Summary for pg 18 - 22

Ms. Paley records a conversation she has with her students about the new rule, "You can't say you can't play."
They discuss whether or not the teacher should make the children play together. They also discuss when different people should have a chance to play. There is a lot of discussion between Angelo (one of the children often excluded) and Lisa (one of the 'bosses') about the possibility of playing alone.
When Ms. Paley talks with older children, they agree with the idea but they still exclude others when they play. A habit is made about who is the boss and who is excluded. She also thinks about the relationship between play and friendship. Is the purpose of playing to build or hold onto a friendship? Being in kindergarten is the first time children enter the larger world (outside of their family). It is the first time they must share both things and people.
An older boy tell Ms Paley that being excluded in the classroom prepares them for real life, but she still worries that the same children are always being rejected.

Discussion Questions for 13-18

On pg 15, Lisa - one of the 'bosses' - gets very upset when the teacher tells her she can't say "You can't play!" to the other children. Why do you think Lisa - and many children like her - would get upset?

Cynthia, Lisa's friend, also rejected Clara, but she blames Lisa. Why didn't Cynthia speak up for Clara and let her play? Why did she go along with Lisa?

The Magpie story is dealing more and more with the loss of Annabella's mother. How do children deal with a loss in the family? How can a teacher help?

Summary for pg 13-18

- Ms. Paley is losing her voice, something that is very common among teachers. The doctor told her to talk less, but she has trouble doing that. She begins to discuss something that happened while the students were playing. A student, Clara, was excluded from playing with a group of other girls.She didn't have the kind of toy they were playing with, so the girls told her they were not friends and couldn't play together. When this happens, Clara usually sits at her desk and cries. One of the girls who told Clara 'no' is Cynthia, who blames the other girl, Lisa, the boss. Lisa gets upset and says that if she must say yes to everyone, she doesn't want to play any more. Ms. Paley says the classroom belongs to all of us, and asks if it is fair to exclude others.

- Story: Magpie meets Prince Kareem, who likes birds very much. The Prince, Annabella, and Magpie talk about the differences between stories and real life. Magpie tells Annabella that stories are as real as the things in Prince Kareem's books. Magpie asks Prince Kareem why they live in a place with no birds, even though they both love birds very much. The Prince tells him that all the birds flew away when his wife, Annabella's mother, died.

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!!