1. Ronald Reagan’s Challenger Speech Analysis
Standard Focus 1.3

2. Students will be able to analyze how the speaker unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including:
the order in which the points are made,
how they are introduced and developed,
the connections that are drawn between them.
Learning Goal:

3. Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
Space travel involves incredible risks, and sometimes those risks can be fatal.
When the space shuttle Challenger was flying on January 28, 1986, an internal rocket ship part called an "o-ring"—a sort of rubbery tire for keeping super-hot rocket gases from leaking into the wrong place— malfunctioned because it got too cold in the winter air letting in gas and compromising the structural integrity of the ship.
Then, the shuttle fell apart mid-flight, a mere seventy- three seconds after takeoff.
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

4. Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
The disaster, which resulted in the deaths of the entire crew, was broadcast live…on national television…to hundreds of schoolchildren.
The Challenger disaster was a major issue, and President Reagan bumped his annual televised State of the Union Address, originally scheduled for that night, to talk about it.
Reagan needed to make everybody feel better about something awful and restore public confidence in the American space program. He enlisted the help of presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan to write a speech that tiptoed through a delicate situation that was as political as it was emotional.
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

5. Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

6. 1.3 FSA Questions How does the writer order ideas in the speech?
Cite 3 examples from the text that show how the writer uses redirection of emotional focus as a way to develop ideas in the speech.
How did the Challenger disaster impact people around the country? Use at least 3 specific details from the text to support your response.
Explain the connection made between the Challenger crew and the explorer Sir Francis Drake.
1.3 FSA Questions

7. How does the writer order ideas in the speech
How does the writer order ideas in the speech? (Chronological, cause and effect, compare/contrast, cause and solution, etc.) Explain why you believe the author structured the text like that.
How did the Challenger disaster impact people around the country? Use at least 2 specific details from the text to support your response.
Explain the connection made between the Challenger crew and the explorer Sir Francis Drake.
1.3 FSA Questions