Throughout the novel, Humphrey develops nicknames for the students in Mrs. Brisbane’s class, like Speak-Up-Sayeh and Raise-Your-Hand-Heidi. How do these nicknames relate to key themes in the novel, particularly those around Judging Others? How do your thoughts around the nicknames change over the course of the novel?

Teaching Suggestion: For certain students (like Golden-Miranda), their nickname is based on their outward appearance; for other students (like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J.), their nickname is based on their behaviors in Mrs. Brisbane’s class. Humphrey’s position as the class pet gives him a unique perspective on each student: He gets to see not only their surface characteristics (like their appearance or classroom behaviors) but also their home lives. As the novel goes on, readers get to understand the deeper reasons behind those nicknames, especially for students like Speak-Up-Sayeh and Wait-for-the-Bell-Garth.

Differentiation Suggestion: For a more personal approach, try asking students to come up with their own nicknames: What might Humphrey call them, if he were their classroom pet? Students could then spend 5-10 minutes free writing about how that nickname might not necessarily reflect their true personality.