Resource Description This resource is made up of five one-page multiple choice exercises using an opinion piece Clementine Churchill wrote to her husband Winston Churchill in 1940. Stems, foils, and answers are based on the format and rigor of the AP™ English Language & Composition Exam. A detailed answer explanation is provided for each of the ten questions. The author of this product, Angie Burgin Kratzer, is a veteran English teacher and curriculum specialist with extensive experience writing state-level and district-level formative assessment tools for teachers. Suggestions for Use Warm Up/Bell Ringer Get students into thinking mode immediately by starting class with just one page (two questions) of these exercises. Have one on each student desk before the tardy bell rings and warm up those brains. In-Class Practice Have pairs work together to answer the questions. Post the letters A, B, C, D, and E around the room and have students go to the letter indicating their chosen answers. Have students discuss their reasoning within each letter grouping and present to the class. They can change groups based on presented arguments. Closure/Summary Use one exercise as a formative assessment tool at the end of a lesson. Pages have lines for answer defense, so the teacher can get a feel for student thinking. Where space is not allotted, have students use the back. Consider partial credit for good reasoning or deduction for weak reasoning or guessing. Homework Send one page or the whole set home for practice. Scaffolding If you think students are not ready for a full multiple-choice practice, focus on one skill with one of these exercises. AP Exam Review Send this set home the weekend before the AP exam.

Terms of Use This product may be used by one teacher for his or her students. That teacher may not give this file in any form to another teacher. This prohibition includes but is not limited to email, Google Drive, shared drives, The Cloud, and school and district shared document systems. If you’re interested in a department, school, or district license, email Angie at [email protected] .

©Angie Burgin Kratzer All rights reserved http://www.angiekratzer.com/ Clementine Churchill’s Letter to Winston Churchill, June 27, 1940 1. Who is the speaker of ‘No doubt it’s the strain’ in lines 19 and 20? 1 My Darling, A. Private Secretaries B. a devoted friend 2 I hope you will forgive me if I tell you C. subordinates something 3 that I feel you ought to know. D. school boys E. colleagues 4 One of the men in your entourage (a devoted 5 friend) has been to me & told me that there is a 6 danger of your being generally disliked by your Answer Defense 7 colleagues and subordinates because of your ______8 rough sarcastic & overbearing manner — It 9 seems your Private Secretaries have agreed to ______10 behave like school boys & 'take what's coming ______11 to them' & then escape out of your presence 12 shrugging their shoulders — Higher up, if an ______13 idea is suggested (say at a conference) you are ______14 supposed to be so contemptuous that 15 presently no ideas, good or bad, will be ______16 forthcoming. I was astonished & upset because ______17 in all these years I have been accustomed to all ______18 those who have worked with & under you, 19 loving you — I said this & I was told 'No doubt ______20 it's the strain' —

21 My Darling Winston — I must confess that I 2. All of the following words could be used 22 have noticed a deterioration in your manner; & to describe the author’s tone EXCEPT 23 you are not so kind as you used to be. A. cautionary B. direct 24 It is for you to give the Orders & if they are C. frank 25 bungled — except for the King, the Archbishop D. gentle 26 of Canterbury & the Speaker, you can sack E. mocking 27 anyone & everyone — Therefore with this 28 terrific power you must combine urbanity, Answer Defense 29 kindness and if possible Olympic calm. You 30 used to quote:— 'On ne règne sur les âmes que ______31 par le calme' — I cannot bear that those who ______32 serve the Country and yourself should not love 33 as well as admire and respect you — ______34 Besides you won't get the best results by Sample 35 irascibility & rudeness. They will breed either ______36 dislike or a slave mentality — (Rebellion in War ______37 time being out of the question!) ______38 Please forgive your loving devoted & watchful ______39 Clemie Exercise 40 I wrote this at Chequers last Sunday, tore it up, 41 but here it is now.

©Angie Burgin Kratzer All rights reserved http://www.angiekratzer.com/ Clementine Churchill’s Letter to Winston Churchill, June 27, 1940 Answer Key 1. B In line 4, Mrs. Churchill vaguely identifies the person who gave her the information about Churchill’s colleagues and subordinates. He is “one of the men in your entourage (a devoted friend).” 2. E The author’s tone is never mocking even when she quotes him back to himself in lines 30-31. Being abrasive with him would be counterproductive since she is trying to convince him to be less abrasive.

Sample Answer Key

©Angie Burgin Kratzer All rights reserved http://www.angiekratzer.com/ About the Author

Angie Burgin Kratzer is a high school English teacher in central North Carolina, and she holds Secondary ELA and K-12 Academically Gifted certificates. In 2001 and 2011, she earned her Adolescent/Young Adult Literacy certificate from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Her experience includes 18 years in the classroom teaching English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12, AP English Language & Composition, Creative Writing, and Newspaper Journalism; and three years as a curriculum specialist for 6th through 12th grade English Language Arts. She also serves school districts as a consultant and trainer in writing instruction. If you have questions about any of her products, contact her at [email protected] If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up here to be on her mailing list. About the Artists Cover student by Caryn Wheeler Cover font by Kimberly Geswein