Legendborn

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Trial by Design”

In this activity, students will create their own page-trial based on modern needs for knights.

Throughout the novel, the pages are put through a series of tests that determine how qualified they are to be squires. Each year, the trials test the same abilities, but do so in a new way so that repeaters do not have an advantage. Consider how you might challenge this year’s upcoming pages.

• First, decide what abilities you want your trial to test. Remember, they should be similar skills to ones from the trials in the book.
• Then, design your trial. Consider:

o What will the pages do?

o What or who will their enemy be?

o Will they be working in teams or on their own?

o How will you eliminate pages based on performance?

• Ultimately, decide how you will present your trial to the regents for consideration. You may draw out the trial/course, write an argumentative letter, or create a slideshow that highlights your ideas.

As a class, review each trial. Students can vote on which trials they think would be best for next year’s tournament, remembering that the same set of skills need to be tested each year (i.e., there shouldn’t be two combat trials).

Teaching Suggestion: Consider giving students ample time to create their trials. Some students may need additional materials, such as newspaper clippings, computers, glue, etc., in order to create their finished product. If these materials are not available, it might be helpful to streamline the potential finished products of the activity.

Differentiation Suggestion: This activity allows for students to differentiate based on their own strengths. For visual learners, they could create a poster board, slideshow with images, or create a drawing or other visual media to illustrate their trial. For learners who prefer to write, they could produce a persuasive or argumentative letter that could be presented to class. Students who are stronger in social skills might wish to record themselves creating a “commercial” for their trial.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout the novel, Bree has many mentors that help her learn about herself and her power.

• Which mentor was the most influential during Bree’s time at UNC? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, choose a character like William, Sel, or Patricia who helps Bree learn about herself. Argue why that person was the most influential in her new life at school and in the Order using at least three pieces of evidence.
• Then, in your concluding sentence or sentences, connect their mentorship back to how that person helps Bree with The Nature of Grief.

2. Much of Bree’s decision making in the beginning of the novel is driven by grief.

• How does her experience with grief change over the course of the novel? (topic sentence)
• To craft your essay, choose one moment of grief from the beginning sections of the novel and one from the later sections. Compare and contrast these two sections using specific quotes from the text.
• Then, in your concluding sentence or sentences, draw a larger conclusion about what the novel is trying to show readers about the theme of The Nature of Grief.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Compare and contrast magic use by aether users and root practitioners. In what ways are their power similar? How does it—or its users—differ? As you compose your essay, focus on at least one similarity and one difference, supporting your answer with evidence from the text. Ultimately, consider what the author is trying to say regarding the theme of White Magic and Black Magic.

2. Consider Bree’s struggle with familial connection following her mother’s death. To what extent does family history define a person? In your argumentative response, be sure to consider both the positive connections and trauma that comes with knowing one’s family history. Be sure to support your argument with at least three specific quotes from the text and connect to the text’s theme of Generational Trauma.

3. Throughout the novel, Bree has the ability to see and smell magic. How does this enhance the overall tone of the novel? Using multiple moments from the text, consider how Bree’s (and thus the reader’s) experience with magic is sensationally different than other magic users.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is implied when Tor remarks that this page class is “the most diverse” yet?

A) That there are a lot of different people represented in this class

B) That there have never been any pages of color before

C) That women have never been allowed to be pages before

D) That only rich kids are allowed to be pages

2. Which of the following best describes the relationship between Sel and Nick?

A) Loving but distant

B) Brotherly and warm

C) Protective but volatile

D) Nonchalant and forced

3. What evil is Bree referring to when she states that “Unspeakable evil gave me Arthur, Vera’s resistance gave me power, but I earned my will”?

A) Demonblood/Shadowborn

B) Slavery/rape

C) A crossroads child

D) Cheating spouses

4. Which of the following characters is still alive at the end of the novel?

A) William

B) Evan

C) Whitty

D) Fitz

5. Why do Bree and Greer connect immediately?

A) They are both first-generation college students.

B) They both grew up poor.

C) They are both outsiders.

D) They both fall in love with Nick.

6. Which of the trials was Bree most prepared for?

A) The rescue mission

B) The scavenger hunt

C) The melee fights

D) The selection gala

7. Besides Nick, who is the most likely love interest for Bree moving forward?

A) William

B) Alice

C) Greer

D) Sel

8. What was the relationship between Sel and Bree’s mothers?

A) They never met.

B) They were friends.

C) They were sisters.

D) They were both demons.

9. What type of figurative language is used to describe the scent of aether?

1. Metaphor

2. Imagery

3. Onomatopoeia

4. Alliteration

10. Which is the best example of Generational Trauma within the novel?

A) Bree trying to beat up the statue of the slave owner on campus.

B) Bree and Alice having a fight in their first week at a new school.

C) Nick falling in love with Bree, who his dad might not approve of.

D) Davis hiding the fact that Sel’s mother was still alive.

11. How does Bree figure out that Evan is actually a demon in disguise?

A) He changes form for her.

B) He accidentally trips up when speaking.

C) He doesn’t make any noise when he walks.

D) He can’t kiss Charlotte.

12. What is “after-Bree”?

A) The name Bree gives herself after she gets powers

B) The haircut Bree gets when she moves to UNC

C) The personality she has once she and Alice stop being friends

D) The persona Bree uses to hide from her grief

13. What is the major difference between Rootcraft and Bloodcraft?

A) Rootcraft borrows magic temporarily, while bloodcraft steals it.

B) Rootcraft can only be practiced in the woods, while bloodcraft can be anywhere.

C) Bloodcraft requires a blood offering, while Rootcraft doesn’t require anything.

D) Bloodcraft is practiced almost exclusively by black practitioners, while Rootcraft can be practiced by anyone.

14. Why is Nick required to stay back during the second trial?

A) He was cheating to help Bree.

B) He is safe behind the enchantments of the lodge.

C) He has been called to be Arthur and needs rest.

D) His dad is looking for him.

15. Which is an example of a microaggression (a racist act that someone does unintentionally) experienced by Bree?

A) Being called the “most diverse” class by Tor

B) Being assumed to be the help by the Order of the Rose

C) Having her hair touched by her friends without consent

D) Being attacked after the round by Vaughn

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. How are “after-Bree” and the Bree readers see at the end of the story different?

2. Describe Alice’s relationship with Bree’s father throughout the novel.