Literary Nonfiction STAAR

STAAR Blitz: On the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger

Literary Nonfiction

• Literary nonfiction is a form of writing that tells about real people, places, or events. The genre includes autobiographies and biographies. In an autobiography, the author tells about the most meaningful events in his or her own life. It also might include the lessons the author has learned over time. A biography is the story of a person’s life written by someone else. The purpose of a biography is to create a full, accurate picture of the subject. Speeches can also be considered literary nonfiction when they use literary devices.

• One major element of literary nonfiction is an appeal to emotions. Authors often use sensory language to help you see, hear, or feel something. These elements also provide clues about the author’s purpose.

Open Ended

What should you do before you start to read a text?

Multiple Choice

President Reagan made this speech most likely to—

• comfort the families of Challenger crew members in a time of great sorrow

• mourn the Challenger crew and pay tribute to their achievement

• help schoolchildren overcome their shock at witnessing the Challenger disaster on television

• encourage Americans to keep exploring after the Challenger disaster

Multiple Choice

Which piece of evidence that Reagan provides most strongly supports the idea that space exploration has always been dangerous?

• He mentions an accident that claimed the lives of American astronauts nineteen years earlier.

• He says that the crew of the Challenger overcame their fears and did their jobs brilliantly.

• He stresses that the American space program does not cover up accidents but instead shares everything with the public.

• He mentions what happened centuries ago to Sir Francis Drake.

Multiple Choice

As used in paragraph 5, what does the word fainthearted mean?

• Sick

• Quiet

• Timid

• Courageous

Multiple Choice

Which detail from the speech most clearly supports Reagan’s idea that the Challenger crew members were important pioneers?

• Calling the crew “seven heroes” (paragraph 2)

• Saying that the crew “served all of us” (paragraph 3)

• Mentioning that shuttle crews may include volunteers, civilians, and teachers (paragraph 6)

• Comparing the crew to a famous explorer (paragraph 7)

Multiple Choice

Based on Reagan’s allusion to the poem “High Flight” in paragraph 8, the reader can conclude that—

• the Challenger crew knew what was about to happen

• all of America mourned the loss of the Challenger crew

• the Challenger’s liftoff was a frightening experience

• the Challenger crew had a noble mission