Book-Based Skill Builders
Of Good Character
based on Princess Academy
by Shannon Hale
Grades: 6–8
View and print the student activity sheet (PDF)
About the Book
The Princess Academy has opened on Mount Eskel. The Academy�s purpose is to train the future princess of Danland. Priests have determined that the new princess will come from a remote village on Mount Eskel which is known for mining the beautiful linder stone. With this news, life for Miri, a young girl of 14, changes in many ways. Miri has always felt different than others in her community. She has never been allowed to work in the quarry as everyone else does. Is it because her father does not love her? As all the young ladies of Mount Eskel spend the winter at the academy, Miri learns not only academics and etiquette, but also the great strength that she possesses and how much she truly does belong on Mount Eskel.
Set the Stage
Use the following to get the students ready to read:
- The setting takes place in a fictional kingdom. Discuss the vocabulary words, academy, monarch and quarry.
- Discuss the cover. What does the cover tell you about the characters in the book? What does it tell you about how they live? Allow students to predict what the book will be about.
Review
After reading the book, discuss the following:
- Why do you think that the people of Mount Eskel were so distrusting of people from the lowlands?
- Miri�s father does not share his feeling in words, but with actions. What actions in the book show that he loved Miri?
- At the beginning of the story, Miri questions her value to her community. How does she come to realize that she has much to offer Mount Eskel?
- Miri struggles with whether or not she wants to be chosen princess? Why does she feel this way? Discuss the reason she wants to be chosen and the reasons she wants to stay on Mount Eskel.
- Miri discovers that quarry-speech can take place anywhere there is linder. Discuss how this discovery becomes even more valuable than the linder itself.
- The girls attending the academy study hard in order to have a chance to become a princess. Katar saw this as a way to escape Mount Eskel. What motivated the others to work so hard? Was it just to become a princess? What motivated Miri? Why was Britta the perfect choice for princess? What did the others learn about themselves through the winter in the academy? Have you ever worked really hard for a particular prize? Was it worth it? Was it what you expected?
- The bandits threatened the lives of the girls. What did they learn during that time about working together?
- Did the book end the way you expected it to? What clues did the author offer to prepare you to expect the ending? Did you recognize these clues as being important to the story as you were reading?
- What did Miri come to discover about her relationship with her father and with her community? What did Miri realize was her destiny in life?
Student Activity
In this activity, students will evaluate the various characters in the book and complete a character analysis chart.
Related Activities
To extend the students� enjoyment of the book, try these:
- A Song of the Time: The community in which Miri lived communicated with each other when working by using quarry-speech. This was something only people from the mountain were capable of doing. It was based on their memories of shared events. African American spirituals were a way that slaves in the southern United States could communicate with each other. Many of these songs were secret messages about things such as the Underground Railroad. Have students research African American Spirituals. Play recordings of some of these songs to the class. Discuss what the hidden meanings are.
- Special Memories: Have students pair up with a friend and write their own quarry-speech. Have them write two memories down and then list different messages that the memories could convey.
- Hard as a Rock: Miri�s community mined a fictional stone called linder that was very valuable to the people in the lowlands. What stones are mined today that are valuable to people? Have students research stones. Use a world map to mark the locations of where the various stones are mined. Label the kinds of stones mined and list what their uses are.
- Flower Power: Miri is named after a flower that grows on Mount Eskel. Have students draw a picture of what they believe this flower looks like.
- Happily Ever After: Have students write a different ending to the story, one in which someone different was chosen to be the princess. Taking the new ending under consideration, have students design a new book jacket for the Princess Academy. Have students share their endings and new covers with the class.
- Long Live the King: Danland was a monarchy. The girls at the academy had to learn the lost list of kings. In small groups, have students research countries that are ruled by kings today. Have them prepare of a poster with the information they have learned.
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