SOAPSTone and the Gettysburg Address

SOAPSTone

A quick intro

Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Subject
Tone

“S” stands for SPEAKER

Speaker in Challenger speech-- Discuss

Multiple Choice

Why is understanding who the speaker is important to analyzing a speech?

• The more important they are, the better.

• The president gives important speeches.

• Looking at who a speaker is in relation to the audience can tell us a lot about the effect of their speech.

• The louder the speaker is, the better of a public speaker they are.

“O” stands for OCCASION

​Occasion in Challenger speech-- Discuss

Fill in the Blank

Occasion means the _________ and place of the speech, which is important for historical context.

“A” stands for AUDIENCE

​Audience in Challenger speech-- Discuss

Open Ended

If a speaker is speaking to middle schoolers, how might they change their approach and wording to make it appropriate for the audience?

“P” stands for PURPOSE

​Purpose in Challenger speech-- Discuss

Multiple Choice

When thinking about author's purpose, what does "PIE" stand for?

• Persuade, Instruct, Entertain
• Predict, Inform, Explain
• Provoke, Instruct, Excite
• Persuade, Inform, Entertain

Open Ended

What do you think the PURPOSE or reason for a graduation speech might be? Explain.

“S” stands for SUBJECT

​​Subject in Challenger speech-- Discuss

Multiple Choice

Which word is similar to the "subject" is SOAPSTone?

• Author

• Theme

• Tone

• Word Choice

“T” stands for TONE

​​Tone in Challenger speech-- Discuss

Multiple Choice

When we look at the tone, what do we analyze?

• Attitude or feelings showed by the author

• The topics discussed

• The theme of the speech

• The speaker's background

Comprehension Questions on the Challenger Speech

Multiple Choice

Challenger: What three groups did Reagan mention in his speech?

• The crew, NASA, and school children

• NASA, the scientists, and school children

• The crew, families, and school children.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following contains an emotional appeal from the speech?

• Ladies and gentlemen, I’d planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans.

• Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit.

• It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery.

• We don’t keep secrets and cover things up.

Multiple Choice

When Reagan tells of the seaman Sir Francis Drake, what is his reason for mentioning this person from history?

• The astronauts never achieved their mission but Drake lived a long, successful life on the sea.

• Both Drake and the astronauts were brave explorers who shared their love of adventure.

• The astronauts would go down in history for their successful mission but Drake never accomplished his goal.

• Both Drake and the astronauts were brave explorers who gave their lives for what they loved.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a/the speech's claim? (the writer’s central position on an issue or problem - the idea that is at the core of Reagan's speech)

• We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye.

• There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space.

• It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

• I’ve always had great faith in and respect for our space program.

Multiple Choice

Why does Reagan make the following statement? "We’ll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue."

• He wants to send a message to Russia and China that America is not abandoning the space program.

• He wants to reassure NASA and the public that despite the tragedy, NASA's mission is still a priority.

• He wants to make sure Congress will fully fund NASA in spite of the tragedy.

• He wants to reassure any children watching that if any of them wants to be an astronaut, that dream is still possible.

Open Ended

What do you believe is the overall message, or theme, to Reagan's speech?