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The Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman

Summary

Wiley and Jeff have been best friends for all of their 11 years. Notorious for the nicknames they have awarded the people in their school, they are quick to dub their new teacher, Mr. Hughes, the former high-school football coach with a booming voice and can-do attitude, Mr. Huge. However, their game soon begins to backfire. A bet with a classmate-that nicknames don't stick unless they fit-has unpredicted results. Cassandra, an interesting and attractive new student with a passion for wildlife conservation, seems to defy all labels. Wiley and Jeff's clever moniker for their class, the Dim Bulbs (as opposed to the Bright Lights for class 6A), has everyone believing that they are incapable of doing well on a state reading test, which puts Mr. Huge's job in jeopardy. As the two boys vie for Cassandra's attention, their nicknaming turns to name-calling and they find the stability of their friendship threatened. Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

154 pages, 4th through 6th grade.

Discussion questions

Spoiler alert! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. What do you think about nicknames?
  2. What kind of nicknames do you know for people?
  3. Do you have a nickname? Does it make you feel good about yourself or feel belittled?
  4. Do you think nicknames are powerful, that is, that people tend to live up or down to them?
  5. Have you ever known a teacher or other person in a leadership role who was like Mr. Huge?
  6. Do you think that if a teacher or leader gives 110% and expects his students to do the same,that they will?
  7. Have you ever seen a friendship broken apart by jealousy such as happens to Jeff and Wiley?
  8. Do you think this story could have happened?

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