Because of Mr. Terupt
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40 free Because of Mr. Terupt trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Because of Mr. Terupt, Rob Buyea's first novel, follows one fifth-grade class through a single school year with a rookie teacher who trusts his kids more than most adults would. Seven classmates take turns telling the story, and each one sees the same events a little differently. This quiz walks through the year in order: the first tests of the new teacher in September, the December project that brings a bully's behavior to a head, the snowy day when everything changes, and the long wait of March, April and May. You will also find questions on what the narrators face at home, how each one tells a chapter, and the author behind the series. It is written for readers who have just finished the novel, for classes checking what they remember month by month, and for teachers and reading groups who want ready-made questions with every answer explained.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which student throws the icy snowball that strikes Mr. Terupt on the class's outdoor reward day?
Peter
Peter hurls it in anger after classmates pile on him in the snow, and never means to hit his teacher. The rough play had been allowed to go too far.
Q 02Which sport, practiced in high school and college, had already given Mr. Terupt concussions?
Wrestling
Wrestling had already given Mr. Terupt several concussions, which is why one icy snowball could put him in a coma. Author Rob Buyea competed in the same sport from the age of four.
Q 03At which fictional school does Mr. Terupt take charge of a fifth-grade class in September?
Snow Hill
Snow Hill is a made-up school, and the story stays with one class there for a single school year, told by seven of its students.
Q 04What does Mr. Terupt call the game in which Luke hunts for vocabulary whose letters total 100?
Dollar words
Dollar words are ones whose letters, each given a value in cents, add up to exactly 100. Luke enjoys the game so much that he flags them in his own chapters all year.
Q 05In September, what does the class prankster overuse to test how much Mr. Terupt will allow?
The bathroom pass
The bathroom pass gets him out of class again and again until Mr. Terupt catches on and gently teases him. Being joked with rather than yelled at wins the boy over.
Q 06From which state has new girl Jessica just moved when she joins Mr. Terupt's class in September?
California
California is a whole country away from her new home, so Jessica arrives knowing nobody. She warms to Mr. Terupt quickly because he is a newcomer too.
Q 07What happens when Luke's homemade plant food starts smoking in Mr. Terupt's class in October?
The fire alarm goes off
The fire alarm goes off and the room has to be cleared. Rob Buyea took the idea from the strange potions his own pupils once mixed to feed their plants.
Q 08Which procedure does Mr. Terupt undergo in May while his whole class waits at the hospital?
Brain surgery
Brain surgery is the doctors' attempt to help him after months unconscious, and he comes through it without waking. The class passes the wait by swapping stories about him.
Q 09When Mr. Terupt walks back into class on the last day of school, what does Mrs. Williams announce?
He will teach them again
He will teach them again, moving up to sixth grade with the same students instead of saying goodbye, news that thrills the whole class.
Q 10In November, what does Mr. Terupt challenge the class to estimate out on the soccer field?
The blades of grass
The blades of grass are far too many to count one by one, so the class counts small sample squares and scales up. Luke, who loves a hard problem, is delighted.
Q 11In which New England state is Because of Mr. Terupt set, home of the Nutmeg Book Award it later won?
Connecticut
Connecticut is where Jessica lands after her cross-country move, and the state's own Nutmeg Book Award went to the novel in 2013.
Q 12What does Mr. Terupt promise newcomer Jessica after they bond over the novel she is carrying?
A happy ending
A happy ending is what he says he will try to give her school year, since the stories they both love finish that way. The accident later puts that promise in doubt.
Q 13Which special-needs room does Mr. Terupt's class invite to its December celebration?
The Collaborative Classroom
Q 21How does Mr. Terupt respond to Mrs. Williams after Luke's October plant experiment goes badly wrong?
He takes the blame himself
He takes the blame himself, although Luke mixed the smoking potion and expected to be punished. Shielding a student this way wins the class's trust.
Q 22What kind of December celebration does Mr. Terupt's class plan instead of an ordinary one?
A multicultural party
A multicultural party means groups work on projects about winter holidays. It is during this group work that Alexia's bullying finally boils over.
Q 23After removing Alexia from the room in December, what does Mr. Terupt scold her groupmates for?
The Collaborative Classroom sits downstairs, and it is the class prankster who suggests inviting its pupils. Visits there end up changing students on both sides.
Q 14Which job lets Mrs. Williams approve the outdoor reward day for Mr. Terupt's class?
Principal
Principal Mrs. Williams gives special permission for the snow play, so afterwards Jessica wonders whether she shares the blame. The principal tells the class it was nobody's fault.
Q 15What kind of home does Danielle share with her mother and grandmother in Because of Mr. Terupt?
A family farm
A family farm is home to Danielle, and her strict grandmother sets the rules there about whom she may befriend. That is why visiting Anna takes her months of courage.
Q 16During a January visit in Because of Mr. Terupt, where does Jessica learn Anna's mother works?
A library
A library is where Terri works, and she takes art classes too, which makes Jessica wish artistic Danielle had come along. Danielle had been too scared to ask permission.
Q 17What does Danielle weave into her chapters that no other narrator in Because of Mr. Terupt includes?
Prayers to God
Prayers to God break up Danielle's storytelling, so she is the only narrator who speaks to two audiences. After the accident she uses them to ask for her teacher's recovery.
Q 18Echoing her father's career, in what format are Jessica's Because of Mr. Terupt chapters laid out?
Acts and scenes
Acts and scenes divide each of Jessica's sections, as if her year were a script. Her father directs small plays, and his job shapes the way she tells her story.
Q 19What does Jeffrey set out in the hospital waiting room so Mr. Terupt's students can share memories?
The class microphone
The class microphone is the pretend one passed around at Mr. Terupt's class meetings. Jeffrey brings it out, Danielle picks it up first, and soon everyone is telling stories.
Q 20Which filler word does queen bee Alexia keep using in her chapters of Because of Mr. Terupt?
Like
Like is the word, and it turns up in the very first sentence Alexia narrates. Her chatty voice hides the fact that she was once picked on herself.
Not standing up to her
Not standing up to her is the failing he points out to Jessica, Anna, Danielle and Jeffrey. He wants them to defend one another, not wait for a teacher to step in.
Q 24What does Alexia call the feud she stirs up among her classmates in Because of Mr. Terupt?
A girl war
A girl war is Alexia's own name for it, fought with rumors that turn friends against each other. New arrival Jessica is one of its first targets.
Q 25In Because of Mr. Terupt, what caused townspeople to shun Anna's mother Terri years earlier?
A teenage pregnancy
A teenage pregnancy made Terri an outcast, and Anna wrongly assumes she herself is to blame. When she finally asks, her mother says she would do it all again to have her.
Q 26What does Mr. Terupt's class add for every well-behaved day while working toward a free day?
A link on a chain
A link on a chain goes up for every good day, and the reward comes when it stretches from ceiling to floor. One prank or cruel remark from anyone can cost the whole class a link.
Q 27Which game do the boys play with Mr. Terupt indoors on the morning of the class's February free day?
Scattergories
Scattergories fills the indoor half of the reward day, and a classmate's cheeky answer in it leaves Luke fuming. That grudge is still simmering when everyone heads out into the snow.
Q 28What does Jeffrey do the moment Mr. Terupt collapses in the snow, something he only later admits?
Runs for help
Jeffrey runs for help at once, yet he is so used to blaming himself that he says nothing about it. He only gives himself credit once life at home starts to mend.
Q 29Whom does Anna's mother recognize from high school as the girls set off to visit Mr. Terupt?
Danielle's brother
Danielle's brother Charlie is the same age as Terri, and both are single, a fact matchmaker Anna spots at once. This March hospital trip is the first outing with Anna that Danielle's mother permits.
Q 30How does Jessica make peace when she, Danielle and Anna find Alexia alone at Mr. Terupt's hospital?
With a hug
With a hug, Jessica wipes the slate clean, and Alexia then embraces Danielle and Anna too. Alexia arrived by herself and walks out with three friends.