1. What is the difference between a president’s address to a joint session of Congress and a president’s State of the Union address?

2. a) When does a president usually address Congress (Joint Session and State of the Union)?
b) Why is President Biden’s address 60 days later than any other president?

3. What is the purpose of this address?

4. For what reason is the number of Congress members, Supreme Court justices and others permitted to attend limited for the first time ever?

5. a) Who and how many have been invited to the Capitol to attend President Biden’s address?
b) Who do we know for certain will not attend?

6. The president generally speaks for over an hour. Many people believe President Biden is not able to speak clearly/coherently for that long. Do you think that is an unfair assertion? Explain your answer.
(Ask a parent or grandparent the same question.)

7. Watch/read/listen to reporting prior to President Biden’s address.
a) Are headlines positive, negative, or neither? Explain your answer. Give several examples.
b) Are reporters’ comments positive, negative, or neither? Explain your answer. Give several examples.

CHALLENGE #1 — WITHOUT listening to any comments by the media (during/after the speech), watch President Biden’s address to the nation and answer the following questions.

• To watch the address without comment, go to whitehouse.gov or c-span.org.
• To read the text of President Biden’s address, go to: whitehouse.gov
• or to read main points from the speech in tweet form, go to @POTUS

1. Tone is the attitude a speaker takes towards a subject. What was the tone of President Biden’s address? (optimistic, hopeful, energetic, inspiring, unifying, pessimistic, discouraging, lethargic, critical, etc. …) Explain your answer.

2. What do you think of President Biden’s plan for dealing with covid going forward?

3. What did the President say about the following: (What is his plan/purpose?)

a) His $2 trillion "infrastructure" bill (Republicans argue much of this spending is not infrastructure - Does he address this?)
b) Amount/type of tax increases he will implement to pay for the $2 trillion infrastructure bill
c) the crisis at the border/public safety/criminal cartels and human traffickers
d) plan for protecting/tracking the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children to ensure their ongoing safety
e) BLM protests, law enforcement, ongoing violent clashes and property destruction by "protesters" across the country; Antifa rioters
f) getting the U.S. back into the Iran nuclear deal
g) China threat
h) other

4. a) Do you think the President has focused on the issues most important to Americans in his first 100 days? Explain your answer.
b) Ask a parent the same question.

5. a) What issue presented by President Biden was the most important to you? Explain your answer.
b) Did any aspect of the speech disappoint  or impress you? Explain your answer.

6. What inspired you the most about President Biden’s address? Explain your answer. (If it did not inspire you at all, why not?)

CHALLENGE #2 – Watch/read/listen to reporting on President Biden’s address.
a) Are headlines positive, negative, or neither? Explain your answer. Give several examples.
b) Are reporters’ comments positive, negative, or neither? Explain your answer. Give several examples.
c) Did news reports accurately portray the tone and content of President Biden's address?

CHALLENGE #3 - Watch Sen. Tim Scott's Republican response to the President's address. What is your reaction to Senator Scott's remarks?