Speech/Rhetoric Unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

Discussion questions on FDR’s Address to Congress, December 8, 1941.

1.                  Does FDR’s description of December 7—“a date which will live in infamy”—accurately describe the events of that day?  Is FDR merely stating a truth?  Or is he still, as he speaks to Congress, trying to persuade Americans that war is the correct and only response?

2.                  Does FDR’s use of the repeated “last night” frighten the listener?  Or does it call the listener to action?  Is it an effective technique?

3.                  Does the audience’s response to “absolute victory” give you an idea of how FDR is affecting them?  Do you think they are merely bandwaggoning the President?

4.                  Do you believe the President when he says that “this kind of treachery will never again endanger us”?

Speech/Rhetoric Unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

Discussion questions on George W. Bush’s 9/11 address.

1.                  Does GWB’s speech invoke in you the same call to action as does FDR’s Address to Congress? 

2.                  What do you think the purpose of GWB’s speech was for Americans?  What message was he sending to the people?

3.                  Would this speech have been more effective with an audience?  Does the fact that this speech was on TV reduce its impact?

4.                  Does GWB sound as confident as FDR?  Why or why not?

Speech/Rhetoric Unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

DIRECTIONS:  Get into your groups and take BOTH your FDR discussion questions and your GWB questions with you.  Use your own discussion questions to collaborate with your group and think further about the following questions.  Create at least two fully developed paragraphs comparing FDR’s speech and GWB’s speech in response to the questions below.  This activity is worth twenty (20) points—make sure all group members’ names are on the final work product.

1.                    Which speech has more meaning for your group as young people—the FDR speech which changed history but which you did not witness, or the GWB speech, which involved an event we collectively share?

2.                    Do you think that the element of television changes the way you understand these two speeches?  Does the element of a live audience (in FDR’s case) and a static delivery (in GWB’s case) change the effectiveness of the two speeches?

3.                    Think about how you are persuaded by these two speeches. 

a.        Which president inspired more confidence in you when you heard his language?

b.       Which president persuaded you that his particular cause at hand—war v. the Japanese contrasted with war v. “terror”—was more important?

c.        Look at the text—the actual writing—of both speeches.  Which one, in your group’s opinion, is better crafted?  Which one shows more originality, more thought, more creativity?  Support your ideas with examples from the text.

Speech/rhetoric unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

Discussion questions on The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963. 

1.                  How did your perception of the speech change when we watched it as opposed to just listened to it on the audio?  Was seeing MLK give the speech more or less important to you than hearing his words?  Why or why not?

2.                  What effect did MLK’s technique of repeating certain phrases (“I have a dream,” “let freedom ring,”) have on you as the listener?

3.                  Would MLK be as effective a speaker for you if he did not “preach” his message?  Do you feel that his dynamic speech style is at least as important as his words?  Why or why not?

4.                  Were you surprised that MLK quoted from the patriotic ode “America” (“my country ‘tis of thee”)?  Did his use of this song change its meaning for you?  Why or why not?

Speech/rhetoric unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

Discussion questions on Robert F. Kennedy’s remarks on April 4, 1968.

1.                  How does RFK’s formal speech style contrast with MLK’s dynamic, fluid speech? 

2.                  RFK was speaking extemporaneously (off the cuff) because he was told of MLK’s death just before he took the stage.  How does knowing that RFK was speaking without notes or preparation affect your understanding of his effectiveness as a speaker?

3.                  RFK quotes a very difficult poet (Aeschylus) from memory.  How important is it for a speaker to be able to incorporate things like the arts into rhetoric?  What did the poem RFK quoted add to his presentation?

4.                  RFK was assassinated about 10 weeks after MLK.  How alike was their message of tolerance and peace despite the difference in their speaking styles?

Speech and Rhetoric Unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

Discussion questions, Lou Gehrig’s Farewell to Baseball, July 4, 1939.

1.                  Do you think Lou Gehrig’s “common man approach” to speaking made him more or less effective to his audience?  How or why?

2.                  Do you find Lou Gehrig’s speech emotional?  Or emotionless?  Explain.

3.                  Is Lou Gehrig’s farewell triumphant?  In what way?

Speech/rhetoric unit

Mrs. Gann

House B Language Arts

Discussion questions on Richard M. Nixon’s resignation speech, August 8, 1974.

1.                              How does the fact that President Nixon read his speech so carefully affect your posture towards him?  Do you find him sympathetic?  Do you believe him when he says that he puts the interests of the country first?

2.                              We have seen MLK and RFK give speeches before live audiences with vigor and with emotion.  How does Nixon’s presentation through the static venue of TV affect you as a listener?

3.                              Do you find Nixon to be an effective speaker?  Would his speeches have swayed you if you had been alive during his Presidency?