame for the things they didn’t do.
(2)In a struggle with the state, individuals are often helpless victims.
(3)People value freedom.
(4)Good vs. evil.
d. Students will identify the themes contained in three Winston Churchill’s speeches (excerpts), compare/contrast how theses themes are addressed in Churchill’s three speeches with the way they are addressed in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Camp Harmony”, and ultimately be able to describe Churchill’s interpretation of these themes.
3. Summary of activities:
a. Entire class reads a brief biography of Winston Churchill, focusing on his leadership role after the Fall of France.
b. Entire class reads/ analyzes three of Churchill’s speeches (excerpts)
c. With assistance of teacher, students complete a worksheet to identify use of literary devices.
d. Students view a copy of a photo of Churchill typed speech (excerpt) to understand how Churchill prepared the text for effective speaking.
e. Students participate in a collaborative activity (Four Corners activity) to describe Churchill’s interpretation of recurring themes previously analyzed in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Camp Harmony”.
f. Students complete a One-Pager worksheet to describe the purpose/meaning of Churchill’s choice of allusion in the excerpts from his three speeches.
g. Students complete a written assessment (two brief essay questions).
II. Guiding question: How does Winston Churchill use the power of the English language to rally the forces of freedom to take a stand against a tyrannical state?
III. Learning Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Identify the literary devices used by Winston Churchill in the excerpts of three of his speeches, to include refrain and allusion.
- Describe in detail the purpose/meaning of the allusions used in Churchill’s speeches.
- Describe the themes of these speeches, and identify evidence of these themes in the form of specific words, sentences, or phrases.
- Understand how Winston Churchill valued the ideals and ideas of democracy and freedom.
IV.Background Information for the Teacher. Interestingbackground information on how Churchill’s crafted the style of his speeches can be viewed at the following website:
(The Churchill Centre: Finest Hour featured article: His Speeches: “How Churchill Did It”: Author: Dr Stephen Bungay)
- Preparation for Teaching this Lesson.
a.Students will need to be exposed to some background information on Winston Churchill, especially the European wartime situation leading to his leadership role in 1940. Accordingly, the following web sites are provided for student reading/viewing prior to/during the teaching of this lesson:
(Winston Churchill: Defender of Democracy. Author: Geoffrey Best)
(World War Two movies: click on Launch the Animation and go to “Dunkirk”)
b. Excerpts from three of Churchill’s speeches to be used in this lesson plan are included as an enclosure to this lesson plan. However, teachers can go to the following websites (all part of the Churchill Centre website) to read/print out the entire speeches.
VI Suggested Activities:
- After reading/analyzing Lincoln’s and King’s speeches, the class will read the excerpts from three Churchill’s speeches (see enclosures 1). With assistance from the teacher, students will attempt to identify examples of literary devices (specifically refrain and allusion) used by Churchill. Students will complete the enclosed worksheet (enclosure 2) titled “Literary Devices in Churchill’s Speeches” to note examples of literary devices.
- With assistance from the teacher, students will briefly discuss how Churchill addresses the same recurring themes that are contained in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Camp Harmony”, and any evidence (words, sentences, or phrases) that can be used to support Churchill’s different/same interpretation of these themes. Students might suggest some of the following comments:
-In “Camp Harmony” the main character feels that some Americans did not support the ideals of democracy, but Churchill is actually trying to rally Americans to defend/support democracy in Europe.
-“The Diary of Anne Frank might leave some people feeling that evil is too powerful, but Churchill wants people to do their duty and stand up to challenge evil tyranny.
-Both “The Diary of Anne Frank” and Winston Churchill’s speeches are hopeful because they both express the feeling that, in spite of the presence of evil, people are good.
-The main character in “Camp Harmony” demonstrates what happens to individuals when they are caught in the struggle between states, but Winston Churchill’s speeches demonstrate how democratic governments can rescue and liberate people from tyranny.
- Students will view copies of photos depicting Churchill’s typed speeches to see how Churchill prepared the text for effective speaking. Students will understand so-called psalm style of text (see enclosure 3).
- Students will then participate in a Four Corners Poster collaborative activity. Instructions for this activity are included in the enclosure titled “Four Corners Poster Activity (see enclosure 4). Students will use this activity to find/discuss evidence of Churchill’s interpretation of the recurring themes previously contained in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Camp Harmony”, and determine compare/contrast Churchill’s interpretation of these themes.
- Homework Assignment: Students will complete a One-Pager worksheet (see enclosure 5) to further study Churchill’s use of allusion. Instructions for completing a One-Pager are contained on the reverse side of the One Pager worksheet.
VII. Assessment: Students will write two-three paragraph responses to the following written essay prompts:
- “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Camp Harmony” provide examples of innocent people who suffered as victims of tyranny, or because some people had little faith in the ideals of democracy. How could one say that Churchill’s speeches address these same arguments in a more hopeful manner? Cite examples from Churchill’s speeches to support your answer.
- Compare and contrast Winston Churchill’s three speeches with Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and describe how the three speakers each address the ideals of freedom and democracy in regard to their target audience and long/short term goals.
VIII. Extending the Lesson: Students can continue studying the subject of Winston Churchill’s ability to inspire at the following web site:
(Secrets of Leadership: Hitler and Churchill)
IX. Additional Information
a. Grade Level: 8th grade
b. Subject Area: English
c. Time required: Recommend three separate hour periods (to include time for assessment)
d. Lesson plan author’s name/affiliation: Steve Rodriguez
Montgomery Middle School
Sweetwater Union High School District
Chula Vista, CA
We Shall Fight on the Beaches
June 4, 1940
House of Commons
The position of the B. E.F had now become critical As a result of a most skillfully conducted retreat and German errors, the bulk of the British Forces reached the Dunkirk bridgehead. The peril facing the British nation was now suddenly and universally perceived. On May 26, "Operation Dynamo "--the evacuation from Dunkirk began. The seas remained absolutely calm. The Royal Air Force--bitterly maligned at the time by the Army--fought vehemently to deny the enemy the total air supremacy which would have wrecked the operation. At the outset, it was hoped that 45,000 men might be evacuated; in the event, over 338,000 Allied troops reached England, including 26,000 French soldiers. On June 4, Churchill reported to the House of Commons, seeking to check the mood of national euphoria and relief at the unexpected deliverance, and to make a clear appeal to the United States.
(Excerpt from Speech)
I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
'The Few'
August 20, 1940
House of Commons
On August 15, the crisis of the battle of Britain was reached. All the resources of Fighter Command in the South were used. The most difficult and dangerous period of the Battle of Britain was between August 24 and September 6, when the German attack was directed against the R.A.F airfields in the South of England with considerable success. In this speech Churchill coined the phrase "The Few" to describe the R.A.F fighter-pilots. The phrase stuck. The final sentence of this speech, including the use of the word "benignant," is a good example of Churchill's choice of unexpected and assertive adjectives to make a phrase memorable.
(Excerpts from Speech)
The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day; but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers who will play an invaluable part in the case of invasion and whose unflinching zeal it has been necessary in the meanwhile on numerous occasions to restrain.
These are important steps. Undoubtedly this process means that these two great organisations of the English-speaking democracies, the British Empire and the United States, will have to be somewhat mixed up together in some of their affairs for mutual and general advantage.
For my own part, looking out upon the future, I do not view the process with any misgivings. I could not stop it if I wished; no one can stop it. Like the Mississippi, it just keeps rolling along. Let it roll. Let it roll on full flood, inexorable, irresistible, benignant, to broader lands and better days.
Enclosure 1 page 2
Their Finest Hour
June 18, 1940
House of Commons
(Excerpt from Speech)
What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."
Enclosure 1 page 3
LITERARY DEVICES USED IN WINSTON CHURCHILL’S SPEECHES
Examples of Refrain (Note for teacher) Suggested responses might include:
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France….we shall fight on the beaches
Upon this battle…Upon it depends…
If we can stand…If we fail…
…therefore brace ourselves….and so bear ourselves….
….so much owed by so few many to so few. Night after night, month after month
…keeps rolling along. Let it roll. Let it roll on full flood
Examples of Allusion (Note for teacher) Suggested responses might include:
Like the Mississippi…
Christian civilization Broad and sunlit uplands
Dark Ageperverted science New World
God’s good time the old (world)
Who was Churchill’s audience? What was he trying to accomplish with his speeches?
(Note for teacher) Suggested responses might include:
Churchill was trying to rally his own citizens, the citizens of those countries that had been overrun by the Nazi’s, and the citizens of the United States.
He was trying to inspire then to not give up the fight, and to get them prepared for future conflict.
He was trying to rally the United States to support the British effort, so they would at least be willing to provide support in the form of material and money. He was trying to appeal to their love democracy and freedom, and their fears of the evil of Nazi tyranny.
Enclosure 2
For this enclosure refer to page 220 of Never Give In! (The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches)
Request this page (photo of speech text in psalm-style) be added to the Churchill Centre site –
(REQUESTED)
Enclosure 3
Instructions for Four Corners Activity
Note: Upon completion of this activity students should be able to understand how Churchill interpreted the same recurring themes contained in “”The Diary of Anne Frank” and “from Camp Harmony.”