Princess Academy by: Shannon Hale (Traditional or Folk Literature)

Miri is a fourteen year old girl who lives on top of a mountain and dreams of seeing the palace.  She also longs to work in the quarry but is forbidden by her father because she is so small and fragile.  Once she finally has a chance to leave home and live a life like a "lowlander," Miri realizes that she misses her sister, her father, and her friend, Peder.  Miri has a hard time fitting in with the other girls at the princess academy and becomes an outcast after ruining the girls' chance of going home to visit their families.  Tutor Olana does not like Miri, either, and Miri faces a very challenging year at the academy.  Miri discovers that she can communicate in a nonverbal way through "quarry speech" and uses her skills to help others.  The girls are held hostage and Miri shows bravery through risking her own live to save the lives of her classmates.  She changes the entire way of life in Mount Eskel and feels accomplished after gaining a higher education and learning to read.

               

                   <-- click here for my example Wordle

I would use this book in the classroom to incorporate technology into my lesson.  I think this is a good book to use with older grade levels (fifth, sometimes fourth) but could be recommended to a third grade student who has advanced reading skills.  I would ask students to write down descriptions of Miri, the main character, as they read and then highlight or underline one word from each of their descriptions.  I would then pass out laptops and have the students create a wordle using words that describe Miri.  I would show them my example but tell them that they could not use any of the same words that I used.  I would allow them to use their creativity by designing the wordle to look however they want it to and then print them out so each student can keep their creation.  I would have the students get into small groups and choose the wordle that best encompasses all of the dimensions of Miri's character and have that person share theirs with the entire class.

AR Book Finder Book Level 6.0