Discussion questions for pg. 6-13

- How do children cope (對付/應付) with being excluded? 

- How do children cope with loneliness?

- Can you remember a time when you were excluded as a child?

- Can you remember a time when you were lonely as a child?

- Can you remember any stories that older people told you during childhood?

Summary for pages 6-13

- Story: Magpie is flying and doesn't hear any other birds. She sees a sad girl in a castle playing with a doll. She is talking to the doll and crying. Magpie asks the girl if he can help her. The girl tells Magpie that her mother is dead and she and her father (an African king) live alone in the castle. Magpie tells her about another girl in another place, named Alexandra.

- Ms. Paley and a young student talk about their dreams and how they are the same. During story time, Ms. Paley thinks about her own time in school and how she had to make the "bosses" happy. She also felt bad for those kids that were excluded. Ms. Paley talks about how she was not comfortable at school and didn't "belong" to the group.

- Story: Annabella asks Magpie about the other princess, Alexandra. Then Magpie tells her a story. The story is about a lonely girl who wishes to be a bird so she can fly and play with other birds. The story makes Annabella laugh.

Discussion Questions for "You Can't Say You Can't Play"

Here are some discussion questions for the first part of the book. Please think about these questions and be ready to discuss them in class.

- Why does the exclusion bother Ms. Paley?

- What are some reasons kids might exclude certain classmates?

- What do you think about Ms. Paley's experimental solution to this problem?

- What might be some other ways to deal with this problem?

- Is this human nature or a learned behavior?

- How does this kind of exclusion relate to older kids (junior high / high school)?

Reading assignment - "You Can't Say You Can't Play"

Read to page 9 (until the little picture of the boat)

Some key themes to look for
Inclusion / Exclusion
Acceptance / Rejection

Discussion questions will be posted soon
Enjoy reading!!

Today's Questions

What did you do during your (short) Lunar New Year break?

What do you enjoy about the cold weather?

What is better to do in cold weather?

Where is the coldest place you’ve ever been?